Friday, July 31st, 2015

Left Arrow to Get to the Bottom of a Word Document – Mac Only Stupidity

Move to the top or bottom of a Word Document on a Mac

From a file labelled stupid commands comes this one for getting to the top or bottom of a Word document on the Mac. You see simple commands like Page Up and Page Down which work on a PC fail spectacularly on a Mac so most hapless users just use the arrow key (a lot) or scroll bars to get around a Word document.

Smart users know there is a key combination that will do it, but it uses the Left Arrow and Right Arrow keys – I kid you not! How stupid is that? However, since it is useful (albeit stupid), I’ll tell you how. To get to the top of the document use Fn + Command + Left Arrow and to get to the bottom of the document use Fn + Command + Right Arrow.

So, now you know and you can move faster around your documents. Just try explaining that key combination to a friend and hold your tongue as they look at you like you’re nuts.

Thursday, July 9th, 2015

It’s Fun to Make Flat Design Portrait Icons in Illustrator

Even if you can’t draw, you can make these icons!

It sounds scary to be drawing facial icons if you can’t draw, but these are simple to make. The lovely thing about using Illustrator is that you can move pieces around until you get the result you like. You can also delete bits that you don’t like and redraw them.

In this Youtube video I’ll show you the basics of making a flat design female portrait in Illustrator. You’ll build it from the bottom up stating with the shoulders and neck and the clothes. Then make the head and add the features. Finally you’ll do the hair and the optional shadow. Building a solution up step by step like this is a great way to learn to use Illustrator and a fun way to put your skills to work.

Your design can be realistic or quirky, as these samples show but they are all done the same way with simple steps that anyone can do.

 

 

So, without further ado, here is the video for your enjoyment: