Bryan Bedell at Jewelboxing on The Art of Disc Labelling
By: Erik Vlietinck
May 07, 2008
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With DiscLabel 5.2.x and Disc Cover 2.x being released, we decided it was a good moment to review these two applications and simultaneously ask an objective designer who has a lot of know-how in disc labelling, what he thinks of these applications, the market, and what designers want and need. The people at Jewelboxing were the first we thought about. They’re specialised, they’re experienced and they’re well-known. I had an e-mail based interview with Bryan Bedell. I asked for his Skype handle as well, just in case something wouldn’t be clear, but that proved to be unnecessary; the answers below speak for themselves, I think.
Graphic Designers, What Must They Know
By: Erik Vlietinck
April 22, 2008
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I keep hearing those complaints of prepress people about graphic designers not bothering to check their layout documents for errors that will pop up when printing the file. Colour space problems are always among those topics raised, but font problems and line thickness, the use of gradients, transparency, etc. are raised just as often. Living in the cross-media publishing world we do these days, I rarely hear those complaints from web “prepress” departments. It made me think about what graphic and layout designers should know.
Avenza Announces MAPublisher 7.6 for Adobe Illustrator
By: Erik Vlietinck
January 22, 2008
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Avenza Systems produces MAPublisher cartographic software for Adobe Illustrator and Geographic Imager spatial tools for Adobe Photoshop. The company just announced the release of MAPublisher 7.6 for Adobe Illustrator. MAPublisher 7.6 is the latest version of this software used to produce high quality maps from GIS data.
MAPublisher 7.6 for Adobe Illustrator is a full product update that is free of charge to all current MAPublisher Maintenance Program subscribers and replaces the current shipping version of MAPublisher, version 7.5, for all new customers using Adobe Illustrator CS2 or CS3.
“The inclusion of live GPS data collection and drawing is a tremendous new built-in feature that we know many users will enjoy and find to be extremely useful,” said Ted Florence, President of Avenza.
SOHO Labels 3 Now Also for DVDs
By: Erik Vlietinck
November 20, 2007
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Version 3 of Chronos’ labelling software is a hit. SOHO Labels replaces Labels and Envelopes and for a good reason; SOHO Labels doesn’t just do labels and envelopes. It now also does DVDs and jewel boxes. I was wary of this new capability, with Disc Cover and discLabel being long-time values in this market, but SOHO Labels fares well, very well indeed.
How to Create A Layout With The Divine Proportion
We all know about the divine proportion, right? It is the ratio based on the irrational number 1.61803. It’s called “Phi” in mathematics, and it is believed to be the most natural ratio, in a sense that many things around us can be expressed in this proportion. As nature was once regarded as created by God, so was the golden ratio, or Divine Proportion.
Cinema 4D R.10.5 Delivers DWG Import, XRefs, New MOCCA Tools and Accelerated HAIR-Rendering
MAXON released a dramatically enhanced version of its CINEMA 4D software. Sporting a wealth of new features added to the core CINEMA 4D program, the update also takes in a number of enhancements that have been made to CINEMA 4D’s optional modules. Chief among these are new tools for MOCCA and MoGraph, plus major enhancements to HAIR.
One highlight is the new DWG import filter. CINEMA 4D users now have access to one of the most widely used CAD exchange formats on the market. AutoCAD versions 13 to 2008 are supported, including layers, blocks and references. A further boost to file exchange for customers in the architectural field is the new connection to Allplan 2008, which guarantees loss-free transfer from CINEMA 4D R10.5.
Match Colours in Artwork With Adobe’s Colour Swatches
Often, a brochure, an annual report, indeed any piece of information that uses artwork to illustrate content and juice up presentation, will benefit from colours that are harmonious. It goes even further than that: clashing colour schemes can have their appeal, but in publishing for print or web, such colour schemes are proof of amateurism.
While Adobe’s colour swatch system isn’t open to other applications besides Adobe’s, Illustrator, Photoshop and InDesign CS3 all share the same colour swatch exchange format, making it easy to create art that harmonises with all other art in a layout.
Creating Art by Parameter
ArtMatic Pro 4.1, ArtMatic Voyager, and vTrack 2.1 are three applications developed by U&I Software, a group of developers who want to do what Kai Krause did years ago, but better. ArtMatic Pro lives up to that promise, as does ArtMatic Voyager.
Astute Graphics announces Phantasm CS multi-license package availability
By: Erik Vlietinck
August 09, 2007
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For the first time, Phantasm CS will now be available in multi-license packages. This is in order to cater for the growing number of corporate users who have discovered the new way to vastly improve illustration creativity and work-flow.
The table shows the amazing package deals available - especially when considering the very low standard price of $37.50…
cineSpace Video Profiling for Video-Editors
By: Erik Vlietinck
August 06, 2007
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cineSpace is a digital film calibration system designed by Rising Sun Research. It came under my attention because of Apple’s Color component of the Final Cut Studio 2 software suite. Using a GretagMacbeth or similar colorimeter, cineSpace allows users to match his display to any film output stock, and to other displays.
New Spectral Atmosphere Technologies Released For Free
By: Erik Vlietinck
August 06, 2007
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e-on software, makers of Vue, the leading solutions for natural 3D environments, today introduced Release 6.5 of Vue Infinite and Vue xStream for 3DS Max, Cinema4D, LightWave, Maya and XSI.
Vue Infinite and Vue xStream are the company’s flagship solutions for the creation of natural 3D environments. Specifically designed for graphics professionals, these products combine a multitude of cutting edge features that easily integrate into existing production pipelines.
Shipping on the seventh of August, Release 6.5 is free for all Vue 6 Infinite and Vue 6 xStream owners.
Framestore CFC Turns to REALVIZ MatchMover Pro for Harry Potter Movie
By: Erik Vlietinck
July 26, 2007
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REALVIZ, a leader in image processing software development, is pleased to confirm that their tracking software, MatchMover Pro, played a pivotal role in Framestore CFC’s production pipeline for the film, ‘Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix’. ‘Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix’ is Harry Potter’s fifth cinematic outing. The film is a Warner Brothers Pictures production, directed by David Yates, and opened in cinemas worldwide on July 13th 2007.
REALVIZ MatchMover Pro is the professional way to track 3D camera data and motion from videos and film sequences, providing the ease of automatic tracking, with the precision control matchmoving professionals demand. Long considered by many post-production professionals as a key tool in their armory, MatchMover Pro has been selected by hundreds of leading production and effects houses worldwide.
As with the previous films in the Harry Potter series, Framestore CFC was once again a leading contributor to the jaw-dropping effects, which have become increasingly spectacular with each new film released. For ‘Order of the Phoenix’, the company’s CG contributions included a herd of centaurs, a sinister house-elf named Kreacher and, for the first time, the film’s title sequence.
