Man Made DIY

In the very early 90s, during the heydey of the nerd stereotype, I remember reading a great Jim Borgman cartoon in the newspaper making the distinctions between nerds, dorks, spazzes, dweebs, and the like. In fact, I think it's the first memory I have of a newspaper. I had to ask my sister for help with the bigger words, but I remember us cracking up over our bowls of Kix.

And now, in 2012, we're in the era of the geek - those smart individuals with obsessive interests in niche and ephemera. They control Hollywood, most of the internet, and are likely on their way towards Washington as well.

Few artists have had as deep impact on the lives of more people than Susan Kare. Millions, if not billions, of people's experiences with computers are easier and more intuitive thanks to her. Her name may not be familiar to everyone, but her work is: she was the graphical user interface pioneer who created the original icons for Apple computers, transforming modern personal computing into what it is today.   … read more

Whenever I'm aiming tocreate an illustration or a graphic, I go straight to Adobe Illustrator. It is, hands down, my favorite program to design in. The only problem with Illustrator, however, is that the vector graphics you create sometimes look too clean and flat. Personally, I like a little bit of texture in my designs. Computers are great, but there's no reason no to mimic the amazing feel and appeal of paper or fabric.

So today I'll be showing you some basic tips on how to add textures to vector graphics or text using Photoshop. The thing about Photoshop, as you may know, is that there are 100 different ways to achieve the same effect. Some people may use completely different techniques to create textures, and that's just fine. My process isn't necessarily the best, but it's what I like to do.… read more

Strix, the same clever team that brought us the Ransom Note Generator, has released The Stencil Generator. It allows you to upload any photo (or even provide an image URL) and create a stencil for internet graffiti, or to print and cut for an actual piece of art.… read more

Since Steve Jobs passed away on October 5, there has been an incredible array of artistic tributes to the man that gave so many creative folks the tools to express themselves. I, for one, have been an Apple fanatic since September 15, 1994, the day my family got our first computer: a Power Macintosh 7100. That day also happened to be my 11th birthday. But I digress… read more