SUMERA’S Weblog

This is why it’s good to be conservative when it comes to web fonts. Your beautifully designed page can look horrible when displayed on someone else’s browser. Don’t let your hard work go to waste. Stick to fonts such as Helvetica, Arial, Times New Roman, or Verdana. All web browsers are capable of displaying these fonts. However, if you do want to use a creative font, you can include it in a graphic file. But this will cause your page to load slower.

If you’re a print designer faced with designing a web page, take time to study the subject. You will be able to create a pleasing and effective site if you recognize the differences between print and web design.

If you’ve come here after reading my article “The Myth of DPI” you’ll already know that DPI has nothing to do with digital image resolution or quality. However, some people and places who are still ignorant of that fact (many graphics designers, magazines and print shops) still insist of getting a photo of ___DPI (usually 300 DPI) even when the photo’s pixel resolution is sufficient to print the photo at the required PPI. The easy solution (rather than trying to educate them about real digital photo resolution) is to simply change the DPI of your image to whatever they want and send it along to them.

You may also wish to change the DPI so that the image will default size to the intended print dimensions when loaded into a word processor or desk top publishing program. For instance, if you want to set a 1500 pixel wide photo so that it will default to a 4 inch print dimension, then change the DPI setting of the photo to 375 DPI (1500 pixels divided by 4 inches = 375 pixels per inch).

The trick when changing the DPI is to do it without resizing (resampling) your image in the process. You want to change the DPI while retaining the original pixel dimensions (the real digital resolution) of the photo. I’ll provide two examples, one using Adobe Photoshop and the other using the free photo program Irfanview.

Note that this procedure will not change the digital photo in any way other than to alter the internal DPI setting. The size and resolution of the digital image will be unchanged.

Adobe Photoshop Method

note that the “Resample Image” box is UNCHECKED and that the “Resolution” has been set to 300

1. Load your image into Adobe Photoshop (or Photoshop Elements).
2. Select the “Image > Image Size” menu option (may be “Image > Resize > Image Size” in Photoshop Elements).
3. In the image size dialog window, deselect the “Resample Image” checkbox (make sure there is no checkmark in that box).
4. In the “Resolution” box type in 300 (or whatever DPI you want)
5. Click the “OK” button
6. Your image DPI has now been set to whatever you want (leaving the pixel dimensions of the image unchanged).
7. Save this photo with a new name – I suggest adding a -300dpi extender (i.e. “345-2365-300dpi.jpg”) to identify this new DPI image.
8. See note below when saving to JPEG format

Irfanview Method

1. Load your image into Irfanview
2. Select the “Image > Resize/Resample” option
3. In that dialog window you’ll see a specific DPI data box
4. Simply enter whatever DPI you want without adjusting anything else in that dialog window.
5. Click on the “OK” button
6. Your image DPI has now been set to whatever you want (leaving the pixel dimensions of the image unchanged).
7. Use “Save As” to save this photo with a new name – I suggest adding a -300dpi extender (i.e. “345-2365-300dpi.jpg”) to identify this new DPI image.
8. See note below when saving to JPEG format

Saving to JPEG – please note that JPEG is a digital photo format that uses variable compression – that is, you can change the compression. Your camera should (if you have it set correctly) be using low compression (highest quality). To emulate this when doing a “save as” from a photo program, choose a compression of about 95 (Adobe Quality 10+).

So, using Irfanview, when you do a “Save As” in JPEG format, note the dialog box with the JPEG options – move the slider to 95 (or higher if you wish) for best image quality. With Adobe Photoshop (incl. Elements) – choose quality 10 or higher in the dialog box that comes up when you do a Save As in JPEG format.

A verification is to check the image filesize (in kilobytes or megabytes) of your copy of the photo against the original digital photo. They probably won’t be identical, but should be close. If there is a big discrepancy in filesize then you’ve done something wrong.

Other Programs

Other photo programs are going to have a similar process. The key is to make sure that the image IS NOT being resampled (pixel resized) when the DPI is changed. As long as the pixel dimensions remain unchanged, your new DPI photo will be identical to your original photo, only the internal DPI setting of the photo will have been changed. Your print shop, graphics designer or magazine should be happy campers with your “new higher DPI” image.

1. Make your star shape

Use the Star tool and hold Shift to make a Star shape (or any shape you want, really) on the artboard. (everything you see here is exact size).

2. Extrude your shape

With your Star selected, in the Effect menu go to 3D > Extrude and Bevel.

Check the ‘Preview’ option so you can see what you’re working with.

Now you should see something like this:

Now take the ‘Perspective’ setting all the way to the right (160 degrees)

Now make your Extrude depth something like 900 or so.

Click on the blue box and drag to get your desired rotation.

Click OK, and you should have something like this:

3. Expand Appearance

Now that we have our 3D shape, we will most likely want to have a little more control over it. Go to Object > Expand Appearance and click OK to get rid of the effect and separate our effect into individual shapes that we can edit.

You’ll notice that we now have individual shapes for each side of the 3D star shape (and the effect s gone as well, which is good). Great! Now lets make a few more changes.

4. Fill the Sides with a Gradient.

To do this, you can either ungroup (about 3 times) until you can select the individual shapes, or you can use the Direct Select Tool (white arrow) to select the individual shapes and fill them with a gradient.

Do the same for all of the sides.

This is pretty much a 3D Vintage Star already, but there are a few extra touches we can add to take it a step further.

5. Offset the Front Face of the Star

To do this you will, again, either have to ungroup everything until you can select an individual shape, or use the Direct Select Tool (white arrow).

Select the face of the Star.

In the menu, go to Object > Path > Offset Path.

Choose a negative value for the offset. (Negative = Smaller/Inside the Selected Shape) I chose -8px.

Click OK and you will see your original Star face, and the new offset one.

Click once on the blank artboard to deselect everything, then use the Direct Select Tool to select the new (smaller) star.

Fill this smaller star with a different color to add something a little extra to your vintage star design.

Take it a step further:

6. Add a stroke around the entire group.

Hit Command/Control + A to select everything, then hold Option/Alt, click, drag and release to duplicate your shape. (or you can copy and paste if you like)

Now, select the NEW group of shapes and if they are grouped, you must ungroup them until you can select individual shapes with the black arrow. DON”T SKIP THIS STEP.

Now, with all of the new (individual) shapes selected, in the Pathfinder palette (Window > Pathfinder) hit the “Add to Shape Area” button.

Keep everything selected the way it is and immediately hit the “Expand” button in the Pathfinder palette.

Sweetness! Now we have a single vector path that is an exact copy of our 3d Star shape. Now all we have to do is add a Stroke and Align. You can change the fill if you want, but you won’t be able to see it anyway. It’s up to you. I chose a dark 3px Stroke.

7. Align Your 2 Shapes

IMPORTANT: To align, first, make sure your shape on the left (the ‘3d’ shape is grouped). Then select both of your shapes like below, and hit these two buttons in the Align palette (Window > Align) in any order. (you probably want to uncheck ‘align to artboard’ in the palette options first).

If your shape with the stroke is on top it will look like this. So all you have to do to get it behind the 3d shape is (with the black arrow) click on the blank artboard once to deselect everything. Then select your top shape with the stroke on it, and hit Command/Control + { until it gets behind your 3d star shape.

Now it should look something like this!

That should be enough to get you started, but I have one extra tip for you before you go…

Extra Bling

You can literally do anything you want from this point, but here is a quick tip to take it one more step:

You can easily make the front of your vintage star appear to be ‘inset’ by simply duplicating the smaller star shape, filling it with a dark color, and nudging it up and over. Like this:

Illustrator Tutorial: How To Make 3D Vector Vintage Stars

I’m going to walk you through a technique to create vintage looking 3d stars in Illustrator. You guessed it, 100% vector. By the time we’re done, there will be 0 (zero) effects, or filters. You will have a very useful vintage star vector on your artboard, and a new skill to go with it. With vector art gaining ground every day because of its long-term value and versatility, new vector art styles are constantly emerging. I’ve seen quite a few of these 3D style shapes that seem to ‘pop’ out at you being used in many different applications. As always, it’s not quite as hard as you would think. You might just need a little shove in the right direction. Ok, lets make one ourselves!

1. Make your star shape

Use the Star tool and hold Shift to make a Star shape (or any shape you want, really) on the artboard. (everything you see here is exact size).

2. Extrude your shape

With your Star selected, in the Effect menu go to 3D > Extrude and Bevel.

Check the ‘Preview’ option so you can see what you’re working with.

Now you should see something like this:

Now take the ‘Perspective’ setting all the way to the right (160 degrees)

Now make your Extrude depth something like 900 or so.

Click on the blue box and drag to get your desired rotation.

Click OK, and you should have something like this:

3. Expand Appearance

Now that we have our 3D shape, we will most likely want to have a little more control over it. Go to Object > Expand Appearance and click OK to get rid of the effect and separate our effect into individual shapes that we can edit.

You’ll notice that we now have individual shapes for each side of the 3D star shape (and the effect s gone as well, which is good). Great! Now lets make a few more changes.

4. Fill the Sides with a Gradient.

To do this, you can either ungroup (about 3 times) until you can select the individual shapes, or you can use the Direct Select Tool (white arrow) to select the individual shapes and fill them with a gradient.

Do the same for all of the sides.

This is pretty much a 3D Vintage Star already, but there are a few extra touches we can add to take it a step further.

5. Offset the Front Face of the Star

To do this you will, again, either have to ungroup everything until you can select an individual shape, or use the Direct Select Tool (white arrow).

Select the face of the Star.

In the menu, go to Object > Path > Offset Path.

Choose a negative value for the offset. (Negative = Smaller/Inside the Selected Shape) I chose -8px.

Click OK and you will see your original Star face, and the new offset one.

Click once on the blank artboard to deselect everything, then use the Direct Select Tool to select the new (smaller) star.

Fill this smaller star with a different color to add something a little extra to your vintage star design.

Take it a step further:

6. Add a stroke around the entire group.

Hit Command/Control + A to select everything, then hold Option/Alt, click, drag and release to duplicate your shape. (or you can copy and paste if you like)

Now, select the NEW group of shapes and if they are grouped, you must ungroup them until you can select individual shapes with the black arrow. DON”T SKIP THIS STEP.

Now, with all of the new (individual) shapes selected, in the Pathfinder palette (Window > Pathfinder) hit the “Add to Shape Area” button.

Keep everything selected the way it is and immediately hit the “Expand” button in the Pathfinder palette.

Sweetness! Now we have a single vector path that is an exact copy of our 3d Star shape. Now all we have to do is add a Stroke and Align. You can change the fill if you want, but you won’t be able to see it anyway. It’s up to you. I chose a dark 3px Stroke.

7. Align Your 2 Shapes

IMPORTANT: To align, first, make sure your shape on the left (the ‘3d’ shape is grouped). Then select both of your shapes like below, and hit these two buttons in the Align palette (Window > Align) in any order. (you probably want to uncheck ‘align to artboard’ in the palette options first).

If your shape with the stroke is on top it will look like this. So all you have to do to get it behind the 3d shape is (with the black arrow) click on the blank artboard once to deselect everything. Then select your top shape with the stroke on it, and hit Command/Control + { until it gets behind your 3d star shape.

Now it should look something like this!

That should be enough to get you started, but I have one extra tip for you before you go…

Extra Bling

You can literally do anything you want from this point, but here is a quick tip to take it one more step:

You can easily make the front of your vintage star appear to be ‘inset’ by simply duplicating the smaller star shape, filling it with a dark color, and nudging it up and over. Like this:

Bonus Freebie:

You can download the file I used to make the Cover Image at the beginning of this tutorial! (vector)

Download EPS (Ill version 8 eps)

Includes: – EPS (1)