Tutorials

There are two ways to use Procreate without the Apple Pencil. You can either draw and create using your fingertips or you can invest in an alternative brand of stylus. I recommend the latter as Procreate is designed to be used in conjunction with a stylus, for best...

To liquify on Procreate, choose the layer you want to manipulate. Then tap on the Adjustments tool (magic wand icon) and a drop-down menu will appear. Select the Liquify tool. Adjust your settings preferences and apply pressure to your canvas. I’m Carolyn and I’ve...

To name your files and stacks in Procreate, open your Procreate gallery. Underneath your stack, tap on the text. It will usually say Untitled or Stack. The text box will open and you can now type in the new name of your stack and select Done. I’m Carolyn and I’ve run...

To erase anything on Procreate, select the Eraser icon on the top right-hand corner of your canvas. A drop-down menu will appear. Once you have selected the brush you wish to erase with, use your finger or stylus to click on your layer and begin erasing. I’m Carolyn...

To color match on Procreate, tap on the Eyedropper tool (square icon) in between the Opacity and Size tools on your sidebar, a color disc will appear, hover the color disc on the color you would like to match and release the tap. This color is now active. I’m Carolyn...

The simple answer is no. Procreate is an app designed solely for Apple iPads. There is no desktop version of the app available and it doesn’t look like the makers of Procreate have any intention of creating one. So no, you cannot use Procreate on your Macbook. I’m...

Open the stack you want to edit, hold your finger down on the artwork you would like to move, drag the artwork to the top left-hand corner of your screen, and hover it over the left-hand arrow icon. When the Gallery opens, drag and release your artwork in your desired...

The main difference between the two apps is that Procreate was made for the Apple iPad and Procreate Pocket is designed for the Apple iPhone. They are both essentially the exact same digital art app but are designed to be used on different devices. I’m Carolyn and...

How awful would it be to lose all your editing work? Have you read our article on where Lightroom stores edits? Then you know that the program creates small instructional files rather than making changes to the original image file. These small files are stored in your...

Have you ever opened a photo after editing it in Lightroom, only to wonder what happened to all your edits? Or perhaps you have a recurring nightmare about losing hours of editing work because it didn’t save properly? Hey there! I’m Cara and today I’m going to...

Does Lightroom sometimes run at the speed of a sloth? It really puts a cramp in your creative style when you sit there twiddling your thumbs waiting for your edits to be applied.  Hey there! I’m Cara and I’ll be the first to admit that I am not patient at all...

If you want to alter the shape or flow of text in your design, you can curve text by using the curve text feature in Canva. This feature is only available to users with access to premium tools. My name is Kerry, and I’ve been involved in digital art and graphic design...

If you want to draw on your project in Canva, you must add the Draw app that is available to download for subscription users. Once downloaded, you can use different tools such as a marker, highlighter, glow pen, pencil, and eraser to manually draw on your canvas. My...

I've been utilizing the curve text tool in Procreate for over three years to create posters, book covers, and Instagram branding for small businesses. This unique feature of the app offers a graphic design technique that users like myself find incredibly useful and...

While Canva has a selection of included fonts, you can upload additional fonts into Canva through either your Brand Kit or project canvas. However, this action is only available for subscription users. My name is Kerry, and I’ve been exploring the world of digital art...

Transition can take your project to a final level, limit the jump cuts in your project, and make it look professional and amazing. The easiest way is to right-click in between the two clips and apply the default transition which is a cross dissolve transition. I am...

In Adobe Premiere Pro, your Timeline is basically where you perform all your magic. Before you can edit any layer, clips, or footage in your timeline, you have to zoom in on the timeline to see what you are about to do for more accuracy and precision.  To do this, you...

You want your viewers to see a particular entity in your project, how do you do that? You zoom in! Just by clicking on the clip, setting your anchor point then navigate to your Effect Control Panel, and keyframe the scale to have your in and out point set. I am Dave....

The easiest way to copy and paste in Procreate is by clicking on the Actions tool (wrench icon). Then select Add (plus icon) and scroll down to the Copy selection. Open up the layer you wish to paste and repeat the first step but select Paste instead of Copy. ...

Learning to draw is an exciting journey for any new artist. Some people choose to draw with pencil, some start with charcoal, and nowadays, some choose digital drawing programs like Procreate. This begs the question: Should I try Procreate if I’m not already skilled...

Changing the opacity, or transparency, of individual layers in Procreate is an easy and useful feature of the program. Many Procreate artists use layer opacity to create sketch guides to structure final linework. It can also be used to adjust the intensity of added...

Grouping and ungrouping layers in Procreate is a beginner’s task! All you need is an iPad and the Procreate app. In this article, we will show you a detailed step-by-step guide on how to do this. In addition, you will learn how to name your groups in Procreate as...

One of the greatest advantages of digital art is the ability to create perfectly symmetrical elements with ease. Even in organic art styles, the ability to effortlessly create a circle is incredibly useful - a basic skill that is best learned early on. In this...

Merging layers in Procreate is a common and crucial part of the design process, it’s also as easy as snapping your fingers! All you need is the Procreate app open on your device and your two fingers. I’m Carolyn Murphy and my digital illustration business relies...

To add text in Procreate, first click on the Actions tool (wrench icon) in the top left hand corner of the screen of your open canvas. Then select 'Add' and then 'Add Text'. A text box will appear and you will have the ability to type the words you need and edit their...

Procreate is a great app that has become a dream tool when creating digital artwork. Coloring your piece has never been easier when you use the Color Fill option that is available in the program! My name is Kerry Hynes, an artist, and educator with years of experience...

The process of selecting multiple layers in Procreate is easy, if not intuitive. Like many tasks on Procreate, there’s a learning curve even if you’re familiar with other drawing software. This process will work the same on every version of Procreate. With regular use...

When starting a painting in Procreate, the concept of blending colors isn’t immediately apparent when starting a painting. However, there are various methods in blending that can be really simple to more advanced which will result in helping your artwork achieve the...

From primitive cave paintings and perfected oil portraits to installation art and performance pieces, digital art is the newest medium to hit the art world. Is it easier than traditional art? That all depends on what you consider ‘easy’.  If you consider ‘easy’...

Procreate is a digital painting app that is great for artists that love to illustrate and draw. Many artists choose to use Procreate because of its simple interface and because they prefer to work on the iPad. However, Procreate can’t do all professional graphic...

The answer is yes, Procreate is easier than Adobe Illustrator.  When it comes to graphic design and art, there are plenty of programs out there for both amateurs and professionals. Procreate has become a popular app to create digital artwork, especially...

The answer is, sometimes, and only when you have Procreate experience. The drawing app comes with over 200 default brushes. These brushes are excellent and worth trying.  Even though I’ve already bought many Procreate brushes myself, I can say that the ones I’ve...

Splitting a clip in DaVinci Resolve is a simple task. By learning how to split, you will learn one of the most important, and most often used tools in editing. My name is Nathan Menser. I am a writer, filmmaker, and stage actor. When I am not on stage, on set, or...

When it comes to exporting in Davinci Resolve, it couldn’t be easier. Sure there are a lot of options, and right now, you may be swimming in them, but fear not dear reader, because you’re in good hands with me.  My name is James Segars, and I have extensive...

DaVinci Resolve is an excellent, multifunctional video editing tool that works well for pros and beginners alike. Whether you are just learning to edit or color grade, or you have been doing it for 10+ years, DaVinci Resolve is a great software to use. My name is...

In the pantheon of NLE (Non-Linear Editing) Systems, Adobe Premiere Pro, despite its "Pro" moniker, is actually quite friendly to beginners, providing you have some base knowledge with regard to editing software. My name is James Segars, and I have extensive editorial...

Resetting layout in Adobe Premiere Pro is incredibly easy. All you have to do is follow a few simple steps and you will be able to redesign your screen layout and return it to its original form when desired. Video editing is a very personal process and every editor...

You’re done editing and you want to export your project, congratulations, you’ve already done the tough part. Welcome to the simplest part of the whole project. Call me Dave. As a professional video editor, I’ve been editing for the past 10 years and yes, you guessed...

Of course yes! Well, it does depend on how dedicated you are and how well you really want to learn it. But if you are committed, in just three days, you can be a PRO. I am Dave. A professional video editor and an expert in Adobe Premiere Pro. I’ve been editing for the...

To export your Premiere Pro project for Youtube, go to File > Export > Media. Ensure you untick Match Sequence Settings if it’s clicked. Change Format to H.264. Preset to Youtube 1080p Full HD. Change some settings to give you the maximum quality then Export....

Exporting your Premiere Pro project to MP4 is very easy. Go to File >  Export > Media then change your format to H.264, preset to High Bitrate, and click Export. My name is Dave. I'm an expert in Adobe Premiere Pro and have been using it for the past 10...

The best way to find your saved projects or exported files is to search your directory. You can search for Output Name if it’s your first time using Adobe Premiere Pro. Another option is to go to your Documents Folder > Adobe > Premiere Pro > Version Number (22.0)....

Think of a sequence as a basket where you have all your items assembled. A sequence in Adobe Premiere Pro is where you have all your clips, layers, and objects. This is where you stitch them together to make a complete project. Call me Dave. I’m an expert in Adobe...

You must be wondering why Adobe Premiere Pro is popular and what it’s used for. Well, apart from just video editing, Premiere Pro is used for tracking, MultiCam video editing, auto color correction, tracking and rotoscoping, adobe dynamic link, etc. My name is Dave....

At some point in your photography journey, you will switch to using RAW files. These files contain much more information than a JPEG file and give you far more flexibility when editing the image.  Hey there! I’m Cara and I’d been photographing for a couple of...

Have you ever wondered how to duplicate a photo in Lightroom? Though the technique is simple, the answer isn’t readily apparent.  Hey there! I’m Cara and I’ll be honest. In my work as a professional photographer, I have almost never had the need to actually...

Contact sheets are a throwback to the days of film photography. They are simply a sheet of same-size images that offered a quick way to preview the images from a roll of film. From there you could choose the images you wanted to print bigger. So why do we care today?...

There are thousands of ways to edit portraits in Lightroom. That’s part of the beauty of the program. Every photographer can add their own “special sauce” to their images to create something unique.  Hello! I’m Cara and I’ll admit that it took me a few years to get a...

Do you ever feel like your workspace in Lightroom is just too cluttered? I get it. When you’re working with a few hundred images at a time, it can get overwhelming.  I’m Cara and I’ll be the first to admit that the number of photos I take adds up quickly. I suppose...

Adding a colored stroke around the outline of your text is simple enough, but when people talk about outlining text in InDesign, they’re typically referring to a special process that converts text characters into vector shapes.  This process has some upsides and...

Hyperlinks are one of the cornerstones of the digital world, showing up everywhere from your computer’s file browser to your favorite website to your ebook reader - and even in InDesign. While most of us call them links nowadays for short, hyperlink is technically the...

InDesign is extremely complex in some ways, and yet in others, it can be extremely simple. Importing files for use in your InDesign document is always done the same way: with the Place command.  But there are a few extra things to consider when placing a PDF file in...

The simple answer is no. Procreate is exclusively available on Apple iPad and iPhone as it is designed for iOS only. That means you cannot simply purchase and download Procreate on a Windows PC or laptop. I’m Carolyn and working online as a digital artist for over...

No, unfortunately, the big price tag attached to your iPad Pro does not include Procreate. You will still need to pay the one-time fee of $12.99 to download the app to your device. I’m Carolyn and I’ve been a digital artist for over three years. My entire digital...

Procreate is currently only available on Apple iPad and iPhone. That means if you are using a desktop or Android device, you will not be able to purchase or download the Procreate app on your device. There are no official plans to launch the Android or desktop version...

Pixlr is a popular web-based photo editing tool. It has a premium option, but you don’t need to sign up for it to use the basic features. If you want to resize a photo without committing to downloads, new accounts, or complicated software, Pixlr is a convenient...

Rotating text in Pixlr is easy. Pixlr is a convenient tool with some limitations, but it is ideal for simple design tasks like text rotation. You won’t need to download or purchase anything or create an account, you’ll pick it up easily. Rotating text is a great way...

As long as you share pictures digitally, you will almost inevitably need to resize an image at some point. If you’ve been struggling to find the tools for this, Photopea is a convenient solution – it’s a free online photo editor which means you won’t need to download...

While having a Canva subscription can be beneficial to your graphic design needs, there are ways to cancel your subscription if you no longer need the premium version of the service. Canva Pro features will remain in effect until the end of your billing period. My...

On Canva you can remove the background of an image with ease by clicking on the image and editing it using the background remover tool. With just a click, artificial intelligence can highlight the background and remove it from a picture. My name is Kerry, and I’ve...

If you want to create a transparent background you have access to Canva Pro, Canva for Education, Canva for Teams, or Canva for Nonprofits. You can remove or delete backgrounds to create and download files with transparent backgrounds. My name is Kerry, and I’ve been...

While Canva is free on all devices, the Canva Pro version does require a subscription which costs $12.99/month or $119.99/year for one person. That means that you will have to pay to use extra features, such as special templates, icons, and customizations. My name is...

InDesign is an excellent typesetting tool, but it has so many features that it can feel a bit overwhelming for new users. Once you get used to working with the Type tool, you may start to wonder how you can break up your linear and angular layouts with some more...

While I never really enjoyed math in school, geometry lessons were always a welcome change. I didn’t expect to find much practical use for it later in life, but my love of design has brought things to a strange full circle.  Creating triangles in InDesign can be...

Even if you’re working on a two-page document in Adobe InDesign, linking your text boxes together can make your life much easier.  Text boxes are more properly called text frames in InDesign, and they’re quite easy to link together if you know where to look. ...

Whether you want to draw your own perspective grids, line your own comic, or design your new logo, the ability to create straight lines is a necessary skill for the digital artist. Thankfully, drawing a straight line in PaintTool SAI takes only seconds, and can be...

Working on multiple layers while drawing is great...until you have to move them. Thankfully, moving multiple layers in PaintTool SAI is easy. My name is Elianna. I have a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Illustration and have been using Paint Tool Sai for over 7 years. In the...

Have you ever looked at a piece of digital artwork and wondered what black magic the artist used to get their smooth lines? Well, I’m happy to tell you that it is not black magic, and with a few simple steps, you can create smooth lines too.  My name is Elianna....

There are several ways to change the color of your lineart in PaintTool SAI. You can accomplish this using Lock Opacity, the Hue and Saturation filter, the Color blending mode, and the Color linework tool. My name is Elianna. I have a Bachelor of Fine Arts in...

Picture this: You have just spent hours on a digital painting in PaintTool SAI when your laptop suddenly shuts off due to low charge. “Oh no!” You think to yourself. “I forgot to save my file! Was all that work for nothing?” Fear not. You can recover your unsaved .sai...

InDesign is often used to set large amounts of text, but as any dedicated reader will tell you, line length has a huge impact on a document’s readability. Lines that are too long cause the eye to lose its place within the text, and over time this can cause eye strain...

Almost every new user who learns how to use InDesign also has to learn quite a bit of typography and typesetting jargon, which can make the process a bit more complex than you might expect.  In this case, we’re not talking about the gutters along your roof or in the...

Masks are one of the most useful tools in any graphic design workflow, and InDesign is no exception. They give you complete control over the shape of each individual element and how each one interacts with the rest of your layout.  InDesign uses a slightly different...

Despite being a modern page layout application, InDesign is still inevitably filled with jargon from the world of typesetting - even when the terms don’t make a lot of sense in the current usage. This can sometimes make learning InDesign a bit more confusing than it...

How many photos do you have in your Lightroom catalog? Can you find everything easily? Hey there! I’m Cara and I know how it goes. When you first start using Lightroom, you’re excited and amazed by the impressive capabilities of the program. You just start throwing...

Is photo editing software necessary? In this digital age, it pretty much is. If you want to create stunning images that stand out from the crowd, you’ll need more than excellent technical skills with a camera.  Hey there! I’m Cara and as a professional photographer, I...

Time to say goodbye. While Lightroom offers many amazing features, not everyone can justify paying a monthly subscription.  If that’s you, you’re wondering how to cancel your Lightroom subscription. Hey there! I’m Cara and I have used Lightroom extensively for...

Whether you need to stay under an editorial word count, you’re on a quest for brevity, or you’re just plain curious, it can be useful to know exactly how many words are in your InDesign text.  InDesign handles the word count process a bit differently than a word...

Today, I’m going to share with you a secret that many photographers are dying to know.  There’s a “look” or rather several “looks” that cause photos to stand out. You automatically know when you see an image edited by a photographer who knows this secret. There’s...

Images are at the heart of many good InDesign layouts, but you don’t have to be stuck with boring old rectangles. Adobe InDesign has a great set of tools for creating complex text wraps that help integrate your visual and typographic elements into a more dynamic...

As photographers, we look for light. Sometimes, we struggle to find it. And sometimes we end up with way too much light in the image. Hey there, I’m Cara! I tend to err on the side of underexposure when taking my images. It is generally more possible to get details...

Color is one of the most important tools in any designer’s toolkit, but working with color in InDesign can be confusing for new users.  While you’re still getting used to how everything works, InDesign’s color options can seem to work almost at random, which quickly...

What happens when you take an image with the ISO cranked up unnecessarily high? Or when you underexpose an image too much and try to raise the shadows too far in Lightroom? That’s right, you get a grainy photo! Hey there! I’m Cara and I understand there are some...

Can you smooth skin in Lightroom? Photoshop is the king of photo manipulation, but when it comes to editing lots of images, Lightroom is faster. So many photographers wonder, is there an easy way to smooth skin in Lightroom? Hey there! I’m Cara and though I use both...

How do you feel about exporting photos one-by-one from Lightroom? It gets to be a drag quickly, doesn’t it? Hello, I’m Cara! As a professional photographer, exporting photos one-by-one simply isn’t an option. I can easily have hundreds of photos to export for a...

You’ve worked hard on your images. From choosing the perfect camera settings to applying the exact edits to create your vision, it’s been a careful process. The last thing you want to do is ruin the overall effect by posting or printing low-quality images after...

Everybody loves a bright white, Hollywood smile but unfortunately, we don’t all have one. Fortunately, Lightroom makes it easy for everyone to have white teeth in pictures! Hello! I’m Cara and in my work as a professional photographer, I like to keep portraits...

InDesign has some useful online collaboration features for sharing your layouts with others, but it’s only for review and feedback, not file editing.  If you want to edit your InDesign files online, you’ll have to use a third-party service and a special InDesign file...

Page layout can be an enjoyable process full of creativity and satisfaction, but when you’re working on a document with hundreds of pages that all share the same layout, things can get dull very quickly.  Instead of putting yourself to sleep by positioning the...

Most of the objects in InDesign start out as basic squares. Squares have a useful role in page layout, but they barely scratch the surface of what InDesign can do.  One of the simplest ways to break up an overly rectilinear layout is by adding rounded corners,...

It’s important to strike the right balance between image and text, and page layouts can depend on the tiniest of adjustments. While you could keep all the images you need for your layout open in an image editor, that becomes a slow and tedious workflow. ...

Many people start their InDesign journeys by expecting it to function like a word processing app. But InDesign’s focus on typography and design means that it works quite a bit differently, even when it comes to basic operations like making part of your text...

Well, that’s not the right way! Sometimes your portrait-orientated images show up in Lightroom on their sides. Or maybe the horizon in your landscape image turned out a little crooked.  Hello! I’m Cara and I can attest that getting a perfectly straight image out of...

You can’t see where you’re going until you look at where you’ve been, right? It seems like that is some wise adage I’ve heard somewhere. Hi, I’m Cara! While this is a great life quote, it is also applicable to editing photos. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve...

Bulleted lists are one of the most useful typographic inventions for displaying quick text snippets in a highly readable format.  InDesign has a range of options for working with bulleted lists, but the system can be a bit confusing to use, especially if you’re...

Adobe InDesign is a great page layout program, allowing you to design just about anything that your creativity can dream up. But once you get a complex document filled with placed images, text frames, baseline grids, guides, and more, it can be difficult to see...

When you’re used to working with word processors, InDesign can seem strangely complex when it comes to performing simple tasks like page numbering.  While it is often frustrating to new InDesign users, this complexity is necessary to allow for the wide range of...

Editing images is so much fun! I love watching how an image comes to life with a few adjustments in Adobe Lightroom. Hello! I’m Cara, and creating beautiful images is my passion. Thus, I spend a lot of time in Lightroom coaxing the best look out of my images. ...

One of the most challenging things about learning a new software program is keeping track of all the new terminology, especially in a program as complex as Adobe InDesign. When you combine that with all the new typography terminology as well, there’s quite a lot to...

When you’re crafting your first literary masterpiece, the last thing you want to do is spend your time thinking about fonts and font sizes.  There are so many different fonts to choose from in a modern word processor, and most of them are poorly suited to book...

Learning a new program like InDesign can be a daunting task when you first start out. The terminology can be quite a lot to learn, especially in addition to actually using the program!  But a bit of practice can make designing with facing pages in InDesign as familiar...

Whether you love it or hate it, the proper spelling is an essential part of any good design project, and InDesign documents are no exception. Nobody wants to leave a spelling mistake in a finished piece, but most of us don’t have the time to be copy editors as well as...

While it’s possible to create a great layout using purely typographic design elements, most InDesign projects use images to help create mood, showcase data and provide relief from endless walls of text.  But inserting an image in InDesign is a different process than...

InDesign is an impressive page layout program, allowing designers to create anything from a simple digital brochure all the way to extensive and intricate collaborative print projects.  But when it becomes time to finalize your project, you’ll find yourself with...

Sometimes you need to get up close and personal with your images. Whether you’re trying to mask off a specific area or heal skin blemishes, you need to get close to see what you’re doing. That’s when the zoom feature comes into play.  Hey there, I’m Cara! Adobe...

Are you still working with just one photo at a time in Lightroom? Whether organizing, editing, comparing, or syncing, doing it one photo at a time can be time-consuming.  Hey there! I’m Cara and if you don’t know how to select multiple photos in Lightroom, I’m about...

How many photos do you take? A blessing of digital photography is the ability to take virtually unlimited photos in your pursuit of the perfect image. Not sure which composition is best? Try them all and you can decide on your favorite later on a bigger screen. Of...

Do you nail your compositions 100% of the time in-camera? Are your pictures always perfectly straight and your subject perfectly positioned according to the rule of thirds (or whatever compositional rule you’re using)? Hello! I’m Cara and while there may be some...

Every photographer has their own style. For some, it is honed and consistent whereas others, particularly newer photographers, jump around a little. If you’ve ever wondered how to get your style to be a little more consistent, I’m about to let you in on a secret -...

What do you do when you have 857 photos to edit and only a couple of days to do it? If you said to drink lots of coffee and pull an all-nighter, you really need to read this article! Hello! I’m Cara and as a professional photographer, I kind of have a love/hate...

At some point in your photography journey, blur becomes your friend. That nemesis you combatted while learning to get tack-sharp images becomes a tool you can use to make your photos more impactful. Hello! I’m Cara and as a photographer, I deeply understand this...

What’s the bummer part about sharing your amazing images online? The better they are, the more likely it is that someone else might try to use your image without permission or giving you the credit.  Hey-o! I’m Cara, and knock on wood, to date I’m not aware that...

Want to speed up your work in Lightroom significantly? Using presets is a great way to do it! Plus, it’s easier to maintain a consistent look when you edit.  Hey there! I’m Cara and in my work as a professional photographer, I’ve found presets to be invaluable....

People have been claiming for decades that print media is on the way out, but we never seem to actually reach that moment. With that in mind, it’s a good idea to learn the basics of print design and how they can be applied to your InDesign projects.  Bleeds are...

A good font selection is at the heart of any good typographic design, but you’ll quickly get discover the limitations in your operating system’s default fonts. Mac users will have a bit of an advantage here over Windows users thanks to Apple’s attention to design...

Once you’ve crafted a masterful layout in InDesign, the next stage is to share your work with the world. Whether you want to share a digital copy online or send your document to a professional print house, you’ll need to prepare a PDF version of your InDesign file to...

What do you think about the Dehaze option in Lightroom? You’ve probably at least tried it and perhaps been left wondering how this slider is useful because your photo became over-edited so quickly. Hey there! I’m Cara and I’ll admit it took me a while to learn how to...

Lightroom users rejoiced when Adobe rolled out the sophisticated masking feature update in the fall of 2021. Though Photoshop still offers a ton of other features, this update narrowed the gap significantly for photographers who prefer to use Lightroom for editing...

At some point in your photography journey, you probably ran across RAW files and learned the value of using them. Now it’s time for a new file format - DNG.  Hey there, I’m Cara! The choice between RAW and DNG isn’t quite as clear-cut as the choice between JPEG...

Have you ever printed a stunning image, only to be underwhelmed by its ho-hum look on paper? You probably didn’t take advantage of the Soft Proofing feature in Lightroom. Hello! I’m Cara and as a professional photographer, I always want my images to look exactly how I...