Latest Posts in Creative Notes
MOTU releases Digital Performer 7
Mark of the Unicorn (MOTU) has released Digital Performer 7, an upgrade to its audio workstation software, featuring a variety of additions and productivity enhancements, including a new suite of modeled guitar effects plug-ins.
DP7’s suite of classic guitar pedal emulations are modeled after Boss, MXR, Electro-Harmonix, Ibanez and others. These stomp box plug-ins are designed to produce authentic tones made famous by artists such as Eric Clapton, Joe Walsh, Carlos Santana, Pink Floyd, Nirvana, and other musicians.
The suite includes nine pedals: Tube Wailer, Über Tube, Diamond Drive, RXT, Delta Fuzz, Wah Pedal and others. Users can experiment with hundreds of tones and thousands of combinations.
Custom ’59 amps
Custom ’59 models feature three all-time classic guitar amplifiers: the Fender Bassman, the Marshall JTM45, and the Marshall JCM800. Users can adjust tone settings, drive, and tube combinations to produce rich guitar tones that faithfully reproduce the sound of each amp. Custom ’59 also lets users mix and match the preamp tube, preamp circuit, and tone stack from each model to create their own custom amps.
Cartoon You: Creating easy avatars
Who are you online? It sounds like a simple question, but in a medium where you can be anyone, it's a question worth pondering particularly for the following elements. What aspects of your personality, which of your interests, what face do you want to show the online world? Wherever you interact these days, from Facebook to Twitter, Gravatar.com to the Macworld forums, you have the opportunity to put a face—or avatar—to your updates, comments, and declarations. It need not be your everyday face. In this first installment of my Cartoon You easy avatars series, I’ll show you how to go beyond photos captured at arm’s length by a cell phone camera or a slightly out of focus USB camera to express the real you in avatar form. The following online cartoon apps give you a selection of facial shapes and features, skin colors and tones, hair styles, costumes, and backgrounds to choose from to create your individual persona. Some sites even feature user contributed fashions and designs. It’s kind of like playing dress-up with colorforms, except on your computer.
Below are a half dozen free online apps that let you create a cartoon version of yourself. Try out these services to create a new you. If none of them fully answer the question of who are you online, later installments in this series surely will. See the bottom of this story for all the images described.
Meez
Whether you join the free 3-D world community or just use its incredible avatar creator, Meez lets you create and download an animated, 3-D avatar complete with changing expressions. After creating your Meez, click Save and then Go to Exports to download it or to obtain code that makes it a snap to embed your animated avatar in forums, Facebook, iGoogle, MySpace, and elsewhere. Meez is the only site in this group that charges for some selections and which features user-contributed designs.
Meez
Coloring with Adobe Kuler
As designers, we pretty much accept Adobe’s Big Four apps as our tools of choice in creating brochures, flyers, ads, and Web sites. But Adobe has offered another tool for quite some time that should take its rightful spot next to Photoshop (
), InDesign (), Illustrator (), and Flash () in our design toolbox. It’s called Kuler (pronounced "cooler" according to Adobe), and its name is certainly appropriate.
Kuler is a Web-based application that allows users to browse, create, and share color themes through the Kuler Web site, the Kuler desktop application (direct download link; requires Adobe AIR), or a Kuler widget for Mac OS X's Dashboard (available for download from the Links page on the Kuler site). Of course, Kuler is also available inside your favorite Adobe CS4 desktop applications including: Photoshop, InDesign, Illustrator, Flash, and Fireworks. Kuler is available online for free, and you don't have to be a CS4 user to take advantage of it.
The use of color is generally one of the most important aspects of any design. But not all designers are blessed with the ability to create color combinations that work well together. Most of us know a great color-combo when we see one, but couldn't create one if our lives depended on it. This is where Kuler can help.
The Kuler Web site interface lets you access user generated color themes.
Producing the Macworld Podcast
Recently, Rob Griffiths offered insight into how he produced his episodes of the Macworld Video. This resulted in some collateral hue and cry for information on how we produce the Macworld Podcast. As the podcast’s host and producer I can offer some insight of my own on that subject.
Gear
I produce the podcast from my home office. My microphone of choice is a vintage AKG C 414 EB. The microphone is attached to a Mac Pro via CEntrance’s $150 MicPort Pro 24bit/96kHz XLR-to-USB mic preamp. The microphone is mounted on a Heil PC-2T boom stand. With a boom stand you dispense with the kind of table and cable noise you pick up when using a microphone with a table stand. I’ve recently placed a $20 Nady MPF-6 pop filter in front of the mic to help reduce plosives (popped p’s).
We occasionally record roundtable discussions at the Macworld offices. For those recordings we use M-Audio’s $450 Fast Track Ultra USB 2.0 audio interface with four inexpensive Samson microphones. The Fast Track Ultra is connected to an iMac and the recording is captured in GarageBand ’09.
Remote recording
As our staff is scattered around the country, we conduct our interviews over Skype’s free VOIP software. When recording with Macworld editors, we ask that they capture their parts during the interview using the audio editing software of their choice and then upload their sides of the conversation to a transfer server, where I retrieve them and piece the parts together in GarageBand. We do it this way because the recording is much cleaner than if I capture the Skype stream. Wonderful as Skype’s audio quality is, there are times when it can produce ugly audio artifacts.
Opinion: What can the new Stylus Pro 3880 do for you?
Editor's Note: The following article is reprinted from Printerville.
The news dropped the other day: Epson unveiled an upgrade to its photo inkjet printer, the Epson 3800. That left me wondering what the real news was. On the surface, the new 3880 model offers a few incremental improvements over the Stylus Pro 3800, adding the Vivid Magenta inks, an improved printhead, and new screening algorithms. The case design, print engine, and ink system (with its spacious 80ml cartridges and 8-channel head that requires switching of matte and photo black inks) are identical to the 3800, which is testament to that printer's design and its success in the market, as well as the relative maturity of the photo printer industry.
The Stylus Pro 3880 will be priced at $1,295; a Graphic Arts Edition, which comes with a ColorBurst RIP for proofing and design applications, will be available for $1,495. Epson expects both models to ship in October; if Epson's past history is any indicator, we would expect a few early units to get snapped up quickly, with wide availability by the end of this year.
Here's a rundown of the new features in the Stylus Pro 3880:
Opinion: Should creatives upgrade to Snow Leopard?
Whenever Apple releases a new operating system, the first thing creatives consider before updating is whether or not the new OS will play nicely with their existing investments in hardware and software. For most designers and artists, that means Adobe Creative Suite, font managers, and Web browsers, not to mention their existing Macs.
While previous versions of Mac OS X offered numerous new features that enticed users to update based on expanded capabilities, Snow Leopard offers little in the way of sexy doo-dads. So your only considerations for upgrading are speed and compatibility. Fortunately, the news is positive.
I decided to play it safe and install Snow Leopard on my 13-inch MacBook Pro with 4GB of RAM for testing purposes before I installed it on my Mac Pro () where I do most of my graphics work. For the sake of comparison fairness I chose the straight upgrade route, rather than a clean install. This would give me a level playing field for comparing my existing 10.5.8 installation to the upgraded system with regard to fonts and other previously installed applications that may affect performance.
Comparisons
While I rarely shut down my desktop Mac, I do shut down my MacBook Pro when I’m not using it in order to preserve the life of the battery, so startup and shutdown times were of interest to me.
Native Instruments announces new versions of its core products
On Tuesday, Native Instruments announced a slew of updated products to its line of music software.
Kontakt 4
It will be available in October for $399, with upgrades from previous versions costing $149.
Absynth 5
It will be available in October for $199, with upgrades from previous versions costing $79.
Guitar Rig 4 Pro
It will be available in October 2009 in several different flavors. The software will cost $199, software plus an included foot controller/audio interface will cost $449, Guitar Rig 4 Essential (a software version with a reduced feature set) will cost $99, Guitar Rig Session (which combines Guitar Rig 4 Essential with the Session I/O audio interface will cost $249, and Guitar Rig Mobile will cost $119.
Komplete 6
It will be available in October for $599, with upgrades from versions 2, 3, 4, or 5 costing $169. Also, owners of any version of Kontakt or Reaktor will be able to purchase Komplete 6 for $339 until the end of 2009.
Design basics—the proximity principle
Good design isn’t rocket science, but it sure can feel like it. Even though you may never have driven past an art school—much less gone to a class—you can create layouts that are visually pleasing, eye-catching, and easy to read. If you can memorize four easy principles, you’ve got what it takes to create a good, solid design for any of your compositions. Here, I will outline one of those design principles and help you put it into practice by using a newspaper ad as an example.
Now, these aren't my personal secrets; they’re from Robin Williams' book, The Non-Designer's Design Book (Peachpit Press). I purchased this book when I went back to art school years ago, and I still refer to it today. Let’s get started with the first rule, which involves the importance of proper spacing.
Proximity—space matters
One of the easiest ways to create a visual structure and give your piece an organized feel is to space items according to their relation to one another. This is called the rule of proximity, and it simply means that related items should appear closer together than items that are not related. In this way, the spacing itself serves as a visual clue as to what’s related and what’s not and as to where one piece of information stops and starts. Plus, it makes the piece a hundred times easier to scan and digest.
Sure, you could sprinkle some blank returns into your layout, but a full return is usually too much (or too little) space. A better idea is to use the Space Before and Space After functions built into most software. These controls let you add a very specific amount of space—usually in points—exactly where you want it. Simply place your cursor within the line you want to affect (no need to highlight the text) and locate the Space Before and Space After paragraph attributes in the software you’re using. Here’s where it lives in some popular programs (see Image 1 below):
Adobe acquires Web platform builder
Adobe Systems has acquired Business Catalyst, which provides a platform for Web professionals to build online businesses, and its GoodBarry subsidiary, Adobe confirmed on Monday.
Business Catalyst offers an all-in-one Web site platform for Web professionals to build online businesses for clients at a fraction of the time and cost, without requiring any programming, Adobe said in a statement.
Business Catalyst’s technology was built with Web designers in mind, the company said.
Business Catalyst “is a great complement to Adobe’s existing tools and services for Web professionals, who are increasingly looking to hosted services to deliver Web sites and online businesses,” the company Web site states.
GoodBarry, meanwhile, features an integrated system for running Web sites and offers e-mail marketing. GoodBarry has been around since 2004.
“There are some changes we'll be making to GoodBarry in the coming months,” according to the GoodBarry site. “Most importantly, we’ll be refocusing our marketing and sales efforts on the Web professional market (via businesscatalyst.com), as opposed to Web-savvy DIYers such as you. In other words, this means that eventually we will cease ‘retail” operations and focus on our wholesale operations and we will only be selling subscriptions to our software via our partner and reseller network.”
The site also says GoodBarry soon will be only for Web designers. The GoodBarry brand will be shut down on Oct. 1.
“You’ll be able to create free trials until 1st October 2009, and you’ll be able to upgrade those sites until 1st of November 2009. After that date, no sites will be able to be upgraded via GoodBarry,” the site states.
The current Business Catalyst team is expected to remain largely intact at Adobe, Business Catalyst said. The company also expressed a continued commitment to partners and customers. Adobe did not provide information on the cost of the acquisition.
Recording your song on an iPhone
As an amateur musician, I’m always looking for ways to get a song from my head into my computer. With Sonoma Wire Works FourTrack, it’s easy to compose an entire song, record the basic parts, and then export the audio to your Mac for further editing. Track recording is a way to lay down the basic instrumental parts and to add vocals and other sounds that make up a complete song.
First, grab the app at the App Store—it costs $10 (also check out our review of the app). The iPhone headset works okay for recording, but the cord is a bit short for my taste. I use the Shure SE210 earbuds ($180) and the Shure Music Phone Adapter ($40) because they are good quality and have really long cords.
Here’s how to record your song:
- Set your iPhone in Airplane mode to prevent any interference.
- Start FourTrack, and press the Song Tools button. On the Song Tools screen, you can configure a metronome to keep you on the beat. The metronome also allows you to later sync up drum loops at the same beats per minute.
- Name the song, and press the down arrow (upper right) to close Song Tools.
- Press the REC ARM button for track one and slide the Slide to Record button to record your audio. Then, you can do the same for three additional tracks: for example, you can add piano, background vocals, or any other sounds you want. The jog dial near the bottom of the screen lets you scan through the song, or just click on the blue timer.
- You have created your first song! It is saved automatically. Now, you can create additional tracks.
- To record more tracks, you have to combine (or “bounce”) tracks together. Press the Song Tools button. You can “bounce” all four tracks into a new song with two tracks (just press Bounce, and then To New Song) or from tracks one and two down to just one combined track one (press Bounce, then To This Song). It means you can record multiple tracks beyond just four, with no limits–although the sound quality degrades with each bounce. Press the down arrow to close Song Tools.
- Once your song is done, you can tweak the audio so it pans to the left or right. Adjust pan settings for each track by moving the jog dial left or right for each track. This helps make your song sound better by isolating the sounds.
- When your song is finished, go to Song Tools -> Song List -> Wi-Fi Sync at the bottom of the screen. On your Mac, start Safari and go to the IP address shown. On your iPhone, press OK. Now your Mac is synced and you can download audio tracks from Safari and load them into, say, GarageBand. Sonoma Wire Works offers a free RiffWorks program that can import iPhone tracks directly. Once connected over Wi-Fi Sync, just click Import, select the song, and rock on.
This original song, recorded entirely on FourTrack, has main vocals, guitar, background vocals and a drum. Thanks to Jamie Larson who recorded guitar, vocals, and wrote the song for this tutorial.
[John Brandon is a 20-year veteran Mac user who used to run an all-Mac graphics department.]
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