Archive for the 'Website Graphics' Category



Animate Your Site with Stick Figures by Pivot


h1 Thursday, January 31st, 2008

screenshot of Pivot

Are you tired of that bland, static logo of yours? Wish you had something that moves? Apart from hiring a professional designer to create a stunning image for you which would cost you money, why not try Pivot Stick Figure Animator first? It's lightweight, easy, and fun to use. And the best news: it's free.

Pivot allows you to create animations using stick figures. These animations can then be saved as an animated GIF file or even bitmap sequences if you want. No artistic expertise whatsoever is required to use Pivot. Just download the installer, set it up and you're ready to create stick figure animations. You may add more stick figures as you need them, or if you need another element other than the default, you may create them using the Create Figure Type option. One downside of the program is that the animation is created frame by frame, which can take some time specially when doing complex movements. Also, the frames/sec value is not changeable, so there is no way to create slow motion effects. But if you are looking for a cheap and easy way to perk up your site, Pivot is more than enough to do the job.

Pivot is compatible with Windows 98/ME/2000/XP/2003/Vista.

Go to Pivot

PhotoFiltre - a feature-rich image editor without the cringe-inducing price


h1 Friday, January 18th, 2008

screenshot of PhotoFiltre

With the web, you can't avoid dealing with images. After all, they say that a picture is worth a thousand words. However, costs of commercial software can cut deep into your pockets. Bundled image editors can be quite blah. What about something in between? If you are looking for a free image editor that can rival even commercial ones in terms of features, then it's PhotoFiltre you are searching for.

Easy to use, powerful features, and free to boot, PhotoFiltre will change the way you look at free image editors. Getting to start using PhotoFiltre is a cinch: just download the installer from their site, install, load the image, and start editing away. No need to pore over manuals or tutorials, the software is created to be usable out of the box. Equipped with the usual options, coupled with advanced features, you can easily do simple editing chores to complex image manipulations. With downloadable add-ons, you can easily increase the usability of the software. It must be noted though that the software lacks the ability to download pictures from a digital camera, doesn't support Photoshop plug-ins and there is no layer support. Despite these drawbacks, PhotoFiltre, with all its features, is still a deal that's a steal.

PhotoFiltre is compatible with Windows 98/ME/2000/XP

Go to PhotoFiltre

Flash Charts Made Easy with Fusion Charts Free


h1 Tuesday, January 8th, 2008

screenshot of Fusion Charts Free

Charts can be powerful if you want to drive a point home. However, charts are often dull, and only a few bother to look at them. Don't you wish you could make eye-catching animated charts alá Flash? Well, that's exactly what Fusion Charts does - free, quick, and painless.

Fusion Charts Free is a flash-charting component designed to make Flash charts for presentations. Knowledge in Macromedia Flash animation isn't a prerequisite in using this software. You don't even need to know anything about action scripts. All you need to know is the language you're embedding the chart in. Using XML as its data interface, Fusion Charts Free creates solid, interactive and visually impressive charts. Fusion Charts turns those boring data in animated charts.

Fusion Charts Free is so easy to use. All you need to do is to download the zip file from the site. No installation is involved. Just copy paste the SWF file of the chart of your choice to your server, just like what you do with your image files, and you're all set. Then you have to convert your data into XML and your chart is ready. All charts are rendered on the client side, which reduces the load on your own servers.

Fusion Charts Free can be used in PHP, Python, ASP, ASP.NET, JSP, Ruby on Rails, simple HTML pages and even in PowerPoint presentations. To view your charts, your users must have Adobe Flash 6 or higher.

Go to Fusion Charts Free

Brusheezy.com makes looking for brushes easy.


h1 Friday, January 4th, 2008

screenshot of Brusheezy

Ever had a problem executing a design because you lacked the proper brush for it? Say goodbye to your design frustrations with Brusheezy. It's a site that's got all your brush and pattern needs under one roof. Brusheezy is truly a graphic artist's dream.

Graphic artists won't waste their time hunting for brushes and patterns anymore. With Brusheezy's goal of becoming the main source of Photoshop brushes, you can be rest assured that they will deliver on their promise. The web site has amassed around 300 brushes to date and its number is still growing. It lets users submit brushes and patterns and it updates daily so you get fresh brushes every day. With its vast array of brushes to choose from, you'll surely find the right brush for your every need. It is community driven letting the users rate and comment on each brush. This feature makes sure that only the best brushes are included in its archive.

There are lots of web sites offering free brushes and patterns in the Internet these days, but what sets Brusheezy apart is that it only offers quality brushes and patterns. The brushes and patterns in Brusheezy are made especially for this web site alone. They are not found anywhere in the web. With its clean and easy to navigate layout, everything about the site is aesthetically beautiful.

Brusheezy works on all browsers. Downloads are for free. Available brushes and patterns are for Adobe Photoshop 7.0 or later.

Go to Brusheezy

Show the Real Score in Style with amCharts


h1 Thursday, January 3rd, 2008

screenshot of amCharts

They say that numbers do not lie, and if you want to show the truth in your site, why not do it with style? With amCharts, bloggers and web designers who want to rattle off numbers in their site can do so with finesse.

amCharts offers free Pie and Donut, Line and Area, Column and Bar, as well as Scatter and Bubble flash charts that you can integrate in your web pages. Unlike the usual image-based charts, these charts are interactive, allowing your users to fully appreciate the significance of the numbers you are presenting. Downloaded as a zip file, you just need to extract the files to start working with charts. To configure the charts, you must have at least basic knowledge in coding HTML, as you need to modify some parts of the code in order to customize the charts. Help is available in amCharts' web site if you need directions on how to proceed. Another feature of amCharts is that you can choose where your data is coming from, either from CSV or XML. This gives you the flexibility to handle the numbers you want to display in your site. With amCharts, numbers and style do come together.

amCharts requires knowledge on HTML coding and design for integration.

Go to amCharts

Polish Your Videos for Free with VirtualDub


h1 Thursday, December 27th, 2007

screenshot of VirtualDub

Using videos is a great way to convey messages across the ‘Net. In fact, web designers and even bloggers have been exploiting the media for quite some time now. However, commercial video editing software doesn’t come cheap. The solution? Go free with VirtualDub.

VirtualDub is a video capture and processing utility for Windows. Downloaded as a stand-alone program, there is no need to install the software. Just extract, run the software, and you are ready to edit. It must be noted however that not all video formats are supported. Currently, the program only supports AVI and MPEG-1 files. No video yet? You can use the software to capture your video using your web camera. Once you have the supported video, you can start editing. Though it evidently lacks the power of commercial editing software, it is capable of simple editing chores. You can move around frames by cutting and pasting them along the timeline. Also available are different filters to further enhance your videos. And if the included filters aren’t enough for you, third-party filters are also available for use with VirtualDub though getting them to work with VirtualDub can be quite a chore due to the lack of documentation. But if it’s cheap and easy to use editing software you are looking for, VirtualDub is just a download away.

VirtualDub is compatible with Win9x/ME/2000/XP.

Go to VirtualDub

"Vector-ize" Your Site with Vecteezy


h1 Thursday, December 20th, 2007

screenshot of Vecteezy

The words “vector graphics” usually bring to mind images of graphic design artists with lots of talent - and rightly so. Working with vector graphics is no easy task. What sets vector images apart from normal images is that you can easily increase the size of the image without losing quality. That is why when these great looking works of art are offered for free, you just need to have a look. One place you shouldn’t miss is Vecteezy.

Vecteezy showcases creations of different artists around the world who are kind enough to put up their work for free. The homepage shows the latest submissions, which are based on important web site elements such as RSS feed icons and the like. Clicking on a thumbnail will bring you to an image’s download page, which lets you look at detailed previews, as well as the usage limitations for each image.

A handy search bar and filter option allows you to search for a particular vector image. To open and edit the downloaded vector image, you must have an application that is capable of doing so, such as Adobe Illustrator. With these free, yet high quality images, you can change the way your web site looks. With Vecteezy, searching for new and trendy vector graphics is simple.

Vecteezy works on most browsers. You need a vector graphics program such as Adobe Illustrator, Freehand, or Inkscape to open some files.

Go to Vecteezy

Animate Your Site with Advanced Effect Maker


h1 Tuesday, December 18th, 2007

screenshot of Advanced Effect Maker

Clever use of animation in your site can bring in the traffic. However, not everyone is well-versed with Flash or other animation software. If you are blogger or a budding web designer with little or no knowledge in Flash animation, then the Advanced Effect Maker is for you.

Forget about stages and frames, Advanced Effect Maker makes creating animations for your site effortless. The freeware version offers 40 applets while the paid version offers 70 or 234 applets, depending on the package you paid for.

For the freeware, just download the executable file, install and having animated graphics in your site is just a few clicks away. All you have to do is choose what kind of animation you’d like to work on. There are 3-D images, animated menus, and other available choices. Once you have chosen your animation, click on it and new options on customizing it are revealed. If you are done with the customization, click ‘Create Applet’ and a browser will pop-up, containing the HTML script that you can paste in your source code. It must be noted that some of the available animations are quite outdated, leaving only a few worthy to add in your web site. But for those who are in need of a quick fix of animations, the Advanced Effect Maker won’t let you down.

Advanced Effect Maker is compatible with Win98/ME/2000/XP. Basic copy/pasting knowledge in your source code is needed.

Go to Advanced Effect Maker

Your Very Own Texture? Now Possible with Texture Processor


h1 Friday, December 14th, 2007

screenshot of Texture Processor

Finally, an application that allows you to create great looking textures without having an ounce of artistic prowess. Too good to be true? It’s not hard to imagine with a program like Texture Processor.

The Texture Processor is exactly that: it creates textures. Since it’s freeware, you can create great looking texture without the need to shell out for a high-end image processing tool or even the expertise to manipulate images. Just download the zip file, extract and run the installation. After a few clicks, you’re on your way to creating eye-catching textures that can be used on your web site, your blog, or even as the wallpaper for your computer.

The mechanism behind the Texture Processor allows for an unlimited number of textures that you can create, even if you lack the artistic eye. Creating your own texture is just a point and click affair. Sliding bars to adjust settings are available for each setting. Use blobs, points, lines, curves, and a plethora of other available commands. Use a combination of settings and what do you get? Unlimited possibilities.

Despite the fact that exporting allows only for BMP files, the Texture Processor is a great addition to the arsenal of tools for any blogger or web designer.

The Texture Processor is compatible with Win9x/ME/2000/XP

Go to Texture Processor

Give Your Site or Computer a New Look with Adobe Flash


h1 Thursday, December 13th, 2007

screenshot of Adobe Flash

You’ve been looking at the same icon for years. You’re tired of seeing the same boring animation in your web site over and over again. Need something new to look at? How about a lively addition to your site? Adobe Flash can help you in that department.

High quality icon sets from Adobe Flash are all yours for the taking. Just choose what format you’d like to download, then extract and customize away. Adobe Flash provides downloads for both PC and Mac users.

You can download the icons for personal use, such as replacing the ones you have in your desktop. But if you need icons for a website, icon sets under the PNG format are also available. These icon sets can be imported in your Flash stage to create stunning animations. Take note though, you have to ask permission from the artist if you want to use the icon sets for commercial purposes. In exchange for free, high quality icon sets, the deal is still a bargain. Whether you are a web designer, a blogger, or a simple PC or Mac user, a new look is just a download away.

Adobe Flash works on most browsers and offers downloads both for PC and Mac systems.

Go to Adobe Flash