I’ve been getting really into children’s illustration and childrens graphics recently, with a lot of focus in vector work. I’ve been getting a lot better and really loving the style. However, I was annoyed with the limited amount of kid/logo friendly fonts when I’ve been putting artwork together. So I decided to make my own that was completely customizable and worked well with textures, since the majority of my designs focus on texture.

So here it is! Blockobet! It’s a fun typeface, and I love being able to apply different layer styles to the different blocks in each letter. Check out the typeface in it’s entirety and an example of how to use it after the jump.

Blockobet- Click Here to Download

And, here it is in action!

I found an awesome free resource for t-shirt designers. I have used GoMedia’s blank t-shirt templates for a long time, I don’t want to knock them at all, it’s a great resource, but they do seem very lifeless. I always wished they had created a pack that used live models so you could show how the design fits the body. To my surprise, Ninth Wheel already had this idea and is giving the templates away for free! They’re not very high resolution, but their great for proofing them to customers and showing off your work on your site. Check them out after the jump!

There are a number of templates to choose from: girls, guys and kids…. which is awesome! All of them are layered .psd files that include a unique background and different shirt colors, including all of the Threadless colors. Check out the templates here!

Check out how the templates work in action:

Here’s a shot of the layers, grouped to profection!

So I have always been a huge fan of the Polaroid process, and was way bummed when it was discontinued. Goodbye Polaroid, hello Poladroid!

I found this free app several months ago when I was searching for free Mac apps. It seemed interesting but didn’t really entice me. I stumbled upon it again yesterday and started viewing some of the gallery photos and I became really intrigued. I downloaded it and dropped a couple photos in, then waited for them to process (which is time consuming, but cool none the less). I was really surprised by the cool textures and effects it added to each one, especially the random thumbprints. This product is awesome for series posts or just adding some effects to your facebook photos. And, best of all… it’s free!

Here’s a couple of images I made using Poladroid:

I’ve been working on a lot of personal projects lately, trying to expand my creativity. One of my main focuses has been poster creation, normally with a focus in typography and texture (you know me). I started using inspirational quotes that I found online so the posters would not only inspire my artistically but also personally. Hope they have the  same effect on you. I only did three sizes for the first one, let me know if you need other screen resolutions.

1024×768

1280×1024

1680×1050

This is one of my single favorite brushes, it’s one of two. I’ll be uploading the sequal soon. Each brush is between 2000-2500 px. These brushes were created from images from cgtextures.com. Download them and use them on whatever you want, no strings attached.

Link and preview image after the jump.

Click on the preview image to download.

So, as most of you know, I’m in love with typography. It’s my single favorite aspect of design and even art in general. I’ve been playing around with hand written type a lot lately and decided to try and create my own. This is my first fonts, so be kind!

There are some issues with the tracking and kerning, but I don’t think it’s too bad for my first. I’ve got to start somewhere! Download it, try it out and tell me what you think. I’d really love some feedback!

It’s free to use on whatever you want. I’d really appreciate a link back but it’s not required. Just click the image to download. Have fun!

Here’s the second freebie from Dunlap Studios, and it’s actually not from Dunlap Studios at all. My buddy Vince from MyNameIsVince sent these to me for you to download. No restrictions, use on whatever you want and have fun! Send him a link if you get the chance.

Check out the preview pic after the jump.

Click the image to download-

Enjoy them! And stop by MyNameIsVince to tell him thanks.

As most of you know I’m absolutely in love with Mac, though I’m still very new to it. I just purchased my Mac Pro in June and I’m still constantly learning. The hardest lesson that I’ve had to learn over and over again is to always search for free apps before purchasing any software.

Well, to save you the time and anguish I’ve put together a list of awesome Apps that I’ve found on Apple’s site. All of them are free to use, so start downloading!

Productivity

• Appointments - Address book of customers and upcoming related events

• TaskMate – Application for all of your to-dos

• iClocker – Tracks your projects time, also works for your to-do lists

• Evernote – The motherload… just get it, especially if you’re blessed with an iPhone

Accounting/Bookkeeping

• TimeNet - Time tracking, billing, invoicing and project management

• Invoy – Simple Invoice creator

• Money – Personal finance organizer, great for small-business accounting

Organization

• Think - Lets you focus on one program at a time

• Password Repository – Save and manage all user passwords in a protected document

• Camouflage – Hides all of your desktop icons behind your wallpaper

• Todos - Hides all of your programs in a dock expansion, you’ll need it after all of these

• Also, if you’re not using Stacks… START!

Free Fun

• Firefox - The best web-browser period!

• Thunderbird - The best e-mail app ever!

• Filezilla - A good ftp client, I’ve tried a handful and found issues with all of them

• Audacity – Easy to use sound editor

• Drawberry - Free vector program, the controls are nice… not Illustrator nice

• GIMP - Photo manipulation program…. once again, not a substitute for Adobe

• Poladroid – Really fun app, turns your photos into polaroid pictures

• Senuti - Transfer songs to your computer from your iPod… or other iPods… not suggesting anything…

• Griswold - Controls your holiday displays from your desktop or iPhone… yes, you read that right

• MacFamily Tree – Some modern genealogy for your OSX

Well, that’s just a few to get started…. there are so many more where these came from. I know we all swear by different programs, so I’d love to hear what you’re using. What are your favorite free apps?

Finally, as promised, a freebie!

This is my first freebie, but hopefully you guys will like it and get some use out of it.

I made it for a business card that I did. I couldn’t find any seamless patterns that I thought would fit the style they were looking for. So, I created my own. The layered file is easy to manipulate and color any way you want.

Once you have it the way you like, just bring it into Photoshop and “Define Pattern”!

I don’t have any terms or conditions or anything. Use it however you want, wherever you want. I’d really appreciate a comment or to see what you’ve used it on. Enjoy!