So today what we will be doing is turning a nice picture into a vintage style photograph. This is a great trick because it adds the ‘rough’ and ‘old’ effect. I will be using the Photoshop help file a bit to explain some things just so I don’t tell you the wrong information! The best thing about this tutorial is that it can be done in minutes and is completely adjustable to your own images. The tools I will mainly be using are Adjustment Layers. They are VERY useful at changing the mood of an image. I will explain a bit more about them when I get into the tutorial!

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Step 1. Find a nice picture

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There are heaps of great stock photography websites around, however, today I will be using a free one. I’m sure you all know of stock.xchng – it’s a free stock photography website and well worth the sign up. After searching for a while I found this fantastic picture of the Australian outback.

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Step 2. Resize [OPTIONAL]

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This step is completely option and depends on your image. I have re-sized the image to 1000×670 pixel because of my small screen size – I find it easier to work with. However if you want to create a wallpaper I strongly suggest you keep it at a large size.

To change the size: Go to Image in the top bar. Then Select “Image Size…”. Once the dialogue box pops up you can change the width or height of the image. Always make sure you have “Constrain Proportions” ticked as this will keep the image the right shape and won’t distort it.

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Step 3. Curves

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We will now be playing with the Adjustment Layers. These work just like normal layers (everything under it in palette is affected, above isn’t). The order of these layers does matter! Adjustment layers are very useful for photo effects like we are about to do. The Photoshop’s help file explains, “An adjustment layer applies color and tonal adjustments to your image without permanently changing pixel values”. To access adjustment layers simply go to “Layer” at the top menu bar and then into “New Adjustment Layer” then select “Curves”.

What I tend to always do first is a Curves adjustment layer. Curves adjusts the entire tonal range of an image.

Here are the curves settings I have selected for my image. Again, there is no set way to do this, play around with the dialogue box until you get what suits you. Depending on where you put the dots on the line changes the tone. The bottom left changes dark parts and top right changes light parts. Then there is everything in between.

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Step 4. Levels

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Photoshop help file explains, “You use the Levels dialog box to correct the tonal range and color balance of an image by adjusting intensity levels of image shadows, mid-tones, and highlights.” To access adjustment layers simply go to “Layer” at the top menu bar and then into “New Adjustment Layer” then select “Levels”.

These were the settings I used for levels. I also put the levels layer UNDER my curves layer. But again, depends what looks best to you.

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Step 5. Photo Filter

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Now, this is the one that really sets the tone right. The other adjustment layers made the colours more accentuated; however, this adjustment layer gives the photo a certain warmth. The Photoshop help file explains, “The Photo Filter command mimics the technique of putting a colored filter in front of the camera lens to adjust the color balance and color temperature of the light transmitted through the lens and exposing the film.” To access adjustment layers simply go to “Layer” at the top menu bar and then into “New Adjustment Layer” then select “Photo Filter”.

So, I just used the default settings (a warming filter) and changed the “Density” to 39% whilst keeping “Preserve Luminosity” ticked. As you can see this has changed the colour of the sky to a bit more vintage (a lot more obvious on a larger version). This layer went under the levels layer.

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Step 6. Texture

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Adding textures to your document is a great technique to create a strong subtle effect [Oxymoron!]. For this creation I searched again on my favorite free stock site (sxc.hu) and found the PERFECT texture to add the desired effect we’re aiming for. Old sheet of paper is a great texture because its clean and has just the right amount of ’subtleness’ we are looking for.

Import the picture into your document. Re-size it with the ‘Transform Tool’ as you see fit. Obviously squashing it together or spreading it apart will affect how the texture looks. I changed the opacity (available in layers palette) to 27%. So like all the other steps, it’s whatever looks appropriate for your image. This layer goes under all layers except the base image.

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Step 7. Text

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The final step! This one is simple. While creating this I decided there was a nice space in top left corner for some text. I thought a grunge style would suit best so I went on the hunt and found the best free typeface. It turned out to be quite awesome. Trashed is available from dafont.com. I just typed it in white and played around with the opacity to what I felt was right. I ended up choosing 81%, which gave me a nice brown colour that suited the picture. From there I also put my name in the bottom right hand corner. [Click to view full size!]

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The layers palette should look like this by the end of it all.

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Now you’re done! =D

You’ve just successfully turned a photo vintage! The effect takes only minutes and looks great. I’d love to see how yours have turned out, please post a link to them in comments.

Well that concludes my first tutorial for Elite By Design. I’m still refining my tutorial writing skills! Thanks all for reading, I hope to do some more in the future. If you want to contact me directly please visit my portfolio and I will be happy to respond.

Good Luck,
Matt Hamilton

For more Photoshop tutorials like this one, check out The Tutorialist.

Related posts:

1. Navigation Bar In Photoshop – Tutorial
2. Design The iTunes Icon For The iPhone And iPod Touch
3. iTunes Widget – Tutorial

[tweetmeme] So you want to master Photoshop huh? You’ve come to the right place. This is the third and final installment of a three part series that will help you to master Photoshop in and out in just one week.

Today’s part showcases advanced tutorials that will really push the skills you learned in part 1 and part 2.

I am in full understanding that a program so complex as Photoshop cannot always be mastered in one week, as I have titled this post. Today, while showcasing advanced tutorials, I also wish to show you how you can continue to advance your Photoshop skills and knowledge over the next days and weeks.

Remember, learning is a journey that takes time – so enjoy learning more about Photoshop as you expand your knowledge of the program and its tools.

I sincerely hope that you have all enjoyed this series – I know that I sure have. It has been a great way to refresh my own understanding of Photoshop, as well as learn some new tools and techniques that I can use.

If you enjoyed this series and would like to get free updates of future posts from Elite By Design, just subscribe to the feed.
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Jump to a specific section of tutorials:

• Tutorials
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Tutorials

How To Digitally Paint An Abstract Face Portrait
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Hell Of A Tutorial In Photoshop
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Creating A Realistic 3D Flag
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Design A Photo Manipulation From Sketch To Color
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Create A Realistic Wine Bottle Illustration From Scratch
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Realistic Clouds Tutorial
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Create A Vector Style Illustration In Photoshop
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Realistic Denim Jean Texture From Scratch
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Super Cool Frilly Bits Typography
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Illustrating A Cool Glass Of Beer
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Creating A Vector Style MacBook From Scratch
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Design A Coldplay/Apple Inspired Portrait In Photoshop
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Sites

Tutorial 9
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PSD Tuts
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Good Tutorials
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PSD Fan
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Tutorialized
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Photoshop Essentials
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Photoshop Star
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Articles & Inspiration

• Photoshop Freebies
• 101 Typography Resources For Designers
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• 31 Sources Of Quality Free Icons
• 75 Insane High Res Photoshop Brushes
• 50+ Designers To Follow On Twitter
• 23 Most Incredible Photoshop Tutorials
• 30 Beautiful Photoshop Text Effect Tutorials
• 25 More Most Incredible Photoshop Tutorials
• 25 Beautiful Fantasy Photoshop Tutorials
• 24 Perfect Photoshop Vectors
• 100 Awesome High Resolution Photoshop Brushes
• 105+ Logo Design Tuts And Resources
• 50+ Excellent Body Enhancement Photoshop Tutorials
• You Know You’re Addicted To Photoshop If…
• 4 Easy Photoshop Techniques To Make Your Pictures Pop
• 21 Best Photoshop Text Effects
• Top 10 Photoshop Tutorial Websites
• 40 Dark And Futuristic Photoshop Effects
• 53 Killer Photoshop Illustrator Effects And Tutorials
• 7 Steps To Developing Originality In Your Design And Illustration Work
• High Quality Photoshop Brushes Resources And Tutorials
• 10 Techniques That Are Essential For Successful Photo Manipulation Artwork
• 40+ Extremely Beautiful Icon Sets Hand Picked From deviantArt
• How To Create Step-By-Step Photoshop Design Tutorials
• 50+ High Quality .PSD Files And Tutorials
• 7 Principles Of Effective Icon Design
• 12 Ways To Tap Into An Endless Well Of Creativity
• 5 Important Criteria That Make A Great Photoshop Tutorial

Get free updates of future posts on Elite By Design by subscribing to the feed or subscribe via email below!

For more Photoshop tutorials check out the new tutorial site, The Tutorialist.

Related posts:

1. How To Master Photoshop In Just One Week Pt. 2
2. How To Master Photoshop In Just One Week
3. 23 Most Incredible Photoshop Tutorials

[tweetmeme] So you want to master Photoshop huh? You’ve come to the right place. This is the second part of a three part series that will help you to master Photoshop in and out in just one week. Today’s part is all about utilizing the skills you mastered in part 1 and learning how they can be used in real designs. This post is a collection of easy to medium level Photoshop tutorials that will get your creativity rolling and will hopefully take your understanding of Photoshop and all of its complex features to the next level.

Part three will be coming up on Monday, so feel free to take your time going through these resources. To get free updates on the next part of the series, just subscribe today!

Part three has been posted. Click here to read!
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Jump to a specific section of tutorials:

• Typography
• Web Components
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Typography

Create A Trendy Typographic Poster Design
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Colorful Glowing Text Effect
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Transparent Glass Lettering In Photoshop
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Tutorial : Smooth Glass Type
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Light Burst Text Effect
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Dark But Vivid Text Effect
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Scrabble Text
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Create A Layered Glowing Text Effect
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6 Quick N’ Dirty Photoshop Text Effects From Scratch
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Bling Bling – Simple Gold Text Effect
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Recreate The Bee Movie Text Effect
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Vibrant Pop Text Effect
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Web Components

A Guide To Exporting To The Web In Photoshop
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Light Tabbed Content Box
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Professional Dark Header
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Stylish Dark Menu Bar
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How To Create A Modern Purple Preloader In Photoshop
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How To Create A Simple Sleek Web 2.0 Site Footer
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Making A Sign Banner Using Light And Shadow
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How To Showcase Your Work Beautifully
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Sleek Banner Tutorial
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Stylish Web 2.0 Navigation
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Create A Dark Content Box With Glowing Navigation
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Vista Style Navigation Bar
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Photo Manipulation

How To Draw An Electronic Angel From A Picture Of A Girl
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Creating A Stunning Stone Cursed Man
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Create A Realistic Graffiti Text And Image On A Nice Clean Wall
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Give Your Photos Awesome Lighting In Just 10 Steps
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Create A Surreal Environment Using A Photo
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Giving A Mafia Look To A Business Photo
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Transforming A Daylight Image Into A Wild Night
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Awesome Photorealistic Coloring Techniques
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Creating X-Ray Style Images From Mechanical Objects
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Enhance Your Images With Selective Color Adjustments
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Change The Color Of An Eye
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Easy Photo Grunge Effect
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Buttons

Basic Sleek Button
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Nice Simple Subscribe Badges
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Web Button Making Tutorial 1
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Web Button Making Tutorial 2
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Building Buttons In Photoshop
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Sleek Black Glossy Buttons
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Buy Now Button
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Professional Glossy Download Button
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Stylish Black Buttons
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Aero Glass Vista Button With Photoshop
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Orb Button Effect
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Aqua Style Button With Photoshop
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Other

How To Create A Super Shiny Pencil Icon
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Create A Mobile Phone Styled Like The HTC Touch Diamond
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Create A Space Explosion In Photoshop
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Create An Amazing Ad With Photoshop
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Really Cool Eclipse Effect In Photoshop
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Time Machine Icon In Photoshop
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iMouse – Creating An Apple Mouse
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Beautiful Lighting Effect In Photoshop
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Creating A Mac Type Background In Photoshop
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Creating Interface Orbs
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Keep an eye out for part three coming out this week – get free updates by subscribing to the feed.

For more Photoshop tutorials check out the new tutorial site, The Tutorialist.

Related posts:

1. How To Master Photoshop In Just One Week Pt. 3
2. How To Master Photoshop In Just One Week
3. 25 More Most Incredible Photoshop Tutorials

[tweetmeme] So you want to master Photoshop huh? You’ve come to the right place. This is the first part of a three part series that will help you to master Photoshop in and out in just one week. Today’s part is all about getting to know the basics of the program and how to operate the complex software – nothing amazing, but you need to crawl before you can walk!

Part two will be coming up in a couple of days, so feel free to take your time going through these resources. To get free updates on the next two parts of the series, just subscribe today!

Part two has been posted. Click here to read!
Part three has been posted. Click here to read!
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Jump to a specific section:

• The Interface
• The Tools
• Pen Tool
• Shortcuts
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Familiarizing Yourself With The Photoshop Interface
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The Interface

Video: Photoshop 101 – The Interface
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Photoshop Crash Course
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Getting Started In Photoshop
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Photoshop Tool Basics
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The Tools

Photoshop’s Toolbox
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The Selection Tools
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Video: Burn, Dodge, And Sponge Tools
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Painting Tools
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Drawing And Type Tools
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Retouch And Healing Tools
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Understanding Blending Modes
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Pen Tool Basics
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Pen Tool

Learning How To Use The Pen Tool
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Video: Vector Tracing And The Pen Tool
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Photoshop Paths Explained
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Drawing With Photoshops’ Pen Tool
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Photoshop Keyboard Shortcuts
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Shortcuts

18 Exceptionally Useful Photoshop Shortcuts
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28 More Exceptionally Useful Photoshop Shortcuts
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48 Greatest Adobe Photoshop Keyboard Shortcuts
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Create Your Own Custom Keyboard Shortcuts
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Working With Layers In Photoshop
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Layers

Video: How To Use Photoshop Layers
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Understanding Layers In Photoshop
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Life Without Photoshop Layers
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Video: Layers Basics
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10 Useful Tips For Beginners
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Tutorials

Stylish Clean Avatar
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Combining Two Photos For New Effect
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Add Visual Texture In Three Easy Steps
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Guide To Halftone Pattern
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Video: Floating Borders
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Easy Glass Orb
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How To Extract People And Objects In Photoshop
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For more Photoshop tutorials check out the new tutorial site, The Tutorialist.

Related posts:

1. How To Master Photoshop In Just One Week Pt. 3
2. How To Master Photoshop In Just One Week Pt. 2
3. You Know You’re Addicted To Photoshop If…

[tweetmeme] Throughout the past weeks and months, a common question that arises with clients and readers of Elite By Design is all about how to get started with WordPress. With thousands of new WordPress blogs springing up every day, it can be quite daunting for a new user to be thrust into a new interface and blogging platform. That is why today I am taking WordPress back to the basics with 25+ essential articles for every WordPress beginner.

First Steps With WordPress
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New To WordPress – Where To Start
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SEO With WordPress For Beginners
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Free WordPress Tutorials
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A Beginner’s Guide To WordPress Plugins
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Getting Started With WordPress
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WordPress – A Beginner’s Guide Part 1 – “Where To Start”
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Wordpress – A Beginners Guide Part 2 – “Wordpress Installation And Setup”
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Wordpress – A Beginners Guide Part 3 – “Choosing Themes And Plugins”
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Wordpress – A Beginners Guide Part 4 – “Admin Settings”
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10 Things You Must Do When Changing WordPress Themes
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WordPress : The Complete Post-Install Checklist
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SEO For WordPress : Part 1
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How To Setup WordPress Locally On Windows
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WordPress Quick Tips
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Tutorial : Content For Admin Only
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4 Simple Ways To Speed Up WordPress
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The WordPress Help Sheet
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The Advanced WordPress Help Sheet
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WordPress Reference Guide
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How To Design A WordPress Theme
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WordPress:101 – A Beginners Guide To Using WordPress
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Best Of WordPress Beginner Articles And Plugins
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WordPress Beginner? Avoid Looking Like One
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30 WordPress Plugins For Beginners
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Do you have an article for WordPress beginners that you would like to share? If so, just drop a comment and I’d be glad to add it to this list.

For more WordPress tutorials check out the new tutorial site, The Tutorialist.

Related posts:

1. The Ultimate WordPress Guide For The Absolute Beginner Part 1
2. Getting Started With CSS: 20 Awesome Introductory Tuts
3. School Is In Session – 100 Design Articles To Keep You Motivated : Part 4

Web designers, illustrators, graphic designers or and other creatives have one thing in common these days. They all have a personal portfolio site where they showcase their work. Creatives always love working on their portfolio site since it’s the moment they can be client, designer and art director at the same time. While working on your dream project however it can be easy to forget that your online portfolio isn’t there for your personal pleasure, it’s an instrument crucial to your success. It’s this site that will significantly influence whether clients or employers will choose to work with you!

Because an online portfolio is such an important element of your success I thought it would be a good idea to use this guest post to talk about some good practices and some not so good ones. I’ve divided the tips into five do’s and five dont’s and added a mini showcase of great examples below.

The definite do’s

Here’s the list of things you should definitely consider when you’re building a new portfolio or updating your existing one.

• Make sure you test in other browsers
  Web professionals reading this will probably yawn out of boredom now but there are a lot of creatives that don’t specialize in the web yet do want to build their own site. This tip is for them. Test your site in the common browsers! I know when you’re just starting out with web design this is a hassle because you’ve already spent so much time with your site. Of course browsers interpreting css rules differently is a pain in the ass but it’s worth it to put in the extra hours. You’ll feel really silly when you find out a year after you’ve launched a site that it’s layout has been breaking in a particular browser all that time!
• Consider a one page portfolio if you have little to say
  If you really only want to showcase your work, have a small about me and your contact data a one page portfolio is probably the best way to go. This allows you to put all the relevant data on one page so you don’t get near empty pages (for example an about me with 5 lines of text). There is of course no reason why a one page portfolio isn’t possible if you have more to say, Dale Harris’s site is good proof of this.
• Make the right choices for animated elements
  If you want an animated element in your portfolio, like in your header for example, don’t go full flash. Just embed the animated Flash element in a normal Html/Css site and enjoy all the benefits that such a site has over full flash one (Search engine will find you better, better accessibility and so on). A good example of having the best of both worlds is Mike Poss’s site.
• Post your strongest work
  Don’t post your good portfolio pieces together with your lesser ones, be a harsh critic on yourself and select only the best work. If don’t have that many items in your portfolio don’t give into the temptation of churning out a lot of quick pieces, these will usually be lesser in quality. The lesser pieces will affect how your future clients view you in terms off overall quality. It is much more preferable to have a strong but small portfolio than a large one with a lot of mediocre work.
• If possible put your contact data on a spot that’s always visible
  This one is more important than you might think. When you’re applying for a job or communicate with busy company individuals it really helps your cause if they can spot your contact data in one glance. It also gives the impression that you’re “open” to do business.

The dont’s

The dont’s are arguably even more important than the do’s. Make the wrong design and coding decisions and you’ll be chasing visitors away instead of impressing them with your portfolio!

• Don’t over complicate
  Extravagant designs with a lot of elements can definitely be great, but only if you pull it off flawlessly. If it’s done wrong it becomes a confusing experience for the user no matter how good looking it is. If you want an intricate design try it, but be honest with yourself and know when to go for something simpler if your design is not working.
• Don’t use a splash screen – ever
  Designers like splash screens because it’s an extra chance to exhibit their skills at creating a cool visual. The logic seems sound, but trust me that in this day and age nobody’s waiting to get a non-functional screen between them and their content. A splash screen is a guaranteed loss of visitors.
• Do not use pop-ups for content
  Regularly I still see sites that open new browser windows for images. This is frustrating for you and your viewer. Your viewer will be stuck with another open browser window which he will have to close every time he wants to continue viewing your site. You on the other hand should be frustrated with the knowledge that pop-up blockers (Google toolbar has one built in) will stop your content from being displayed.

  Check out Lightbox, Slimbox and all the myriad of ways to showing images and videos on the same page through javascript as an alternative.

• Don’t use sound
  You want your site to be an experience and you want to express yourself, music is a good way to do this. I get you, I really do. However you don’t know what the circumstances are that your viewer is entering your website on. Maybe he or she is playing their favorite lounge track and your music will just disturb the vibe. Maybe it’s two in the morning and your viewer forgot to turn his speakers off – in for a shocker! Maybe your viewer just plain doesn’t like the music you chose? The fact is, most people search and race for the stop button on a site that has music playing. Use music on your site if the whole concept depends on it, otherwise skip it.
• Don’t build it if you’re not satisfied
  Sometimes when you’ve spent a lot of time on a design you’ll start getting itchy to build it. Resist this urge and only build when you’re satisfied. I made the same mistake with a site I recently launched and now I’ll soon have to recode a portion of it since it’s current state just doesn’t satisfy me. It’s always better to get your design right a hundred percent and then build it.

Mini showcase – some excellent portfolio sites

Below are some excellent personal portfolio sites that not only look great but also operate very well. You’ll find that a lot of the do’s and don’t apply to them.

Hope you enjoyed the article and have some food for thought when your next portfolio revision comes around! Feel free to post your opinions in the comments, I’ll be stopping by every once in a while to check them out.

About the author :
Youri is a Web designer, blogger, import magazine addict and hardcore gamer turned casual. Other than blogging on Designfeedr he also runs Tutorials we heart – the site that collects the best tutorials from all over the web.

For more web design tutorials check out the new tutorial site, The Tutorialist.

Related posts:

1. And THIS Is Why You Don’t Steal Online Content
2. 22 Most Creative Web Portfolios
3. Interview With Magnus Jepson

Is your blog memorable to your readers? Or is your site one of those blogs where you would go, read what you’re after and then close that tab? If you want to make your blog a place that people will keep coming back to, then listen closely as I share some top tips with you to help you stand out from the crowd.

An important fact of blogging that is commonly overlooked by bloggers and web designers is that you need to make a blog memorable. A web designer is normally there to do the design, feel proud, launch it, and then leave the rest to the blogger. As a designer, I take into consideration a few other things such as how will I keep the reader on a blog? What are their options to do after they have come to the site or after they have read a particular post? Where many designers would leave this up to the blogger, I think of it as my job. I am going to share a few of my tips to creating a more memorable blog that you can implement if your web designer missed out on them.
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1. Make It Easy To Keep Updated

So your reader has Googled what they are looking for and has come to your web site. They read the post that the blogger has put blood, sweat, and tears into, and they loved it so much that they may want to read more of what you have to say. Method one is to make it as simple as possible for them to be able to follow what you have to say. On my own blog I have a huge button on the sidebar that shouts out subscribe and there is a link under each post that show people what to do next, one of the options is of course to subscribe and keep updated with what I have to say.
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2. Show Them Their Options

It is a sad fact that 99% of your readers are not mindful readers. Method two is all about showing readers what to do next on your website. A few options of course are to sport an RSS link, have a clear and engaging navigation, and even preview a few related posts after each article. If you are a WordPress user this could not be easier. There are numerous amounts of related post plug-ins available for free for you to use. Just having this feature on your blog could be the difference between a popular blog and just another average blog.
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3. Create A Mascot

This is all the rage at the moment – web sites all over the web are creating a mascot that will hopefully get you to remember their website and make it stand out. Of course this is just the same as having a good brand, say a logo that is recognizable. Having a mascot at the site or in the header is a great way to get across information as well. Some fantastic examples of a mascot at play can be seen at Freelance Switch and YoDiv.
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4. Get Readers Involved

A great way to get people to come back to your site is to involve them in conversation using your comments. When blogging, ask your readers a question and contact them back using the comments. If you don’t offer an option to subscribe to your comments (which is another good idea), then drop them a email replying to them with a link to the post. If they asked a question link them to other related posts in the website.
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5. Create A Community

Like I said in point 4, create a conversation. If you encourage people in posts to comment and you are nowhere to be found to answer, then people will get fed up with your blog and leave. They will think they are talking to a brick wall. If you don’t create conversation you wont have many comments to help your blog grow and succeed. What a lot of people tend to forget is that a blog needs to be a community and a place of interaction. This is the main key to making your blog memorable. Community is the key feature to a successful and memorable blog.
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Do you feel I have missed any major points? If so please leave them in the comments i would love to hear from you and get some feedback on the tips. Also if you try any of these tips please let me know how you get on.
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If you enjoyed this post why not look at Improving Blog Readership.
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Image By Irfan Intekhab

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I have been publishing Photoshop tutorials for several months now – usually once every couple of weeks. There are all sorts of places in which I can submit my tutorials so that they get a lot of attention and bring lots of traffic to my site. If you are a tutorial writer, listen up, because here are the best three places to submit your photoshop tutorials to maximize your traffic, attention, and comments. I’ve created this list after several months of submitting tutorials to hundreds of websites – these three have been the best to me and will work great for you:

1. Good-Tutorials

Before I started blogging and I was learning the ins and outs of Photoshop, I read Good-Tutorials. Not only did they have a massive collection of tutorials all related to Photoshop, but it seemed that most of the tutorials were all of generally high quality. That was when I was first starting out with Photoshop. After all this time, Good-Tutorials has still remained one of my favorite sites to keep up on the latest and greatest in Photoshop.

When I started writing tutorials, this site was one of the first that came to mind when I was thinking about places to get my photoshop tutorials featured. When I submitted my iTunes Widget Tutorial, I didn’t quite know what to expect. It wasn’t until after I had gotten approved that my traffic numbers started to jump up. Good-Tutorials sent me thousands of visitors on the first day. Over the next few weeks, they sent me thousands more. Talk about publicity!

Good-Tutorials is the first site I submit all of my tutorials now. They approve them within 24 hours and the rewards are huge. This site should be your number one submission destination after you’ve written your latest tutorial.

2. Tutorialized

While I am not a regular reader, Tutorialized has become one of my favorite places to submit tutorials. I have found that over the last months, Tutorialized is extremely consistent in sending traffic. It isn’t like getting 1,000 visitors the first day, and then having it slowly trickle down into one or two visits per day. Instead, it is like getting 400-600 visitors the first day, and then staying consistent it up for several weeks.

Some of the tutorials that I submitted to Tutorialized almost a month ago are still bringing in 100-300 visitors per day. So if you want some consistent tutorial traffic, this is a great place to submit your work.

3. Pixel2Life

Pixel2Life is a lot like Tutorialized in the sense that they send you consistent traffic for long periods of time. I love Pixel2Life because of the way it pairs so well with Tutorialized. Having two very consistent traffic sources that send a pretty good amount of daily traffic is like hitting the gold mine.

Use Pixel2Life with Good-Tutorials and Tutorialized and your stats will show a considerable jump and stay high for many weeks to come.

Honorary Mention : PSDTuts

It has been one of my goals to get a Photoshop tutorial listed on PSD Tuts ever since I got involved in blogging. First and foremost, by getting a tutorial on their site, your name gets shown to over 17,000 RSS subscribers. Just as well, they had over 1 million visitors last month alone – that is a lot of traffic! If you can manage to get on PSD Tuts your name and website will get lots of attention from regular readers. Not only that, but you’ll get a nice check for $125 in your paypal account.

I think that this is the hardest place to get your tutorial featured. There are dozens of submissions every week and they only choose the best of the best. That just means that if your tutorial isn’t top notch, you have a much lower chance of getting featured. So only submit your best work, and if it is truly great, you will be able to enjoy reaping in the benefits.

Conclusion:
These three places that allow you to submit your tutorials will bring you traffic for long periods of time, increase your brand name, build recognition for your website, as well as pump up your subscriber and comment count. If you can use these resources effectively, you will see your blog growing much faster than ever before – so don’t wait. Write up some of the best tutorials you can, and start watching your blog grow!

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This tutorial will show you how to effectively create the iTunes icon found on all iPhones and iPod Touches. This tutorial will walk you through the various filters and layer styles needed to create this very sleek icon.

Step 1

First, open up a new document – 125 x 125 pixels at a resolution of 72 DPI. Fill your canvas with black.

Step 2

On a new layer, grab the rounded rectangle tool. With the radius set to 9 and your foreground set to white, draw in a rounded rectangle. Name this layer “icon base.”

Step 3

Apply the following gradient overlay. The color on the left of the gradient should be #a800ff while the color on the right should be set at #8a00ff.

Step 4

Hold Command (Ctrl for PC) and click on the thumbnail for the layer “icon base.” This will select the icon.

Step 5

Create a new layer, with the “icon base” still selected. Fill in the selection with white. Go ahead and name this layer “starburst” because it is where we will be making the starburst effect.

Step 6

With the layer “starburst” selected, go to Filter>Noise>Add Noise. Apply the following settings:

Step 7

Hit Command (Ctrl) + D to deselect the starburst layer. Go to Filter>Blur>Radial Blur and apply the following settings:

Step 8

This is what your image should look like thus far.

Step 9

Hold Command (Ctrl for PC) and click on the thumbnail for the layer “starburst.” This will select the burst you have. Now, hit Command+Shift+I to invert your selection. Hit delete to remove the extra starburst.

Step 10

Lower the opacity to 41%. Your icon should now look like this:

Step 11

On the “starburst” layer, add a layer mask. With a Black to White gradient, and the gradient set as Radial, drag from the center of the icon to the edge. This will clear out the starburst effect from the middle of the image.

Step 12

Create a new layer. Name it “Gloss.” Grab the Ellipse Tool and with your foreground as white, draw this shape:

Step 13

Hold Command (Ctrl for PC) and click on the thumbnail for the layer “gloss.” This will select the gloss you have. Now, hit Command+I to invert your selection. Hit delete to remove the extra gloss. Lower the opacity of this layer to 73%.

Step 14

Add a layer mask to the “gloss” layer. With a black to white gradient, drag from the middle of the icon to about the middle of the gloss. It should lower the opacity of the bottom half giving you something like this:

Step 15

I hope you named your layers for this one! Command+Click the thumbnail for “gloss.” Press Command+I. Then, Command+Option+Shift+Click the thumbnail for “icon base.” You should have a selection like this:

Step 16

Create a new layer and name it “shadow. Now, using a black to transparent gradient, drag your mouse like this while holding the Shift key:

Step 17

Lower the opacity of your “shadow” layer to 53%.

Step 18

Next, go ahead and grab your brush tool. Set the diameter to 100 and the hardness to 0. Create a new layer titled “bottom glow.” With white as your foreground color, simply make one brush right at the bottom of the icon.

Step 19

Crop out the brush from your “bottom glow” layer that is not in the icon. Lower the opacity of “bottom glow” to 45%.

Step 20

Now we are done with the overall icon. Next, we just need to add in the ring and the arrow. To start the ring, grab the elliptical marquee tool. Holding down the shift key, draw out a selection like this:

Step 21

Create a new layer titled “ring.” Fill in the selection you have with white. Next, go to the top menu and choose Select>Modify>Contract. Contract your selection by 5 pixels and hit delete.

Step 22

Apply the following layer style:

Step 23

Create a new layer titled “arrow.” Choose the arrow in your custom shapes pallet (U) and draw an arrow like this:

Step 24

Press Command+T to enter transform mode. Right click and choose “Rotate 90 Degrees CW.”

Step 25

Copy and paste the layer style from your “ring” layer onto your “arrow” layer. Your icon should look like this. Congratulations! You’re finished!

Extra

Have some fun messing around with different opacities, layer styles, colors, etc. There are literally endless possibilities.

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I know that this is my third navigation bar Photoshop tutorial, but I just couldn’t help this one. The final product just looks too…smooth. This tutorial uses a lot of the same effects you’ve seen here on EBD before, but go ahead and work through this tutorial to get this incredible final product.

Difficulty:

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

Estimated Time:
4-7 Minutes

On Tab Bottom Copy, use this gradient overlay – Left= #2a2a2a Right= #4e4e4e.

For more Photoshop tutorials check out the new tutorial site, The Tutorialist.

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