Create Your Own 3D Covers, Header Graphics & Minisite Graphics
I’m Nicolaas Theron, and I’ve been designing web graphics professionally for the past 5 years. Today I’m going to spill all my secrets, give you all the tools I use and show you every trick and technique I’ve acquired over the years to successfully run a high paying web graphics design service.
Whether you just want to create graphics for your own use, or whether you want to actually start your own design service, you’re at the right place and you’ve found your solution.
After all the stuff you’ve heard about Photoshop, how you can’t do without it if you want to create graphics, yadda yadda yadda, you’d be forgiven for thinking that only Photoshop would be able to create the quality of graphics you can see on this website.
Everything you see was created with a $55 piece of graphics software called RealDraw Pro. Here’s why I use this software, and why it’s perfect for anyone who wants to learn how to create their own web graphics:
What bogs most people down with Photoshop is the steep learning curve and the absolutely overwhelming amount of tools and features it has. RealDraw Pro is easy to learn, with a ton of easy to adjust one-click effect buttons that help you complete seemingly difficult tasks in no time at all. And as you can see from the graphics on this site, the quality you can achieve is second to none.
Click on anything, at any time, to move it around or change its attributes, often with a single click or a quick move of a slider.
It’s worth saying again: I have been using RealDraw Pro for 5 years now to create web graphics for internet professionals with my design service at www.xwebgraphics.com. In short…this software can do the job, and do it well.
Nic, I just wanted to thank you and let you know that your RDP videos absolutely rock! I have been a long time user of RDP, in fact going all the way back to Compact Draw – rest its soul =(.
Even using it for as long as I have, I still learned a lot from your tutorials. What you have done is fantastic and people who don’t know about RDP should watch you training. It is top notch even for a veteran like me.
Already created my first minisite 
Thank you for your clear, good and plain explanation. It’s really a pleasure to watch the videos. Good Job.
In so many cover template or other do-it-yourself graphics packages on the Internet today, training is an afterthought. A quick video to show you how to slap some stuff onto a cover template, and off you go. No wonder there are so many hideous cover and header graphics littering the Internet.
In DIY Web Graphics Pro, video training is the main component of the product. Four complete video sets provide you with all the training you need to create great graphics.
BASICS SET: 16 VIDEOS Get familiar with the software and its key functions – short, punchy videos that are easy to work through.
SPECIFICS/ADVANCED SET: 14 VIDEOS Various advanced techniques like text enhancement, drawing and smart combinations.
3D COVER SET: 7 VIDEOS How to edit the cover graphic templates, create your own templates, and how to accomplish various other related tasks.
PRACTICAL APPLICATION SET: 6 VIDEOS We create no less than THREE completely different matching header and cover sets.
Follow me step-by-step as we create the matching graphic sets below in 6 revealing videos (including a pre-launch version of the graphics on this website!).
* Templates are blank – designs below are just to demonstrate what they look like with actual designs on them.
All the templates below were custom made by me. They’re only available to members of Create Your Own Minisite Graphics (aka DIY Web Graphics Pro). You get two versions of each cover type – a normal resolution version for smaller monitors and slower systems, and a higher resolution version for even better results.
See how easy these covers are to edit – no actions to run, immediate previews, easy flat image editing, automatic perspective! Watch the video below (opens in a new window):
Click here to see an example of a standard resolution and higher resolution cover at full size. While these aren’t 300dpi, they’re more than big enough for web use, and you can see that the quality is impeccable.
This principle is simple – text layout. With a strong text layout, you can turn even a plain white sheet into an eye catching design. With a poor text layout, you’ll cripple any graphic, no matter how good your colors and imagery are.
Here’s a simple test: on the left is the standard type of lazy and weak text layout you see on the Internet almost daily on so many ecovers. Can you turn this bland design into something professional and eye-catching by using the same six words and changing nothing other than the fonts, size and layout of the text?
I provide you with an exact example in the DIY Web Graphics Pro basics training manual – along with other…
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