GIMP Tutorial – The User Interface

GIMPLite Quickies

Important GIMP hotkeys

Transparent Glass Lettering

Glow Effect

How to Create a Gradient Background Image in GIMP

Making a Web 2.0 Logo in GIMP

Make a Gimp pattern from scratch

Quickmask Tutorial

How To Create Your Own Website Design Using Gimp

BG Tutorial 1: Caution tape

Vista Button

30 Ultimate Web 2.0 Layer Styles for Gimp

He has a few other videos…
Link Building 101 Rap
Paid Search 101 Rap
Social Media Addiction Rap
Conversion Closing Rap
Worth a watch and you might actually learn something.

talkfreelance

A very developed forum. There are over 14,000 members and over 400,000 posts. The forum is broken down into 6 sections: Information – general news and feedback, Marketplace – buy/sell and services offered/wanted, Design, Web Site Development, Management, Marketing, and Monetizing – a good place for a beginner freelancer to browse, and Community. I really enjoy browsing this forum – there is a lot of great information and it is one of the best designs I've seen.

agd – graphic design forum

All Graphic Design's forum. A lot of it is about design tools and concepts, but scroll down to the Conducting Business section to find some good business tips for freelancing. There are topics like Price Guidelines, Contracts, Freelance Jobs & Web Design Consulting. There is even a section called Portfolio Work for Students – it's a place where people with a small budget can hire students which helps the student grow their portfolio.

FreelanceSwitch Forums

FreelanceSwitch – pretty much everyone knows about them, but some don't realize they have a forum section. It's full of good information, tips and tricks, and all that good stuff. When you visit, it starts at the 'Discussions' page, but if you click on 'Categories' to the left of the character it's a little easier to browse.

HOW Forums

We know they offer up a graphic design magazine, but they also have a forum section on their site. There are some very good topics for freelancers – Business Talk and Career Advice are two that would help any freelancer or someone looking for a in-house/ agency job.

FreelanceGossip

A little slim on the amount of users and posts, but still some descent information about website marketing and other discussions.

High-res Floral Photoshop Brushes

from bittbox

Japanese Foliage Photoshop Brushes

from Designfruit

Nature Photoshop Brushes

from Anodyne at getbrushes.com

Jenn B's Typographic Grunge Photoshop Brushes

from getbrushes.com

VPDesigns Omega Photoshop Brushes

from getbrushes.com

Tatto Photoshop Brushes

from Designfruit

Tech Photoshop Brushes

from Obsidian Dawn

Stars Photoshop Brushes

by hawksmont at Brusheezy

Vector Brush Set V2

by The-Rapture at Brusheezy

Vector Circle Photoshop Brushes

by solenero73 at Brusheezy

Communication Arts

"[Communication Arts] is the largest creative magazine in the world and showcases the top work in graphic design, advertising, illustration, photography and interactive design."

Computer Arts

"You will find step-by-step tutorials, tonnes of tips and tricks for web design, typography, 3D, animation, motion graphics and multimedia. Together with reviews of the latest hardware and software releases, enhance your skills and knowledge with creative tips, technical advice and interviews from the leading experts in the global design world."

Graphics Arts

"Graphic Arts Monthly is widely recognized as the most authoritative publication covering applied technology for the printing industry."

Graphic Design USA

"Graphic Design USA is a monthly news and information magazine for and about the professional design community including graphic design firms, corporate and publishing inhouse departments, advertising agencies, institutions and non-profits, and other creative businesses and organizations."

HOW

"The magazine provides a practical mix of essential business information, up-to-date technological tips, the creative whys and hows behind noteworthy projects, and profiles of professionals who are influencing design."

Layers

"The how to magazine for everything adobe" Tutorials, tips and tricks, product reviews, interviews, featured articles.

.net

".net delivers cutting edge practical advice on the full range of topics essential for today’s web builders: design, development, sales, marketing, usability and accessibility, information architecture, security, copywriting, advertising and more."

Website Magazine

"Providing Essential 'Net Info for Website Owners, our mission is to help our readers and visitors succeed by providing helpful and valuable information about online business trends, industry insights and best practices."

Digital Media World

"DMW is packed with information and inspiration for digital content creators all around the world . Features covering Digital Video- Animation- Digital Imaging- Web design – Games- Film & TV – Visualisation plus news reviews industry contacts and much more."

The International Design Magazine

"I.D. Magazine is America’s leading critical magazine covering the art, business, and culture of design."

Step Inside Design

"Each issue includes profiles of visionary creatives, thoughtful analysis on business issues, and essays and commentaries on design’s most relevant questions. It’s the one magazine that shows you the world of design from the inside out and goes beyond the “who” and the “how” to explore the “why” of contemporary design."

Print

"PRINT is a bimonthly magazine about visual culture and design. Covering a field as broad as communication itself, PRINT documents and critiques commercial, social, and environmental design"

A blog about web design, news, styles, and graphics.

vitamin

Web design and development resources.

Vandelay

A blog about web design and tips on marketing web sites.

Smashing Magazine

Tips, inspiration, tutorials, and news.

Sitepoint

Web design and development articles, forums, and a marketplace to sell your sites.

DesignVitality

A web and graphic design blog.

deziner folio

Web and graphic design tutorials and resources.

cssBeauty

News, articles, and inspiration for web designers.

cre8asite forums

Forum on all things web design, web development, and graphic design.

bittbox

More of a graphic design blog – but great resources.

New To Photoshop

Just learning Photoshop? Opening the program and seeing all the different options can be very daunting to a beginner. Here are a few resources I found that should be very useful to anyone new to Photoshop, upgrading to a newer version, or someone who just wants to better understand the basics.

Photoshop: An Introduction
This tutorial goes into the user interface of Photoshop CS2 in great detail. It is laid out very nicely. They breakdown pretty much every aspect and there are multiple screenshots – some are even color-coded to match with a description below the image. If you are new to Photoshop this one is a must.

Creating a New Document
Creating a new document might sound like a no-brainer, but there are many options when creating a new file in Phothshop. This video tutorial will help you learn all about it.

Photoshop Crash Course
Long tutorial – claims it will take just under 4 hours to get through – lots of images and good information. "The hope of this tutorial is to get you up and running in photoshop in less then four hour's time. It assumes no prior photoshop knowledge but an eagerness to learn." Definitely worth a look.

Photoshop Tips and Tricks for Beginners
Good list of tips and tricks for people who are new to Photoshop.

Photoshop Layers Essential Power Shortcuts
Learn how to work with layers in Phothshop CS2. Plenty of tips and tricks for the beginner or any level of user.

Tool Specific Tips and Tutorials

Extracting with the Pen Tool
Video tutorial showing how to accurately extract images from a background.

Overview on the Gradient Tool
In depth look at the gradient tool and how it is used.

Mastering Layer Mask
Learn the power of layer masks in Photoshop.

Type Tool: Tips and Tricks
Learn about the Type tool in Photoshop.

Custom Shapes and Layer Styles
Get more out of your custom shapes with these tips.

Other Tips, Tricks, and Tutorials

How to Imporve your Photoshop Skill
10 Tips to help you get better at Photoshop.

Photoshop CS2 Keyboard Shortcuts – PC
A list of keyboard shortcuts to help you work quicker.

Add Stock Textures to Images for extra Oomph
Nice tutorial showing you how to setup a scene in Photoshop and add a texture to make it pop.

A Slick Supernatural Text Effect
"In this tutorial we'll be creating a smokey night effect on text to give it an eerie supernatural sort of feel. It's a good exercise in using the Wave distortion filter…"

Bling Effect in Photoshop
Sweet gold bling effect in Photoshop.

Puzzle Effect
Apply a cool puzzle looking effect to a photograph or image.

Here is a quick run down of some HTML block-level elements – some are linked to previous articles here at freeyourdesign.com

<address> </address> 

   Used for contact information - italicizes text

<blockquote> </blockquote>

   Used for long quotation - indents text left and right

<dd> </dd>

   definition in definition list

<div> </div>

   Used to create generic block-level element

<dl> </dl>

   definition list

<dt> </dt>

   term in definition list

<h#> </h#>

   Headings - # is 1 through 6

<li> </li>

   Element in an ordered or unordered list

<ol> </ol>

   Ordered List

<p> </p>

   Paragraph

<ul> </ul>

   Unordered List