Using gradients in Illustrator

It appears that using a gradient in Illustrator is not very straightforward.  More specifically, trying to activate the Gradient Annotator with the mouse simply did not work for text.  Eventually, I found some instructions – the key steps to remember are as...

Custom paper size for HP printers

I have a need to print 12″ x 30″ through my HP Officejet 7000 Wide Format printer.  Unfortunately, the ability to choose a custom size (outside of the predefined sizes) is not available.  It appears that HP removed the ability to make custom sizes a few...

Applying decals

Every few years, it seems I have a reason to apply a decal.  These decals are one-time only – meaning, if you mess up the stick, you are not adjusting it.  I’ve done this with the decals on the side of the Arcade Cabinet and I expect to do something like...

Thematic fonts

Google fonts is a pretty awesome collection of web fonts.  There must be at least 500 of them.  Recently, I’ve gone through all of them for a project and, because it is such a time-consuming task, I took note of fonts that could possibly be used for very...

Comparing renderers for SketchUp

SketchUp is proving to be interesting.  At some point, everyone wants to take their crude models and render them beautifully.  SketchUp does not really come with the ability to render more realistic-looking scenes.  For any functionality that SketchUp lacks, the norm...