Author Archive: Scott Trudeau

Adobe Digital Publishing Suite as a College Recruitment Tool?

Posted on July 30, 2012 by Scott Trudeau | Comments (0)

My daughter exclaimed, “Hey Dad, I want to play soccer for the University of Alabama!”

I work with the Adobe education team, and my iPad is filled with examples of applications created with Adobe InDesign and the Adobe Digital Publishing Suite.   A University of Alabama DPS “app” that I had installed a few days prior was responsible for my daughter’s surprising exclamation.

The exclamation was surprising because:

  • both my wife and I graduated from the Texas A&M system
  • we live in Texas and have never been to Alabama (although I hear it is a great state)
  • I was cheering for LSU during the BCS championship game

Curiously, I glared at my daughter and replied “You want to play soccer for Alabama? WHAT ARE YOU TALKING ABOUT!”

Kelsey, with a sparkle in her eyes, replied, “Hold on a minute Dad, I’ll show yah.”

My daughter, after disappearing for a few seconds, returned holding my iPad.  She plopped down next to me and exclaimed, “Dad, Alabama has a cool app!” and proceeded to show me all the “cool stuff” that makes up Alabama’s female soccer program.

Some quotes lifted from the lips of my daughter:

  • “Check out this amazing video!”
  • “…wait Dad, swipe the image to see more pics.”
  • “scroll up and down to view stats about the players”
  • “Keep flipping to the right to watch some more videos.”

I’ll have to admit, the Alabama “Fan Guide” app is pretty darn slick.  The rich-multimedia experience captivates the audience and makes good use of video integration, photo slideshows, and interactivity. The app really makes the Alabama athletics program look great.

My daughter, with a smile on her face and a twinkle in her eye, looked up at me and said, “So what do you think Dad, can I play soccer for the University of Alabama?  Before I had time to answer, she blurted “click the home button, they also have one for Volleyball!”

As I walked away shaking my head and mumbling something about out-of-state tuition, Kelsey’s younger sister ran up and asked to view the app as well.  For forty-five minutes both girls sat around the living room zooming, swiping, playing videos, and learning all about Alabama’s athletic programs.  My girls had been “hooked!”

I’m not sure if Alabama intended on using their “Fan Guide” app as a recruitment tool, but this A&M family may just have crimson in their future.

 

Publications that are part of the Alabama DPS “Fan Guide” app:

  • 2012 Rowing
  • 2012 Softball
  • Gymnastics Fan Guide
  • Women’s Basketball Fan Guide
  • 2011 Volleyball
  • Note: The Soccer publication is no longer available (perhaps they are updating for the new season?) 

You may also want to check out the Alabama “Game Day” App.

Learn more about Adobe Digital Publishing Suite (DPS)

 

Cronkite Students Create Award-Winning Multimedia Project

Posted on July 16, 2012 by Scott Trudeau | Comments (1)

“State of Change” is an award-winning multimedia project created by Walter Cronkite School of Journalism and Mass Communication graduate students.  The students used various Adobe products to create a website that offers a “rich look at Arizona history”.

The students were part of a graduate “boot camp” where they learned how to integrate journalistic storytelling and technology.  A few of the students had not previously had any experience with Adobe solutions, but the project introduced them to software applications like Flash and Dreamweaver.

“State of Change” won two national awards from the Broadcast Education Association, including the “Best of Festival” award, which honors the best work of the competition.

To learn more about the project visit:

“State of Change” Project

http://cronkitezine.asu.edu/stateofchange/index

The Cronkite Journal

http://cronkite.asu.edu/experience/journal.php  (2011 – 2012 journal, page 52)

Play LevelUp – Learn Photoshop by Playing a Game of Missions

Posted on June 5, 2012 by Scott Trudeau | Comments (0)

 

Do you enjoy a bit of friendly competition?  Do you need to polish-up on your Photoshop skills?  You can do both by downloading and playing LevelUp for Photoshop!  LevelUp for Photoshop is a “game of missions” that will allow you to earn points – the more points you earn the better chance at winning prizes like Amazon gift cards and a chance to win a one-year membership to the Adobe Creative Cloud!  Heck, you also get the added benefit of learning more about Photoshop!

But you better hurry…because you must finish the game by midnight Pacific time on June 30, 2012, to be eligible for the Creative Cloud drawing.

Go check it out…http://success.adobe.com/microsites/levelup/index.html 

 

Create a Swirl Pattern Using Illustrator CS6

Posted on May 25, 2012 by Scott Trudeau | Comments (0)

The new pattern tools in Illustrator CS6 are simply amazing.  The new tools will greatly reduce the time it takes to create web patterns, textile patterns, fabric patterns, etc.   Now you can spend less time learning tools, and more time on your designs!

And heck…I’ve found that creating patterns is somewhat therapeutic!

I’ve included a quick tutorial on how to create a “swirl” pattern.  Enjoy.

View the Tutorial (YouTube)

Student Documentary Competition – $50,000 in Student and Teacher Prizes

Posted on December 7, 2011 by Scott Trudeau | Comments (0)

Middle School and High School students can win some nice prize money while learning about the U.S. Constitution.  So kids, get out your cameras and start-up your copies of Premiere Elements and/or Premiere Pro and start editing your videos!

C-SPAN’s StudentCam is an annual national video documentary competition that encourages students to think about issues that affect our communities and our nation. Students are asked to create a short (5-8 minute) video documentary related to the following topic: “The Constitution and You: Select any provision of the U.S. Constitution and create a video illustrating why it’s important to you.”

 

 

 

 

Amazing Photoshop Touch Technique

Posted on November 23, 2011 by Scott Trudeau | Comments (0)

Russell Brown thought up a great Photoshop Touch hack that is just too darn cool! Check out this short video on how to use Photoshop Touch and a flashlight to create some AMAZING lighting effects.

 

Tutorial Magic – Adobe Tutorial Builder

Posted on November 2, 2011 by Scott Trudeau | Comments (1)

Adobe “Tutorial Builder” is like the “Harry Potter” of tutorial applications! This amazing application from Adobe Labs magically records your Photoshop knowledge into slick tutorials that can be shared via iPad.  So…what’s so magical about it?  Press the instructional link on the iPad and it will demonstrate the referenced step in Photoshop.  This instructional hocus-pocus creates a communication channel between your tablet and a computer running Photoshop using the TouchSDK.

Tutorial Builder looks like a great application to add to your instructional “charm bag”!

Try it out… 

Publish Photoshop 3D layers to PDF

Posted on September 29, 2011 by Scott Trudeau | Comments (0)

In my last tutorial I showed you how to take an image and apply that image to a 3D object in Photoshop. In this tutorial I will show you how to publish a 3D layer to PDF.  Anybody with Acrobat Reader will then be able to interact with your 3D object.

 

  1. Create a 3D object in Photoshop (tutorial here)
  2. Right click on the 3D layer
  3. Select Export 3D layer
  4. Name the file and select U3D from the Format dropdown menu
  5. Click the Save button
  6. The 3D Export Options dialogue box will open.
  7. Make sure that JPEG is selected from the Texture Format dropdown
  8. Use ECMA1  for the U3D Options

 

The steps above exported the Photoshop layer to a U3D file.  The U3D file can now be published to PDF.

 

  1. Open Adobe Acrobat X
  2. Select File>Created PDF>From File
  3. Browse to the U3D file you saved earlier
  4. An Insert 3D dialogue box will open.  Select OK (You may want to check out the “Advanced” options by clicking on the Show Advanced Options check box.  There are some neat options to play around with).
  5. Click on your 3D object to interact with it.  Also notice the 3D tool bar that appears.

Cool!  Now anybody with Acrobat Reader can view your 3D content!

Use Your Imagination and Win $10,000!

Posted on August 31, 2011 by Scott Trudeau | Comments (0)

Adobe has launched Adobe & Imagination Challenge, a new contest for students 15 years of age and older, encouraging them to show off their creative abilities with Adobe Creative Suite® 5.5 software products. Individual students who submit their creative pieces will have a chance to win $10,000. First prize winners in each of the four weekly judging sessions, and the grand prize winner, receive a $10,000 prize and will have their work showcased on Adobe.com!

Work must be submitted online, where it will be featured for fellow students to vote on. The pieces will also be reviewed by a panel of professionals — including DeadMau5, Jake & Amir, Rivers Cuomo, and Scott Dadich — who will select the top 10 finalists for each of the weekly judging periods. Students in North America can submit entries from August 21 to October 15, 2011, for weekly judging.

Let your students know about this rewarding opportunity to express themselves and show off their talents with CS5.5 tools.

Build a 3D Planet in Photoshop

Posted on August 19, 2011 by Scott Trudeau | Comments (3)

Imagine a satellite traveling thousands of miles into space, flying around distant planets, snapping pictures of their surfaces, and returning the images to Earth.  Well, it has been done, and the images are amazing (Thanks NASA).

What is even more amazing is that you can find the images using a simple Internet search (keywords:  Jupiter, surface, map) and wrap them around  3D objects created in Photoshop!

This makes for a great student project.

Here is how…http://youtu.be/uqQ9TTALw7U 

In my next tutorial I will show you how to export the 3D layer to an Acrobat PDF file.  This will allow mom, dad, or another student to view and manipulate the 3D object using the (free) Acrobat Reader.