70 Awesome Illustrator Tutorials For Designers

Original Source: https://designrfix.com/resources/illustrator-cs6-tutorials-2

Welcome to day 2 of tutorial week on Designrfix. Today we have assembled a stunning collection of some of the  latest and most creative Illustrator tutorials from around the Web. I am confident that these 70 awesome Illustrator tutorials will guide you in creating some of the most amazing Illustrations for your next project. Hope you like […]

How to Launch Microsoft Edge in InPrivate Window by Default

Original Source: https://www.hongkiat.com/blog/edge-inprivate-mode-by-default/

Microsoft Edge has a lot of cool features; for example – you can earn Microsoft Rewards points by just browsing the web with it. However, when it comes to launching a new window (natively) in a private mode, it kind of falls short when compared with Firefox or Safari. But this doesn’t mean that it can’t be achieved at all.

In this post, we will tell you how to enable Microsoft Edge to open in a drive window each time we launch it. For this, we need first to create a shortcut and alter it with some parameters of its default settings, just like we’ve previously done it with Chrome. Let’s take a look.

Windows Users
Step 1

Launch File Explorer, and navigate to ProgramData > Microsoft > Windows > Start Menu > Programs. Or, you can also paste the following path directly in File Explorer to get directly to the intended destination.

C:ProgramDataMicrosoftWindowsStart MenuPrograms

navigate to path
Step 2

Right-click once on the Microsoft Edge shortcut and select “Properties”.

select properties
Step 3

Inside “Target:”, go to the end of the line, hit space once, then insert “-inprivate” with the quotes.

This will change the default:

“C:Program Files (x86)MicrosoftEdgeApplicationmsedge.exe”

Into becoming:

“C:Program Files (x86)MicrosoftEdgeApplicationmsedge.exe” -inprivate

add parameter
Step 4

Now, click “OK”, follow by “Continue” to confirm your changes.

Your Edge browser should always open in InPrivate mode (by default) every time you launch it.

ok and continue
Mac Users

And for those who have Microsoft Edge installed on your macOS, here’s how to open it in InPrivate mode by default.

Step 1

Launch Spotlight, search for and open the Script Editor app.

launch Script Editor
Step 2

Click “New Document” and paste the following codes inside.

do shell script “open -a /Applications/Microsoft\ Edge.app -n –args –inprivate”

add script

Next, save the file by going to File > Save, or hit the shortcut Command + S.

Select “Desktop” for “Where:”, “Application” for “File Format:” and then hit the “Save” button. What happens here is that an executable file that opens Edge in InPrivate mode will be created on your Desktop.

save script
Step 3

To ensure it works, double-click the executable file and see if it opens up Edge in InPrivate mode.

Step 4

Now, let’s add an icon to the executable we created and move it to the Dock.

Launch Finder, the Microsoft Edge app installed on your Mac; right-click and select “Get Info”.

Note: Microsoft Edge should be located inside Macintosh HD > Applications.

Edge get info

Next, do a “Get Info” on the executable file and put the two dialogue boxes side by side, see the screenshot below for reference.

get info dialogue boxes

Now, left-click once on the Edge logo, do a Command + C to copy its logo, then click the executable file’s logo and hit Command + V.

copy paste icon

This will give the executable file a nice-looking Edge logo.

Last but not least, drag it onto the Dock.

add to Dock

The post How to Launch Microsoft Edge in InPrivate Window by Default appeared first on Hongkiat.

The Ultimate Dawn Theme Review for 2023

Original Source: https://ecommerce-platforms.com/articles/shopify-dawn-theme

In today’s Shopify Dawn theme review, we’re looking at one of the most popular beginner-friendly themes for Shopify store owners. If you’re familiar with Shopify, you’ll know the platform offers a host of free and premium theme options, designed to enhance the look and feel of your store.

The Dawn theme is one of the handful of free themes any user on Shopify can access and customize to their specific needs. While it might not have some of the more advanced functions of premium Shopify themes, Dawn is an ideal option for beginners with a limited budget.

Here’s everything you need to know about this sophisticated, minimalist theme.

What is the Shopify Dawn Theme? An Introduction

The Dawn theme is one of the most popular free alternatives to the default theme on the Shopify platform, created by the ecommerce and website building giant themselves. Optimized for the Online Store 2.0 (the latest generation of Shopify’s ecommerce platform), the Dawn theme is a pristine, minimalistic, and straightforward design option for Shopify stores.

Shopify suggests the theme is perfectly suited to visually-focused brands, who want to put their products in the spotlight. The solution comes with media-forward product pages, which allow you to add large, high-definition images to your product pages.

It also features all of the customization options store owners might need. As a Shopify 2.0 theme, the Dawn solution allows users to access drag-and-drop sections and blocks to create custom pages without coding. Dawn includes a host of flexible, well-designed blocks for products, images, videos, quotes, written content, and anything else you might need.

The Shopify Dawn Theme: Aesthetics and Style

While some premium themes on Shopify, such as the Envy theme, come with multiple style options to choose from, the Dawn theme only has a singular style. It’s a minimalistic theme, with plenty of white space between components to help provide your users with a streamlined browsing experience.

The design focuses heavily on placing photos and images in the spotlight, so you’ll find plenty of big spaces where you can show off your products. Large imagery, crisp lines, and simplified fonts all help to keep your customers focused on what matters most: your products.

According to Shopify, the solution is intended for visual storytelling, which makes it an excellent option for jewellery and fashion brands, as well as any other company with great images to showcase.

Although you only get one style with the Shopify Dawn theme, it is relatively customizable, thanks to the blocks included. You can also access free high-resolution photos from the Shopify Burst library if you’re struggling to fill up all the image space.

The ease of use of the Shopify Dawn theme means you won’t really need a tutorial or any guidance to start customizing. However, you can find some open-source documentation on Dawn repository page on Shopify if you need extra advice.

The Shopify Dawn Theme: Features

The Dawn theme comes with everything you might expect from a basic Shopify theme. It works with the latest Shopify features for Online Store 2.0. Plus, you can rest assured you’ll have instant access to the latest features and fixes that appear from Shopify in the future too.

This is a beginner-friendly theme, intended to improve the performance of your online store, without the need for complex code. The template is largely made up of HTML and CSS, with as little JavaScript as possible, to reduce loading times and other issues.

Alongside the basics, the Shopify Dawn theme includes:

Cart and checkout features: You can optimize your checkout using the Dawn theme with various options for enhanced user experiences, such as cart notes, options for in-store pickups, and a Quick Buy button, supported by Shopify Payments. You can also add a text section to your checkout, and customize your add to cart buttons.

Marketing and conversion tools: The Shopify Dawn theme supports blogging, so you can boost your presence online with content creation and SEO. You can offer cross-selling and up-selling suggestions to increase your revenue, and showcase product reviews and press coverage on your site too. The product also includes a “quick view” option for product category pages, recommended products sections, and the option to create an FAQ page.

Merchandising features: As mentioned above, the main benefit of the Dawn theme is its ability to put the focus on your products with high-quality images. You can leverage image galleries, rollover effects, and zoom options, create look books, and even upload various product videos, slideshows, and size charts. You can also add product options, ingredients, nutritional information, and shipping/delivery information to each product page.

Product discovery: To help customers find the right products on your store, you can use the Dawn theme to add an enhanced search function to your website. This product also includes support for product filtering and sorting. Plus, a mega menu makes it easy to organize all of your pages into the right categories. You can also add a sticky header to your pages to improve navigation for your customers.

Shopify Dawn Theme Pros and Cons

Overall, as one of the first free themes developed for the Shopify Store 2.0 solution, the Dawn theme has a lot to offer. It’s an easy-to-use and convenient theme, with a sophisticated and minimalistic design. Let’s take a look at some of the major pros and cons:

Pros 👍
Cons 👎

Pros 👍

Easy to customize and optimize with a tree view for separate settings
Content sections can be added to all page types, to adjust your layout
Support for high-quality images, and carousel content
Fantastic merchandising, marketing, and conversion options
Easy product discovery and navigation with mega menus and enhanced search
Options to create meta fields without any APIs or code
Template creation for any page on your store
Beautiful hero banner options with buttons and CTAs
Excellent mobile responsivity

Cons 👎

Limited style options and a relatively basic design
May not work perfectly with some Shopify apps and add-ons
Can be complicated to customize the code

Shopify Dawn Theme Review: Verdict

Ultimately, if you’re looking for a simple Shopify theme that you don’t have to pay extra to access, the Dawn theme is a great choice. The new theme comes with access to the Shopify Online Store 2.0 theme editor, with convenient app blocks and image sections.

You can create collection pages, customize your homepage and storefront to your heart’s content, and take advantage of some gorgeous image banner options too. The Dawn theme also ensures you’ll have access to all of the new features available to your Shopify online store in the future, with access to free, constant updates. You don’t even need to know anything about theme development to get started.

However, it’s worth remembering the Dawn theme is a relatively basic reference theme for Shopify merchants, with limited capabilities. If you’re looking for an alternative to the Dawn theme, you can find a range of different options on the Shopify theme store which may have more variants and options to choose from.

Further reading 📚

The 31 Best Shopify Themes for 2023

Best Free Shopify Themes for a Sleek, Affordable Design in 2023

Shopify Themes “Sections” – All You Need to Know

Delori Theme Review: Will This Be Your Next Shopify Theme?

Envy Shopify Theme Review for 2023

The post The Ultimate Dawn Theme Review for 2023 appeared first on Ecommerce Platforms.

Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny poster is a retro delight

Original Source: https://www.creativebloq.com/news/indiana-jones-and-the-dial-of-destiny-poster

Peak cinema.

Quick Tip: Pull Data from an API into a Figma Layer

Original Source: https://www.sitepoint.com/figma-pull-api-data-to-layer/?utm_source=rss

Quick Tip: Pull Data from an API into a Figma Layer

Discover how to use the Data Sync plugin to easily pull data from an API into a Figma Layer

Continue reading
Quick Tip: Pull Data from an API into a Figma Layer
on SitePoint.

Case Study: Crosswire

Original Source: https://tympanus.net/codrops/2023/04/04/case-study-crosswire/

Take a look behind the scenes of the creation of a unique website for Crosswire that used a 3D environment made with WebGL to simplify their complex service offering.

Ideas for Pixel Page Transitions

Original Source: https://tympanus.net/codrops/2023/04/05/ideas-for-pixel-page-transitions/

Inspiration for “pixel” page transitions based on Niccolò Miranda’s animation.

So you've probably been pronouncing these brand names wrong

Original Source: https://www.creativebloq.com/news/mispronounced-brand-names

(But does it matter?)

How to Convert a JSON String into an SQL Query

Original Source: https://www.sitepoint.com/convert-json-sql-query/?utm_source=rss

How to Convert a JSON String into an SQL Query

Learn the simple steps required to convert a JSON string into a JSON object and then into an SQL query that can insert your data into a database.

Continue reading
How to Convert a JSON String into an SQL Query
on SitePoint.

3D Art Trends & Techniques: A Journey

Original Source: https://abduzeedo.com/3d-art-trends-techniques-journey

3D Art Trends & Techniques: A Journey
3D Art Trends & Techniques: A Journey

abduzeedo0331—23

Javier Pardina, a skilled 3D artist, has created a breathtakingly beautiful visual spectacle using Maxon Cinema 4D and Redshift Render. The work, titled “Particle Cobwebs,” features a delicate and intricate network of sparkling particles that seem to float in mid-air, forming a gossamer web that is both ethereal and mesmerizing.

The level of detail in the cobweb network is remarkable, with each individual strand and particle being precisely placed to create a cohesive and realistic effect. The use of light and shadow further enhances the 3D work, adding depth and dimensionality to the cobwebs.

One of the most impressive aspects of “Particle Cobwebs” is how the sparkling particles are animated to create a sense of movement and fluidity. The particles seem to dance and shimmer in the light, adding to the overall ethereal quality of the work.

The color palette chosen by Pardina is also noteworthy, with a combination of cool blues and warm golds creating a sense of contrast and balance. The overall effect is both calming and energizing, making it a perfect piece for a variety of settings.

The use of Maxon Cinema 4D and Redshift Render is particularly impressive in this 3D work, allowing for a level of detail and realism that would be difficult to achieve with other software. The attention to detail in the cobweb network and the use of lighting and animation truly showcase the power of these 3D tools.

Overall, “Particle Cobwebs” is a stunning example of the beauty and versatility of 3D art. Javier Pardina’s skillful use of Maxon Cinema 4D and Redshift Render has resulted in a visual masterpiece that captures the imagination and inspires wonder. This 3D work is sure to leave a lasting impression on anyone who views it.

3D stills

3D still from Javier Pardina's work titled Particle Cobwebs3D still from Javier Pardina's work titled Particle Cobwebs3D still from Javier Pardina's work titled Particle Cobwebs3D still from Javier Pardina's work titled Particle Cobwebs3D still from Javier Pardina's work titled Particle Cobwebs3D still from Javier Pardina's work titled Particle Cobwebs3D still from Javier Pardina's work titled Particle Cobwebs3D still from Javier Pardina's work titled Particle Cobwebs3D still from Javier Pardina's work titled Particle Cobwebs3D still from Javier Pardina's work titled Particle Cobwebs3D still from Javier Pardina's work titled Particle Cobwebs3D still from Javier Pardina's work titled Particle Cobwebs3D still from Javier Pardina's work titled Particle Cobwebs3D still from Javier Pardina's work titled Particle Cobwebs3D still from Javier Pardina's work titled Particle Cobwebs3D still from Javier Pardina's work titled Particle Cobwebs3D still from Javier Pardina's work titled Particle Cobwebs3D still from Javier Pardina's work titled Particle Cobwebs

For more information make sure to check out Javier Pardina’s Website or follow him on Behance and  Instagram