Tools | Cartooning & Illustration Blog: Coghillustration

Archive for the 'tools' Category

TinEye — Amazing ‘Similar Image’ Search Engine

Published

on September 14, 2008

. 0 Comments

I know what you’re thinking — Google already has an image search. But TinEye is different.

TinEye’s image search works by uploading an image or giving TinEye a URL for a webpage or image link. From there, TinEye uses proprietary search magic to compare the uploaded image to it’s ever-increasing database of images. Some sort of digital fingerprint is generated for images it collects as it scours the web, and these digital fingerprints are used for the comparison. The results are quite impressive.

Continue reading 'TinEye — Amazing ‘Similar Image’ Search Engine'

by George Coghill -
View my cartoon character and mascot illustration portfolio
Contact me to get started on your own custom cartoon illustration projects.

SmudgeGuard - Handy Accessory For Wacom Users & Graphic Artists

Published

George Coghill

on August 28, 2008

in tools

. 2 Comments

Yeah, I know - it looks kinda weird. And what is the SmudgeGuard exactly? As you can see from the product shot, it’s kind of a glove - one that only covers the pinky finger and the meaty area of the palm below.

Originally designed for artist lefties who were always smudging their work when drawing their palms across their artwork, it’s also useful for any artist working in pencil, charcoal or related media where a hand-drag can smudge the artwork. And, interestingly enough, it’s also quite useful for Wacom graphics tablet users.

Continue reading 'SmudgeGuard - Handy Accessory For Wacom Users & Graphic Artists'

by George Coghill -
View my cartoon character and mascot illustration portfolio
Contact me to get started on your own custom cartoon illustration projects.

Fix For WordPress Visual Editor Conflict With Certain Plugins

Published

George Coghill

on August 21, 2008

in tools

. 3 Comments

This post is a bit off-topic, but seeing as how I found a fix for an issue that seems to be affecting a lot of WordPress users, and I find many a solution to my WordPress issues on other blogs, I thought I would post.

If you are finding that activating certain plugins on your self-hosted WordPress installation is breaking the Visual Editor, this may be the fix you are looking for.

Continue reading 'Fix For WordPress Visual Editor Conflict With Certain Plugins'

by George Coghill -
View my cartoon character and mascot illustration portfolio
Contact me to get started on your own custom cartoon illustration projects.

Mac Vector App Showdown

Published

George Coghill

on May 14, 2008

in Adobe Illustrator, OS X, shareware and tools

. 0 Comments

A good, informative post over at TUAW (The Unofficial Apple Weblog) comparing low-cost vector software applications for Mac OS X byÂ indepedent developers. The review is specifically comparing tools and techniques available in Adobe Illustrator CS3.

The comparison covers four applications: DrawBerry, EazyDraw, Lineform, and VectorDesigner. I have demoed all of these at one point or another, and found each to have their stregths and weaknesses.

Continue reading 'Mac Vector App Showdown'

by George Coghill -
View my cartoon character and mascot illustration portfolio
Contact me to get started on your own custom cartoon illustration projects.

Adobe Illustrator plugin Phantasm CS Studio Offers Duotones,Vector Halftones, Filters, Live Effects Color Adjustment & More

Published

George Coghill

on April 26, 2008

in Adobe Illustrator and tools

. 0 Comments

Halftone dots example Adobe Illustrator pluginÂ Phantasm CSÂ offers in-line embedded image editing, color checking and separations, duotones and vector halftones, filters and live effects color adjustment. Looks like a pretty great plugin for Illustrator users who do a lot of bitmap image placing.

Personally I do any layout work in InDesign, and not much of my work requires having bitmap images in the Illustrator file outside of placing a template for tracing. However, the halftone and separation features look like they might be really handy.Â

Continue reading 'Adobe Illustrator plugin Phantasm CS Studio Offers Duotones,Vector Halftones, Filters, Live Effects Color Adjustment & More'

by George Coghill -
View my cartoon character and mascot illustration portfolio
Contact me to get started on your own custom cartoon illustration projects.

Automated Online Estimated Tax Payments For Freelancers & Self-Employed

Published

George Coghill

on April 22, 2008

in productivity and tools

. 0 Comments

Just a quick tip for the freelancing and self-employed — that pain you feel paying all your taxes at once because you’re too lazy or forgetful to dole out your quarterly tax payments to Uncle Sam? It’s over. If you’re like me, and 99% of your banking and bill-paying is done online, there’s a tax payment solution for you.

Continue reading 'Automated Online Estimated Tax Payments For Freelancers & Self-Employed'

by George Coghill -
View my cartoon character and mascot illustration portfolio
Contact me to get started on your own custom cartoon illustration projects.

11+ Excellent Mac OS X applications for a phenomenal price: MacHeist 2

Published

George Coghill

on January 15, 2008

in OS X, software and tools

. 0 Comments

As you may have noticed on this blog, I am a bit of a software junkie, particularly shareware/freeware. I love the ingenious functionality some of these independent developers bring to OS X, and also the direct access you have to the creators of the software.

MacHeist 2Â is, as the name implies, a followup to an extremelyÂ Mac-only discount shareware software bundleÂ promotion that debuted in the winter of 2007. Until January 23, 2008 at midnight, for $49 you can snag $370 worth of quality software.Â Last year’s apps were decent, this year’s apps are outstanding. My only regret is that I already own most of the apps that I would want out of the bundle!Â Â

Continue reading '11+ Excellent Mac OS X applications for a phenomenal price: MacHeist 2'OS X applications for a phenomenal price: MacHeist 2′

by George Coghill -
View my cartoon character and mascot illustration portfolio
Contact me to get started on your own custom cartoon illustration projects.

Essential Adobe Illustrator Plug-in: Select Menu

Published

George Coghill

on January 13, 2008

in Adobe Illustrator, freeware, productivity, software and tools

. 0 Comments

A plugin that I always forget to tout, since the functionality it provides seems so intrinsic to Illustrator once it’s installed, I forget it’s a third-party enhancement.

Select Menu for Adobe Illustrator (Mac and Windows, free) from Graffix Software is available for every version of Illustrator from 8 on up to CS3. It adds additional selectable items under the Select -> Objects menu.

This plugin really comes in handy at the production stage of prepping your art, allowing you to find all sorts of items that you need to preflight. It especially comes in handy after flattening transparency, such as when you export art to an older version of Illustrator. I find lots of klunky and open paths all over the place after flattening transparency, and I couldn’t imagine how much of a pain in the neck it would be to clean up art without Select Menu.

Continue reading 'Essential Adobe Illustrator Plug-in: Select Menu'

by George Coghill -
View my cartoon character and mascot illustration portfolio
Contact me to get started on your own custom cartoon illustration projects.

Wacom Bamboo Graphics Tablet: Nice Entry-Level Tool, But Limited

Published

George Coghill

on December 25, 2007

in gadgets, reviews and tools

. 19 Comments

I recently had the opportunity to try out a Wacom Bamboo graphics tablet, having purchased one for my Dad this holiday season. Dad is not a graphics guy by any means, but I use my Wacom tablets for so much more than just drawing and graphics applications - and love it so much - that I thought the Bamboo was a perfect accessory for another ardent computer geek.

In short, the Bamboo is a great entry-level tablet for casual users, but graphic artists will want to seriously consider investing in one of the pricier, but more fully-featured Intuos3 models. Read on for full details.

Continue reading 'Wacom Bamboo Graphics Tablet: Nice Entry-Level Tool, But Limited'

by George Coghill -
View my cartoon character and mascot illustration portfolio
Contact me to get started on your own custom cartoon illustration projects.

Wacom Tablet Driver for Mac OS X 10.5 Leopard Released

Published

George Coghill

on December 8, 2007

in OS X, tools and updates

. 2 Comments

Just a quick post to let all you Wacom users out there know that a Wacom driver which supports compatibility with Mac OS X 10.5 Leopard is now available. The new version is 6.05-3.

Continue reading 'Wacom Tablet Driver for Mac OS X 10.5 Leopard Released'OS X 10.5 Leopard Released’

by George Coghill -
View my cartoon character and mascot illustration portfolio
Contact me to get started on your own custom cartoon illustration projects.