The Wacom Bamboo drawing tablet is the first tablet I have ever owned. I’ve been able to use one through a class, but I finally decided to cave in and get one. The biggest question I’ve gotten when people see the tablet is what it is. From first look, it could be some sort of snazzy mouse pad or electronic cutting board, but the Wacom tablet is one of the most useful tools for any graphic designer or illustrator.

To explain exactly what it does, think of a notepad, but instead of having what you write go onto the paper it transcribes it onto the computer. This is extremely useful for illustrators (cartoonists, etc) and for tracing simple sketches (like logos). Although a mouse can do everything a tablet can, the tablet gives the creator more control over their work. After actively using the tablet, I couldn’t believe how much the mouse holds you back.

The quality of the tablet is astounding and is on par with any Apple product. The devices is very thin and sturdy; nothing feels cheap or easily breakable. The pressure sensitive tablet takes up most the the space, but the top houses four programmable buttons (of which I never use) and a zoom pad. The device is powered by usb making it really simple to set up or put away. The included pen is comfortable to hold in you hand, but I have found the two buttons on the pen to get in the way. Holding the pen buttons down while touching the tablet will either allow you to drag the page (like holding spacebar) or right click. The pen also has a round nub on the back for “erasing,” but I think it’s a stupid gimmick.

Using the tablet takes some getting used to. I’ve been using the Bamboo for about a month and I’m still training my hand to draw straight (on paper I draw on an angle). I, personally, am not the best illustrator (which is already apparent) and I use it more for tracing scanned-in sketches, Live Paint just doesn’t do it for me. I’ve used the tablet in Illustrator, Photoshop, and Pixelmator, all of which work well, but Photoshop by far is the best app for the tablet. In Photoshop, pressure sensitivity works really well and sketching actually feels like sketching. Illustrator can be quite frustrating, especially without having tweaked some of the settings. Pressure sensitivity does supposedly work in Illustrator, but I’ve yet to get it working.

The Wacom Bamboo tablet is worth every penny and if you’re interested in illustration, you should consider buying one. It’s simple to setup and will work on nearly every computer (works on both my mac and vista pc). The Wacom Bamboo tablet is $79. Psst! On Amazon it’s cheaper.

Creating a quality piece of artwork is tough. It takes time to create an original and powerful piece of work, but the finished product will reward you in so many ways. With the Internet at our fingertips many aspiring artist use other’s work to create their artwork. Leaving the artist and the audience with a bland taste in their mouth. It can be hard to be original, but with some inspiration it can be a little bit easier.

The web, use it the right way. 

Smashing Magazine and Behance are my two favorite places to go for ideas and techniques. I recently created a restaurant menu for a design class I was taking. The project was open-ended (just how I like it) and I was stuck at first. I kept thinking about Applebees and how boring their menu was, but when I stumbled across a couple of grungy collages (on Behance), the idea of a post WWII French restaurant came to mind. I had never seen a destroyed French restaurant, but the ideas I had taken from a Behance artist and a general understanding of WWII allowed me to create one of my favorite works. I still take a glance at the menu.

Smashing and Behance are my favorite places to go, but their are thousands of places to go for inspiration. Navigate Flickr, you’re bound to find an interesting idea or technique you could incorporate into your work.

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I just starting doing a little freelance graphic design and decided to create a business card to help publicize my services (sounds dirty). I’m calling my company ORNJ, the main colors are orange and an almost black. After creating a logo and business card, I have compiled a list of tips for designing a business card.

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Scrolling through my bookmarks and I realized my past blog favicon was a little dated. It had followed the style of my past blog theme, but not my current. A favicon is a small icon that appears next to your URL in a web browser. Readers can favorite your site and with many browsers it will also save the favicon. Having a favicon can bring old users back who may have forgotten about your blog or site. Making a favicon is easy; making one that people will remember is slightly more difficult.

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In my email the other day I got an invite to a closed beta service known as Wix. I didn’t remember signing up for the private beta, but I decided to see what it was. As soon as the page loaded I knew I had made a huge mistake.

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Kevin Rose, founder of Digg, Revision3, and Pownce, is at it again with Pance. Similar to Pownce, Pance lets you share pants with your friends around the world. How does it work? Pance is working with the postal service to offer discounted pants shipping (DPS). With a super cheap way to send pants, the idea of sending and receiving pants will revolutionize web 2.0.

The service is still in private beta and is only allowing pants sending in the United States. Kevin Rose has promised Pance integration in Pownce and Digg; giving Pance a huge network at it’s finger tips. Revision3 is also in talks to create a Pance related web show showcasing new and interesting pants.

Levi’s has given Pance $12.7 million in funding and has shown interest in offering a “one size fits all” pair of pants. The new communal pants will be durable and long lasting where ever they are in the world.

I also was able to grab a shot of the Pants website. It’s very simple and takes many design queues from Pownce. Click picture for larger picture.

When I see a great logo on the Internet I save it in a folder on my computer. I don’t save them to copy them later; I use them as inspiration or as a way to start ideas. After going through my folder of logos I’ve found four that are odd. I think the designer had something else on the mind while making these.

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While the Engadget Mobile/T-Mobile fiasco is just heating up, I was surprised to learn that colors can be trademarked. It’s hard to understand how “a visual attribute of things that results from the light they emit or transmit or reflect” or color can be trademarked. There are only so many colors (millions and millions), but it’s not like someone’s going to find a new color any time soon (the LSD crowd begs to differ). How can companies like T-Mobile trademark a color that has been created naturally? I’ve been researching the ability to trademark colors and I have yet to understand why any company has the ability to do it.

Color trademarks won’t affect the general public, but it could affect artists and designers who have to avoid certain colors. On the other hand, this helps companies separate themselves from their competition.

I was also surprised to learn that T-Mobile isn’t the only one with a trademarked color and that there are dozens of color trademarks. 

T-Mobile: Magenta

The obnoctious magenta is seen on everything from the T-mobile logo to TV commercials

UPS: Brown

“What can brown do for you?” really makes sense now.

Cadbury: Purple

Cadbury uses this purple on all of its packaging.