Graphic tutorials, case studies, articles, projects, and more. Lots of Adobe Illustrator stuff for designers of all skill levels, with a smidge of CSS & HTML.
Hark! This custom LEGO Castle playing card deck reimagines the medieval sets of yore with illustrated characters, faction‑driven designs, and a hidden riddle woven through every suit. Whether thou art a lifelong LEGO fan or a designer seeking inspiration, venture forth and behold how a story‑driven deck is built brick by brick.
If you’ve ever wanted to create those fluid Voronoi-like blob shapes in Illustrator, here’s a quick four‑step tutorial that keeps things simple and non-destructive. I’ve also seen this called a Turing pattern, reaction diffusion, or even an ink effect.
Create a smooth, ribbon‑like 3D letterform in Adobe Illustrator, with sexy curves and a contoured metallic sheen. Sounds easy, right? There are several ways to achieve the effect, but we’ll focus on the method that I feel is the simplest, most flexible, and easiest to adjust.
I recently returned from Venice and was inspired to illustrate each of the four bridges that span the Grand Cana… hold on, let’s start over… this time with feeling. O Venice, thou art framed in arches! Behold, a gallery where bridges dream, four arches drawn with reverent hand and eye; from Rialto’s crown to Calatrava’s gleam, each doth speak where stone and soul ally.
When color swatches are pulled from an image such as a product photo, graphic, or other visual, they can help carry the tone and personality of a brand. This post focuses on my favorite way to extract colors in Illustrator using the Mosaic command, offers tips on color management, and how to generate swatch information.
For two and a half centuries, Charlotte has celebrated the spirit of the Mecklenburg Declaration of Independence with parades, speeches, and even cannon fire echoing through uptown. This enduring ritual of pride and remembrance has inspired a visual identity for the 250th anniversary; a logo that honors the past while speaking to the present.
There are lot of destructive and labor intensive ways to do this inky fluid text effect, but here’s a simple method that is infinitely editable with just a few tweaks in the Appearance panel. Enjoy these plainly written steps with clear visuals. This tutorial is fairly easy too!
So you saw a Turing pattern Photoshop tutorial? Let me slap the mouse out of your hand and show you the various ways to create the same beautiful Turing textures solely in Illustrator, and Illustrator alone. Vectors be praised!
A private commission for a Venture Brothers-themed deck of playing cards. All custom illustrated characters, pips, typography, and a few other surprises. Go Team Venture!
I was contacted by the family of a decades-old dairy farm with the request to recreate their vintage brand materials into something new and fresh that they could use. I consider myself a regular Cool Hand Luke, so this gallon of milk was right up my alley.
Communicating data in clever and beautiful ways helps an audience absorb information more easily. This article covers various ways to work with data, bring that information into Illustrator, and create a beautiful data-focused poster.
Band will be back in swing before you know it. Here’s a small collection of graphics from the last few high school marching band seasons.
A collection of kaiju inspired by the Corporate Memphis (Alegria) and editorial illustration style. These were really fun to make, and heavily lean on the exaggerated proportions, tiny heads, noodle limbs, questionable linework, and simple color palettes from their inspiration.
Let’s create a vibrant, retro aesthetic landscape using two of my favorite styles: synthwave and pixel art. This guide will walk through the process of using Illustrator to reduce any photo or reference into an intricate pixel piece, with all the glowing goodness a child of the 80’s would love.
As a fan of technical illustrations and data visualizations, I wanted to diagram the manufacturing process flow for one of the most complicated outpost constructions in the game Starfield—the advanced nuclear reactor.
Sullivan’s Island is a fantastic, quiet corner of the South, and an incredible place to stay if you want to slow down time and enjoy life. Just a short hop from Charleston, the island is host to the world’s ugliest lighthouse.
Get away from the usual Behance and Dribbble stuff and get inspired by the public domain images of yesteryear. Shake off those mental blocks and get the motivation to make something weird and wonderful… using other people’s work 😈
It’s that time of the year again, where fall camp is in full swing and spooky season is just getting started. Gather round friends while I elucidate, and talk about a couple t-shirts before it gets late!
Get those creative juices flowing! The design prompt for this challenge is to create a fictional beverage company—liquor, seltzer, soda, or whatever—based on your spirit animal. Really dig into the product lore and use modern tools and methods to craft something special.
Books that go beyond the story and present their content in an intriguing or clever way hold a special place on my shelf. Here are five memorable books with exceptional typography and layout, and story of course!