How to make better graphics for free
Now, most people who are new in making graphics only have MS Paint. I started off in the same situation. Graphics made in Paint are not usually of best quality, but can look good, like pixels, for instance. So, you want higher quality graphics, do you? I will talk you through it.
First, you need a better graphics program, but you can't pay for one. You want a good, free program without any spyware or anything. You should download Photobie. It is the program where I make most of my graphics. If you want to learn how to use it, go to neo-faeriewings.co.nr. They have some Photobie tutorials.
For cursors, I recommend Icon Art and Ifran View. Ifran View is an image resizer. Icon Art enables you to save small images in cursor format. To paste a small image on Icon Art, click File-->Import from Clipboard because otherwise it doesn't work when you try and paste. There is a place where it says hotspot. Click on that and make sure it is set to 0, 0. Make sure you save your cursor to .ani. Then you should upload the cursor to cursorhost.com because Photobucket and most other free image uploaders do not let you upload cursors.
Speaking of Photobucket, they now have a share URL option. Many people accidentally use this URL because it is the first one shown. Make sure you always use the direct URL of the image.
Next, now that you have enough programs, you need fonts. Yes, you already have fonts automatically on your computer, but I am talking about cool fonts, ones that are fun to look at. First, mainly for crediting your site on an image and for buttons, you need a pixel font. My favorite is Redensek. You can download it from Obsidianflame.com and then click on Resources-->Font Downloads. How do you download a font? Once the file transfer/download process is complete, a file window will pop up. Inside is the font. Now, (this only works for PCs) if you have this option (click to enlarge):
Click on it. Then a new window will come up. Next, click Start, you know, at the bottom of the screen, usually green with a little flag thingy on it? Okay, good. Now, click the Control Panel option-->Fonts. From the newer download window drag the font into the font file in your control panel. That is how you download a font.
Effects on Photobie: Blur, Smooth, Sharpen, Median Laplacian, Jitter, Swirl, Time Warp, Sphere, Moire, Water, Pixelate, Gray Scale, Negative, and more. You can use these to make your graphics more unique and less basic. People use graphics that have cool effects on them more than they use simple images. Try out textures and overlays; on Photobie, you can change the transparencies and stuff.
I hope this tutorial has helped you make better graphics!
-Anna
