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.

Because TinEye compares these digital fingerprints, partial image matches can be made. The example given on the intro video shows how even parodies and Photoshopped versions of the Mona Lisa can be detected. Somehow the behind-the-scenes voodoo captures the likeness of the overall image — even partial matches can be made.

TinEye is developed by the ideé company, whose biz model seems to be the protection of online content for copyright holders. The TineEye search engine seems to be a spin-off designed to increase the awareness of the power of their search engine.

TineEye warns that at present, their image fingerprint database is still in it’s infancy — still, it’s quite impressive even at this stage.

TinEye seems like a great way for visual artists to check on the usage of their work across the web, as well as a great resource when looking for reference images.

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

TinEye — Amazing ‘Similar Image’ Search Engine is a post from: Cartooning & Illustration Blog: Coghillustration

Related posts

• Wacom Intuos3 Graphics Tablet Review for Cartoonists & Illustrators (16)
• Video: Photoshop CS4 Drag-Resize Brush Keyboard Shortcut (3)
• Ten Essential Low-Tech (and Cheap!) Tools for Cartoonists & Illustrators (3)
• Wacom Tablet: Scroll Click (4)
• Pantone Huey Monitor Calibration Tool (6)

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.

I know what you’re thinking – there’s nothing to smudge on a Wacom tablet. In the case of the Wacom however, what the creative person using a graphics tablet usually experiences instead is a bit of a tacky grab from the palm as your hand glides over the Wacom surface.

I actually purchased a SmudgeGuard in early summer when the humidity levels were unbearable – just before getting an A/C unit from my kind landlord. However, I have continued to use the SmudgeGuard and actually now have a hard time using one without it; I have come to enjoy using it that much.

Made from a very lightweight Spandex material, it fits snug – but isn’t constricting in any way. Jeannie Lit, the inventor, has a handy sizing chart and instructions on her site that worked perfect for me. there’s standard sizes – small, medium, large – so there will be a bit of variation for different users.

It works great, and glides across the surface of the Wacom perfectly. I can also see how this tool would be immensely useful for any graphic artist using the aforementioned pencil & charcoal – especially lefties.

It’s inexpensive as well – only $15 plus a couple of bucks for shipping. I would highly recommend picking one up. There’s a 30-day return as long as you return in new condition, and you should be able to tell in the first few minutes of using this if it’s for you or not.

And yes, your friends will tease you if they see you wearing it, but it’s worth the price for such a handy artist accessory. I like to pull just the pinky finger covering off and tuck it in the wrist band area when not in use, to keep it out of the way without removing it – or when friends stop over!

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 is a post from: Cartooning & Illustration Blog: Coghillustration

Related posts

• Wacom Intuos3 Graphics Tablet Review for Cartoonists & Illustrators (16)
• Video: Photoshop CS4 Drag-Resize Brush Keyboard Shortcut (3)
• Ten Essential Low-Tech (and Cheap!) Tools for Cartoonists & Illustrators (3)
• Acorn: The Leatherman Tool of Image Editors (0)
• Acorn: Handy Lightweight Pixel-Based Image Editor (0)

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.

While I am not sure where I found the original solution, this fix has saved me countless hours of headaches in the past, and also fixed a recent issue where activating certain plugins would cause the “Write Post” page to only show the HTML editor.

Seems that somehow an extra carriage return at the end of a .php file can cause all sorts of issues with plugins. The cause, I am not sure – could be an unzip artifact. Open the .php pages of the troublesome plugins using a text editor (I am using TextWrangler, which also can show line numbers – a helpful way to see that extra return at the end) and manually delete the extra returns at the end – usually after a closing “?>” (without the quotes).

TextWrangler allows you to actually open the files directly from the server and save to the server, but you may have to download the entire plugin folder, open all the .php pages in your text editor, remove those extra returns, and re-upload the plugin folder/files.

Hope that helps out some of you semi-techie people like me trying to do things yourself. This error is so obscure I doubt you’d ever discover it on your own. I had a programmer looking at this issue and he was amazed when I told him of the fix.

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 is a post from: Cartooning & Illustration Blog: Coghillustration

Related posts

• Skull-A-Day (0)
• Must-have Adobe Illustrator plugin: Zoom to Selection (4)
• Illustrator File Previews: SneakPeek Pro QuickLook Plugin For Mac OS X (0)
• Illustrator CS3 performance woes: 35% CPU usage on my G4 (0)
• WordPress Sidebar At Bottom? Div Tags Via Copy/Paste In Visual Editor (7)

A good, informative post over at TUAW (The Unofficial Apple Weblog) comparing low-cost vector software applications for Mac OS X by 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.

One of the comments on the post brought up a good point — do these apps create vector art files that are suitable/compatible with high-quality printing? That I do not have an answer for as of yet. One commenter stated that they were using one or two of these apps for design work, but didn’t specify if it was for print or just web.

For me, sticking with the CS3 suite ensures that all the files I create are compatible with each other and I know that they are ready fro print. However, for those starting out or learning vector art, a cheaper alternative may be the way to go to determine of vector art is for you, and to get a feel for the tools. In general all the vector tools (in particulat the path tools) are similar in all the apps.

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 is a post from: Cartooning & Illustration Blog: Coghillustration

Related posts

• Wacom Intuos3 Graphics Tablet Review for Cartoonists & Illustrators (16)
• CS3 + G4: Using Adobe Creative Suite CS3 on a PowerMac G4 (2)
• Illustrator File Previews: SneakPeek Pro QuickLook Plugin For Mac OS X (0)
• Pantone Huey Monitor Calibration Tool (6)
• Must-have Adobe Illustrator plugin: Zoom to Selection (4)

Adobe Illustrator plugin Phantasm CS 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. 

There’s a free trial available, which lets you demo all color control and creative Filters, Output Previews, full Separations and in-line Embedded Image Editing. The trial version includes a Brightness/Contrast control as either a Filter or live Effect. This Brightness/Contrast control trial does not expire and any Brightness/Contrast live Effects saved with your file remain completely editable in both the Trial and full version.

The plugin comes in three levels, with the basic “CS” plugin offering typical image adjustments features (Levels. Curves, etc.),  the “Designer” version adds primarily halftones & duotones, and the “Studio” version primarily adding the separation tools. pricing is $45, $95 and $175 respectively. If these tools can add to your productivity, they look to be well worth the investment.

 I haven’t installed the trial just yet, but plan to do so shortly and will post back with my thoughts. 

via The Graphic Mac

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 is a post from: Cartooning & Illustration Blog: Coghillustration

Related posts

• Wacom Intuos3 Graphics Tablet Review for Cartoonists & Illustrators (16)
• Illustrator CS3 Tip: Create A Color Group From Selected Artwork (0)
• Genopal Color Scheme Generator Software: Weird Name, Cool Tool (0)
• CS3 + G4: Using Adobe Creative Suite CS3 on a PowerMac G4 (2)
• Zen Of The Pen (2)

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.

Head on over to the awkwardly-named Electronic Federal Tax Payment System where you can sign up to link a bank account of your choice to use for electronic withdrawls to pay your taxes, and in particular your quarterly estimated tax payments. You’ll need to fill out an online application, and then they send via snail mail a confirmation letter with some top-secret codes and passwords, which you then need to call a super-secret telephone number to confirm and get your password. If you haven’t already done so, you then link a bank account with your routing numbers and account numbers and such. From there you can make a payment, and even schdule the upcoming payments before they are due, specifying the date the funds are transferred.

I have an ING Direcxt account where I keep my on-hand savings. ING Direct offers a pretty decent interest rate for money that you basically have access to when you need it. You also get access to routing numbers and all that jazz so you can use it as a direct deposit/withdrawl account. I keep my main checking account pretty much empty, transferring as much as possible to the ING Savings account to earn some interest and save for taxes, major purchases in the future and the like.

Up until this point in time I was just paying the IRS penalty every year for not filing my quarterly payments, and this year decided to put an end to that nonsense. I do just about every other financial transaction possible online, and made a point this year to find a way to handle these tax payments as well. It actually was pretty easy to find once I actually looked.

Do yourself a favor an automate the process – no more checks, no more stamps, no more paying all your taxes at the end of the year and freaking out that you might not have put enough away.

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 is a post from: Cartooning & Illustration Blog: Coghillustration

Related posts

• Tips For Freelance Illustrators: Nate Williams (0)
• Pencil Grades: An Overview (0)
• Illustrator CS3 Tip: Create A Color Group From Selected Artwork (0)
• Digital Coloring Tutorials by MAD Magazine cartoonist Tom Richmond (2)
• 12 Realities of Pricing Design Services (0)

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 2 is, as the name implies, a followup to an extremely Mac-only discount shareware software bundle promotion that debuted in the winter of 2007. Until January 23, 2008 at midnight, for $49 you can snag $370 worth of quality software. 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!  

There was some concern last year that the developers were getting heisted themselves, but as an internet friend of the developer of Awaken, I have found that he is extremely pleased with the deal and his involvement in this year’s promo. So you get a phenomenal discount, and the developers are happy. Win-win situation. And on top of this, a decent percentage of the proceeds are going to charity as well!

The bundle includes:

• 1Password $29.95: Password manager that I own and absolutely love.
• CoverSutra $22.00: Cool itunes controller, own this from an earlier MacUpdate promo.
• Cha-Ching $40.00: Personal finance app. Got a limited license from the last MacHeist, but never really used it. Looked pretty nice though.
• iStopMotion $49.00: Animation software, never used.
• Awaken $12.95: Awesome iTunes alarm clock, own it.
• Speed Download $25.00: Never used.
• AppZapper $12.95: Cleans up prefs and other random files when you delete an application. I own it, but use Hazel for this instead (Hazel kicks serious butt).
• TaskPaper $18.95: To-do list manager. Bought during a MacUpdate promo, but now using (and loving) Things. TaskPaper was nice though.
• CSSEdit $29.95: CSS editor for websites, I have been wanting to learn some CSS and this would be the app I would get for doing edits. Might be worth the bundle for this and some others.
• Snapz Pro X $69.00: Screen capture utility that grabs videos. Demoed, but I like Screenflicks better.
• Pixelmator $59.00: Cool “Photoshop Lite” pixel image editor. Demoed, but the MacHeist bundle might just be worth it for this alone.

Total Value : $368.75

There is also a rumored 12th app to be released as the promotion nears it’s close. There’s even an open space on the home page for this mystery app. But even as-is, this is a great deal. For the price of 2 or 3 apps on here (in some cases even just one), and you get the rest for free. And it seems you can assign your license to other people for apps you already own, so a great way to pick up what you need and share with friends or family. There’s a nice mix of fun and functional in this bundle. It’s such a great deal on so many great application I am almost tempted to get it just so I can hook up a Mac friend, and snag CSS Edit and Pixelmator in the process!

If you own none of these apps, I highly recommend 1Password , Awaken and AppZapper and CoverSutra from regular usage. Just these alsone, and you save money. Head on over to MacHeist and take advantage of this while it lasts.

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 is a post from: Cartooning & Illustration Blog: Coghillustration

Related posts

• Genopal Color Scheme Generator Software: Weird Name, Cool Tool (0)
• CS3 + G4: Using Adobe Creative Suite CS3 on a PowerMac G4 (2)
• Acorn: The Leatherman Tool of Image Editors (0)
• Acorn: Handy Lightweight Pixel-Based Image Editor (0)
• Wikipedia Goes Legit (1)

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.

The default Adobe Illustrator select menu set offers: Brush Strokes, Clipping Masks, Stray Points, Text Objects, Flash Dynamic Text and Flash Input Text. Select Menu adds the following useful items: Guides, Paths, Open Paths, Closed Paths, Filled Paths, Unfilled Paths, Stroked Paths, Unstroked Paths, Dashed Paths, Undashed Paths, Compound Paths, Groups, Live Object Groups, Gradient Meshes, Envelopes, Symbols, Raster Art and Placed EPS Art.

These additions quickly become essential tools, and like I mentioned above you’ll soon forget that these aren’t built-in to Illustrator, they are that handy. And be sure to check out the other free and reasonably-priced plugins available as well. And for another great plugin, check out my post on the Zoom To Selection Illustrator plugin.

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 is a post from: Cartooning & Illustration Blog: Coghillustration

Related posts

• Wacom Intuos3 Graphics Tablet Review for Cartoonists & Illustrators (16)
• Video: Photoshop CS4 Drag-Resize Brush Keyboard Shortcut (3)
• Must-have Adobe Illustrator plugin: Zoom to Selection (4)
• Genopal Color Scheme Generator Software: Weird Name, Cool Tool (0)
• Free Printable Keyboard Shortcut Cards for Adobe Illustrator, Photoshop & More (4)

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.

Out of the box, this thing impresses. Looks very slick, and is amazingly and significantly thinner than the Intuos3 series graphics tablets. Also, the non-active area around the tablet is much reduced, although it may be an optical illusion based on the differing placement of the buttons and scroll area.

The scroll area is round, as opposed to the vertical Touch Strip on the Intuos. I don’t like the Intuos3’s TouchStrip, and found the round touch-sensitive scroll area on the Bamboo to be much more ergonomic. The Bamboo has a unique pen as well, about the same thickness as the Intuos3 stylus, but shorter. It has a decent weight and balance to it, but here I prefer the Intuos3 stylus.

Driver installation was a breeze – the software doesn’t even require a reboot on OS X. Otherwise you just plug it in to a free USB port and you’re all set. One nice feature on the Bamboo that I wish my Intuos had: a detachable USB cable. Nice touch, and I have no idea why the smallest model in the Intuos3 series doesn’t follow suit. Not a deal-breaker for the Intuos3, but cool nonetheless.

I let Dad play around for a while, a bit (understandably) bewildered. Using a graphics tablet takes some acclimatization; I usually recommend using for at least an hour a day for about a month or so. Your mind & meat need to get used to the mechanics of the new device. I swear by ‘Pen Mode’ , where the area of the tablet is matched exactly to the area of the monitor. There’s also ‘Mouse Mode’, where the tablet acts just like a mouse – you can lift away from the tablet surface and drop the stylus back down in another area on the tablet, and the pointer stays where you left it on-screen. Dad seemed to prefer Mouse Mode, but I think that preference will soon wear off. It probably helps with the transition, however.

When I finally had my chance to play with the Bamboo a bit, the first glaring difference I noticed was in the material used for the tablet surface itself – much less silky than the Intuos3 surface. Not bad by any means, but after using the pro series, it’s very noticeable. It reminds me very much of the surface on the old Wacom tablet I use at a contract client’s office who still uses G3 computers (and OS9!) – those older tablets need Apple’s old ADB/serial port that is now (thankfully) discontinued on Macs in favor of USB. I’m not sure of the exact model, but it was not a pro series for sure. Probably an equivalent to the niche the Bamboo now fills.

Another major difference was the driver software. I was quite surprised to see that the Bamboo driver software does not support application-specific settings as does the Intuos3 series. You can set sensitivity settings and customize the stylus buttons, but these are applied system-wide.

Not a major issue, but for customization geeks like myself, this is a limiting feature. Per-application settings for stylus button functions and pressure sensitivity is handy for those instances when you want it. For the target Bamboo customer though, probably fine. The driver software also required you to set everything with sliders, as opposed to the small “scratch pad” area on the Intuos3 driver which would interpret your actual stylus usage and set the sliders automagically.

I thought to myself that Wacom should incorporate the advanced Intuos3 features in the preferences – but gray them out so users would know what other features are available with the high-end models.

Otherwise, the Bamboo was quite impressive, especially considering the price point. I went with the bare-bones version because I knew the Bamboo Fun’s mouse would never be used, and the Bamboo Fun also didn’t look a sleek as the standard version – the rounded edges make it look too toy-like. With a lower pressure sensitivity than the Intuos3 series, you have to allow for the inherent differences. But for basic, casual drawing and photo retouching — as well as general input device usage — the Bamboo delivers.

If you are a graphics professional, or prefer more customization with your tools, I highly suggest spending the extra cash to get an Intuos3 series graphics tablet instead; it’s well worth the price jump. However for the basic, occasional use — or for an introduction into the world of graphics tablets — you can’t go wrong with the Wacom Bamboo.

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 is a post from: Cartooning & Illustration Blog: Coghillustration

Related posts

• Wacom Intuos3 Graphics Tablet Review for Cartoonists & Illustrators (16)
• Wikipedia Goes Legit (1)
• Wacom Tablet: Scroll Click (4)
• Great Wacom Tablet Scrolling Software For Mac OS X: Smart Scroll X (4)
• CS3 + G4: Using Adobe Creative Suite CS3 on a PowerMac G4 (2)

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.

Just one less thing holding me back from jumping to Leopard, and looking forward to it. Seems the Wacom notes point to an issue with the login window, so most likely your tablet should have been working fine in Leopard for the most part. Nice to know that Wacom has officially looked into things and cleared up the minor glitches.

via MacUpdate

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 is a post from: Cartooning & Illustration Blog: Coghillustration

Related posts

• Great Wacom Tablet Scrolling Software For Mac OS X: Smart Scroll X (4)
• Acorn: The Leatherman Tool of Image Editors (0)
• Acorn: Handy Lightweight Pixel-Based Image Editor (0)
• Wikipedia Goes Legit (1)
• Wacom Tablet: Scroll Click (4)