You can read the contest here.

Basically , feathering is changing the edge of fills , or the edge of your vector object to feather. By default the edge is set in Anti – Alias , but you can also change it to Hard or Feather. This is a very easy technique, but if done in the right way, could help  soften your images,  and add glows or highlights.

Suppose we have this setup , one rectangle with 3 circles of different sizes. How do we apply this technique properly on the background, to give it some shine, well first we must change each of the fills ( from Anti-Alias by default, to feather ).  When selecting Feather, a default amount of 10 is set, but the trick here is setting it to a higher level , lets say 74 to 100.  See the image below.

Too shiny ? Try experimenting on the amount of feather you will use in each circle, move them out a bit to the sides of the square, or even scale them bigger ,or you can also change its layer opacity as well. By default , each layer object’s layer opacity is at full, or 100 percent, changing it 90 > below , could give you an effect like this. Play with different values for each layer object.

Now lets move to making a circle orb. Lets say we have one big black circle, and one smaller gradient circle. Take note , when dealing with gradients , have two colors which are different  ex : dark orange and light orange, to achieve its fullest effect. You must also practice moving the gradient handles, to which direction looks best.

We must change the inner circle’s edge into feather , move the gradient to the top left, move the circle to the top left of the black circle, and make some adjustments to the feather amount. You can see the process below.

You can duplicate the gradient if you like ,2 or  more times, scale them down or try experimenting with different amounts on the circles , change the direction of the gradient or the layer opacity.

You can get something like the image below, if you think the feathered gradient is overlapping the circle, try moving it.

You can also use a radial gradient instead of the black circle, and following the steps above , you can get something like this.

Aside from changing the edge to feather, adding texture could also change the look of the image. When dealing withbackgrounds , pick the right texture that suits best , and also try experimenting on the texture amount.

I’m gonna use the sand texture,  and apply 61% amount of texture.

Apply feather with an amount of 83.

You can even try to duplicate the gradient feather and make it bigger, and move it downwards. You can get something like this.

The image looks good , but if you want to add some extra ohhmph factor , we use another texture. Try duplicating one of the bigger circles, change the texture to mesh , and try experimenting on which layer mode and or/ layer opacity value makes the image look even better.

Well there you go, if you have questions above feathering in fireworks , please leave a comment below .

c5voe2 by =blue2x on deviantART

infinite beyond by =blue2x on deviantART

fireworks guru wallpaper by =blue2x on deviantART

quasimatsu by =blue2x on deviantART

ilovefireworks by =blue2x on deviantART

the magnifica by =blue2x on deviantART

bliss by =blue2x on deviantART

exposure by =blue2x on deviantART

ibidem by =blue2x on deviantART

space by =blue2x on deviantART

infinitum by =blue2x on deviantART

maria’s farewell by =blue2x on deviantART

tree of happiness by =blue2x on deviantART

the 9 by =blue2x on deviantART

book of fire by =blue2x on deviantART

futurewatch wallpaper by =blue2x on deviantART

fuze fireworksguru wallpaper by =blue2x on deviantART

gizmo by =blue2x on deviantART

deviant naruto wallpaper by =blue2x on deviantART

lima by =blue2x on deviantART

So what’s next ? Every new version of Adobe Fireworks means new possibilities in design , and thus , new artworks. I will continue to create designs when I’m not busy ( too much work lately ). If you need to desire a fireworks artist, you can always contact me =)

plasma phase by =blue2x on deviantART

V E S H A by =blue2x on deviantART

I was so proud on making this design , in our city , there was a Poster Making Contest from Star Movies for the Scifi Tv show called Taken , I submitted first, I was supposed to win first but anyway this was my first design contest. I won second place  =)

t a k e n by =blue2x on deviantART

taken 2 by =blue2x on deviantART

rusTEn by =blue2x on deviantART

worthclam by =blue2x on deviantART

Minos is a series of wallpaper designs I have created, you will notice some of the minos designs only have 3 interfaces, all arranged horizontally , a new minos wallpaper is on the works , it will be uploaded before the year ends.

Minos by =blue2x on deviantART

I love magic cards , the artworks, the layout and everything about it. I attempted to create my own magic card, using bitmap tools in fw.

celestial demon by =blue2x on deviantART

seifer I transfer by =blue2x on deviantART

the “creation “ by =blue2x on deviantART

in hell we choose by =blue2x on deviantART

eye-seek by =blue2x on deviantART

phantoms 2 – final version by =blue2x on deviantART

k5 voe by =blue2x on deviantART

c5 voe by =blue2x on deviantART

the mind voe by =blue2x on deviantART

My space designs are  one of my best designs in fireworks. I was fascinated how planets and stars where created in Photoshop , but never was it done  in fireworks, yet. It was a difficult at first but I  was able to discover new techniques

the iluvese - by =blue2x on deviantART

vergati by =blue2x on deviantART

heavens above by =blue2x on deviantART

lufurticous by =blue2x on deviantART

the reawakening 2006 by =blue2x on deviantART

Coze by =blue2x on deviantART

the laugh by =blue2x on deviantART

inconspicuous by =blue2x on deviantART

revolve by =blue2x on deviantART

scape by =blue2x on deviantART

Recolor , repaint life , the design that boosted my career and connects with Adobe. It took me two weeks making the design and I’m very proud of it

recolor – repaint life by =blue2x on deviantART

Continue to Part 2

I have been looking for a free online tool to track my finances online, there are several out there , but they only cater to the u.s. users or they have ads or other unnecessary features , only one stands out , BudgetPulse.

The moment I registered to the site , I noticed this was the app I was looking for. I highly recommend it for individuals, families and small businesses looking for a free alternative to track your finances.

Its key features are :

a. Simple web 2.0 interface , user friendly , fast and responsive.

b. Add , delete and track multiple transactions , accounts , assets, liabilities , budget , income and expenses. View detailed or category view , and  switch to line graphs or pie charts on viewing items.

c. Secure , it doesnt require linking to your bank/s website, instead you have to manually input it.

d. Multiple currencies are supported , everyone around the globe can use it. Other sites only support american banks , and thus leaving out the rest of the world , plus the other sites connect to your bank data.

e. Ability to import and export your accounts.

f. It’s a free service , plus no ads ( although the creators are planning to put sponsors in the near future , but it doesnt matter =) )

g. The site is constantly being updated, with new features.

Try it now, visit budgetpulse

We have already seen adobe fireworks design tutorials in  websites today , but seldom are videos , in which gives us a better advantage than the step by step tutorials we normally see in websites. Here’s a compilation of videos in youtube  I have recently seen and is something worth checking out.

I have been planning on  posting my own youtube videos but I rarely have the time do so , or i dont know how to. lol. My favorite among the bunch would probably be the elegant swirl effect , I like the neat approach on how the swirl path became an object with a solid fill.

Video tutorials illustrate all the actions which are difficult to describe only by words. Learn to customize your workspace to meet your needs.

Read More

This is a tutorial I made for fireworksguruforums on how to create a web logo using adobe fireworks for Altes Wines, a fictional wine company. You can view the png type tutorial in this forum post

For those who don’t know , I have been designing logos in fireworks for a few years now. And  lot of people would ask , Why Fireworks ? Why not use Photoshop or illustrator in designing logotypes ?

I answer them simply with this,  creating a quality logo can be done in fireworks. It’s a path last travelled, but its doable in FW.  There are some things you might want to consider when designing a logo in fireworks.

a. FW doesn’t support cmyk and other print formats , you need to export it as a psd / ai file and need to edit it again in ps or illus , yes this might be extra work, especially if you’re client requires it for print.

b. FW text kerning is awful, you need to convert your text to paths sometimes  and arrange the spacing manually.

c. Keep the logo simple , dont overdo the logo with eye candy effects , if you want your logo to be exported to ps or ai , always remember they dont have all the fw layer modes on those programs , just  stick to gradients and solid colors.

d. If you are just aiming for a logo for your website , or a screen app, then fireworks would be fine. I’ll be posting more tips in logo design in fw in the near future.

e. If you need a logo designer , im available for commissions =) My recent commissioned logos are in my deviantart portflio.

The logos in this pack are my old concepts for my clients , I thought about reselling them but I figured out its best to give it out to the FW community. You can use these files for personal or  commercial purposes, just dont claim that  you made them. =) Well anyways , here are the logos (500), Leave a comment if you like.

For more info you can leave a comment here or send me a message via twitter.

1.) First, we start by creating a new document, with a black background color. I used the Bell Gothic Font in this tutorial , or you can use your favorite font if you like. Canvas size varies upon the preferrence of the user, usually when making rough designs I like 700 x 500 sizes or more.

2.)  Let’s type the word GRUNGE , with a 59 font size  or bigger . Change the color of the font to white or something lighter than black.

3.) Now we will start creating the grunge effects, which we will replicate and modify over and over again. We start by creating tiny circles using the Ellipse Tool. When creating the circles, its best to hold the SHIFT key so that we create a perfect circle with an equal width and height

4.) Now the fun part begins, see the 5 circles we created in step 3? We have to group them as one object and clone them as often as we like.

5.) I created 3 clones , we must use the subselection tool to rearrange the circles or create more clones. You can put the clones closer together if you like.

6.) If you want to create smaller circles, we create them with a width and heigh of at least 1 or 2 using the Elipse Tool. Try cloning the circles as much as you like.

7.) Now your circles looks like a galaxy of stars already , You can group all the circles together again and make another clone , rearrange if you like. Check image 2, i duplicated the clone and used the Flip Horizontal Button. Move the clone 2 or scale them down if you wish

8.) We must convert the TEXT we created as paths, so that we can modify the look of the TEXT. So Click Text > Convert To paths

9.) Bring the clones we made in step 7 and we will start placing them in the letters.

10.) You can either move the circles to the text as a group using the pointer tool or you can manually move all the circles using the sub selection tool.

11.) Try moving some of the circles and play around with it. Put the circles either inside the letters or just near them.

12.) We then need to change the colors of the grunge circles we made into black.

13.) Select all objects, the circles and text and click Modify Ungroup , repeat this process till all groups become paths, then click Combine Paths > Union

14.) The grunge circles is now a single path, we will now use the Reshape Area Tool to edit some of the parts. The technique to reshape the paths is an experimental process, you can use a bigger or smaller tip size if you like , around 10 to 30 size would be ok.

15.) For an added effect, we flip the letters R and N using the Flip Horizontal tool

16.) Select the TEXT group and click Modify > Ungroup, repeat the process until you can see all letters as Paths. Then click Modify > Combine Paths > Union. ~ A little reminder, the fireworks text engine is pretty bad, especially the kerning, you might want to move some of the letters so that they are equally spaced  .

17.) Select both objects, then click Modify > Combine Paths > Punch. Now we have one single vector path with a grunge effect =)

18.) Still not convinced ? You can even distort the edges of the letters if you like using the Reshape Area tool ,but not too much =)

19. ) Finally , just add a fancy background =).

There are other uses for the grunge text effect, you can also use them in your other vector shapes, the possibilities are endless ! I hope you enjoy reading the tutorial, if you have questions, write a comment here or contact me thru my twitter account.

space

Creating digital artworks in Fireworks was a lot of fun , especially creating planets, galaxies and stars. I got a few space works I would like to share with you , since I dont have the source files ( old harddrive crashed years ago , but if I could recover them back I’ll post them here ) , you can download their full sized jpeg versions, just click on the images.

Im very proud of this Voe Connection Final design , this was my first space art design and the reason why I got connected with Macromedia ( now Adobe ). Creating planets and stars requires vector and bitmap manipulation, but recently I have developed a technique on creating a vector planet. I might post a tutorial soon.

This is the first time I ever colored someone’s design. Actually It was partially colored by Alan and promised him I would finish the colors and clen up the design. It was printed as a tshirt last year in the Adobe Max 2008 meet. Click Fireworks Anniversary (185)to download the source file.

Over 46 Free Fireworks RSS Buttons to download. You can change the colors of the buttons , scale them up or down ( there are some bitmaps in the grundge versions ) , and most of the buttons are all vectors so editing wont be a problem.

You can use the icons for commercial use, but you may not redistribute them and claim them as your own. Adding a comment  here once you’ve downloaded them would be nice too, i’m making another batch of buttons next month =)

Download the zip here (0).