This is my favorite time of year and I try to at least get a new wallpaper up each year for people to enjoy. This year I tried something new: I inked this digitally using my Wacom tablet instead of inking by hand and scanning in. The result is pretty nice, although it took a bit of extra effort because it’s still new to me. I’m going to try and develop this skill a bit more with upcoming works, we’ll see what happens.

Download Rules

You can download the full wallpaper package here. All that I ask is that if you download the wallpaper, please share, tweet, comment, whatever to help share the Halloween spirit with others.

Likewise, please leave a comment below with your favorite scary movie! Let’s get a list going, it’ll be interesting to see what people enjoy the most.

Purchase a Print

If you really like this illustration and would like to purchase a print of it or get it on a mouse pad, coffee mug, or even a puzzle, you can purchase it either at my DeviantART Print Shop or my RedBubble Print Shop. Thanks in advance to all who purchase!

Wallpaper Previews

Desktop Preview

iPhone Preview

Sizes included in the download package:

800×600
1024×768
1280×854
1280×1024
1440×900
1600×1200
1680×1050
1920×1200
2560×1600
iPhone Version

Directions for Mac users or Directions for Windows users

Related posts:

1. New Wallpaper – Happy Holidays 2009
2. Halloween Wallpaper 2008
3. We All Scream For Halloween!

The annual Minneapolis Zombie Pub Crawl will take place on October 10th in the West Bank area of Minneapolis, MN. This year they’re expecting more than 4,000 zombies, which is a hell of a lot more than the 400 that attended the first year that I went. This will be my third year attending, I missed out last year but I’m flying in for some good ‘ol zombie fun.

I’ve had the privilege of being the web designer ever since the ZPC crew discovered my fan site, which is sorely in need of an update. This will be my third year designing the site and this time I incorporated a bit of my own illustrative skill to the header area. The new site design is up and running, check it out at www.ZombiePubCrawl.com.

V.I.Z. Tickets

One of the new and exciting things about the ZPC this year is the chance to purchase V.I.Z. Tickets, which cost $30 and include the following:

- Guaranteed admission into the finale party at the Cabooze (value: $8)
- One Zombie Pub Crawl t-shirt (value: $12)
- One limited-edition ZPC poster, screenprinted and signed by artist David Witt (value: $20)
- Discount coupons to the Oak Street Cinema (check out their new late-night horror movie series)
- NEW: The first 30 people to order VIZ tickets will also get a free download of the “Zombie Pub Crawl” iPhone game!

This is a pretty sweet deal for anyone looking to score some killer zombie schwag. The total value of this package is $50+, so if you’re interested in getting a great deal you can purchase your tickets here.

Zombie Illustration

If you dig the zombie illustration that I did for the header, you can check it out in more detail here and also purchase it on a coffee mug, as a print, or on a variety of other items. If you dig it, check it out.

So, if you’re heading out to the Zombie Pub Crawl on October 10th, come and find me and we’ll have a drink together. I’ll be the one dressed up as a zombie.

Related posts:

1. Just Launched the New Zombie Pub Crawl Site for 2008
2. Zombie Pub Crawl 2007
3. New Wallpaper – Happy Halloween 2009

The Software Galaxy project actually started with a logo design and then moved into the site design and development. Here’s how the logo turned out:

Here’s a screenshot, I suggest you check out the site to experience its full functionality.

Related posts:

1. Nuance Shop Website
2. TivoliToo Flash Portfolio Site Launched
3. Just Launched the New Zombie Pub Crawl Site for 2008

mjRanum
Liz Vandhal
Miguel Saavedra
Juliane Riedl
Go Fish

You can download the full wallpaper package here. If you need help getting your wallpaper set up on your desktop, follow the instructions below. 

 

Desktop Preview

iPhone Preview

Sizes included in the download package:

800×600
1024×768
1280×854
1280×1024
1440×900
1600×1200
1680×1050
1920×1200
2560×1600
iPhone Version 

Directions for Mac users or Directions for Windows users

Related posts:

1. Free Wallpaper – Screw Work
2. Halloween Wallpaper 2008
3. New Illustration and Wallpaper – Didn’t Even See It Coming 2

Final Image Preview:

Step 1

First, you’ll need a reference file. I used this CC image that I found on Flickr, it’s a good starting point because all of the pieces are laid out nicely in order.

Step 2

Create a new file in Photoshop at 72dpi with a width of 1024px and 854px. This is the same size as your reference file, so open that up and place it into your new file as the first layer. Give the reference layer a name, such as “Reference” so you can keep tabs on it. Once you have that taken care of, select your Rounded Rectangle Tool (press U) and set the radius of the rounded rectangle to 10px. Using the tool, drag a shape over the first game piece to make the shape we’ll be using. Once you have your shape, put it in a group folder by hitting the little folder icon at the bottom of the Layers palette (or by using the keys Open Apple+G on a Mac, Control+G on a PC, I believe). Name the group “A” as this is the group for the letter A game piece. 

You can set your color to anything, it won’t matter because we’ll be using blend options to make the effects for the game pieces. 

Step 3

Once you’ve got your shape you’ll be perfecting the styles and eventually replicating first game piece throughout so we have a uniform set. Double-click on the shape layer you just created and you’ll see the Layer Style palette come up. Check the box next to Pattern Overlay and choose the generic wood pattern that comes with Photoshop CS3. Leave the settings as they are, but keep the Layer Style Palette open–we’ll be using it for the next few steps. 

Step 4

Next we’ll be giving a slight highlight to our game piece. Select Gradient Overlay in the Layer Style palette. Change the Blend Mode to Screen, the Opacity to 47%, and change the angle to 90º. You should be able to leave the other settings, compare to this image:

Step 5

Choose the Bevel and Emboss section attribute in the Layer Style Palette. Here’s where you’re going to change a bunch of settings. Set the Style to Inner Bevel, the Technique to Smooth, the Size to 5, and you should be able to leave the rest except for the shading colors. For the Highlight, set the color to D69A54. For the Shadow, set the color to D59C4B. Your settings should look like this:

Step 6

Next we’ll be adding Contour and Texture, located underneath the Bevel and Emboss section in the Layer Styles palette. We’ll combine this into one step as it’s pretty easy. For the Contour, simply set the Opacity to 50%. For the Texture, select the same generic wood pattern that we used in Step 3, then change the Scale to 127, the Depth to +26, and then check the boxes next to Invert and Link with Layer. These are pretty subtle effects, but they help with the overall realism of the game pieces. Here are the settings:

Step 7

Next, select Inner Glow in the Layer Styles palette and set the Opacity to 10%, the Source to Center, the Choke to 0%, and the Size to 51. You can leave the rest of the settings as they are, and they should look like this:

Step 8

The last thing we’ll be doing in the Layer Styles palette is add a Drop Shadow, so check the box and set the Opacity to 48%, the Distance to 0, the Spread to 0, and the Size to 5. We’re going for a subtle effect here, and it should look like the image below. You can finally close your Layer Styles palette!

Step 9

Next we’re going to lay out the letters. I used the font Univers 47 Condensed Light for my pieces, but as it’s a commercial font not everyone may have it. Do your best to find a font as similar as possible, as this one works pretty well. You’ll want a sans-serif font that is condensed to fit well into the pieces.

For the letter I set my Univers 47 font to 103pt and for the number I set it to 40pt. I also set the Anti-Aliasing to Strong for both. Set the paragraph alignment to Center Align for both so that you can center up the letter on the game piece and change it out easily for each piece. Be sure to put both of these layers into the group folder “A” so we can keep things organized.

Step 10

Once you center up the letter on the game piece and have the number where you want it, double click on the layer for the letter to pull up the Layer Styles palette. Check the Bevel and Emboss box and set the Style to Emboss, the Direction to Down, the Size to 5, and change the Highlight color to #EACEAD. You should be able to keep the rest of the settings as-is, but compare to the image below. Once you do this, hit OK and then copy the layer style over to the number layer by holding the Alt/Option key and dragging the “FX” symbol on the letter layer to the number layer. 

Step 11

Now all you have to do is copy the folder you have for the first game piece 23 times and change out the letters and numbers! It’ll go much quicker if you select a folder and then hold down Shift and Alt while you drag the pieces to their new destinations because holding Alt and dragging will give you a duplicate folder and holding Shift will keep the folder in line. Also, I’d recommend laying out the top four pieces and then selecting all four folders and holding Alt and Shift to drag down 4 times. This will give you rows of 4  to work with and will speed up the process dramatically. Here’s the final result:

I hope this tutorial has helped you get an understanding of how to do this, and hopefully you will have picked up a few other new tricks along the way. If you want to post links to examples of work you’ve done after using this tutorial, we’d love to see them! Fill out your reviews and comments below to participate.

As an added bonus, here’s an example of how you can use the game pieces in a layout. This is a DVD cover that I designed for a family event, and the pieces came in handy for it:

Related posts:

1. New Wallpaper – New Year, New Game

Next time he’s wearing a lab coat to the office. Thanks anyway, Sly.

Related posts:

1. Happy Panda St. Patty’s Day Design
2. Happy Panda St. Patty’s Day Design
3. Free Work is a Design No-No

You can download the full wallpaper package here. If you need help getting your wallpaper set up on your desktop, follow the instructions below. 

Desktop Preview

Sizes included in the download package:
800×600
1024×768
1280×854
1280×1024
1440×900
1600×1200
1680×1050
1920×1200
2560×1600
iPhone Version 

Directions for Mac users or Directions for Windows users

Related posts:

1. Free Wallpaper – Don’t Fear the Reaper
2. Halloween Wallpaper 2008
3. New Illustration and Wallpaper – Didn’t Even See It Coming

A quick shout to Marcus Ranum on DeviantART for the great photo of the man in the zoot suit, and also to Bittbox for the delicious brushes. You guys rule. 

You can download the full wallpaper package here. If you need help getting your wallpaper set up on your desktop, follow the instructions below.

Desktop Preview

iPhone Preview

Sizes included in the download package:

800×600
1024×768
1280×854
1280×1024
1440×900
1600×1200
1680×1050
1920×1200
2560×1600
iPhone Version

Directions for Mac users or Directions for Windows users

Related posts:

1. Halloween Wallpaper 2008
2. Free Wallpaper – Screw Work
3. Free Wallpaper – Don’t Fear the Reaper

Click here to view the eCard. 

Related posts:

1. Darth Vader on the PS3 – Take that, XBOX Players!
2. Yoda is looking pretty sweet..
3. Metal Gear Solid Ninja Tribute

You can download the full wallpaper package here. If you need help getting your wallpaper set up on your desktop, follow the instructions below. 

Desktop Preview

iPhone Preview

Sizes included in the download package:

800×600
1024×768
1280×854
1280×1024
1440×900
1600×1200
1680×1050
1920×1200
2560×1600
iPhone Version 

Directions for Mac users or Directions for Windows users

Related posts:

1. New Wallpaper – Happy Halloween 2009
2. Free Wallpaper – Screw Work
3. Free Wallpaper – Don’t Fear the Reaper