Afterglow

Slight Tweaks to Site

cian@afterglow.ie (Cian Walsh) — Wed, 25 Jul 2007 14:45:31 +0100

Some Maintenance tweaks to site inlcuding a new mugshot, additional interface samples, a cleaner header and trying to help a cow sing. As for free icons & articles, they get worked on, but nothing that would make it this side of summer.

Not dead, just gone to a better place

cian@afterglow.ie (Cian Walsh) — Wed, 13 Sep 2006 02:05:42 +0100

Like all RSS feeds, I have to include the obligatory apology for the RSS feed drifting off into a sleepy state akin to Sunday morning at 8am. I've been engaged with a large project for the past few months and coupled with a move back to Dublin, this has meant websites get maintained, not updated. That being said my new place now overlooks the sea so, there's a chance it will inspire some more freeware icon sets and articles. Nice to stare out towards Blightly with a laptop and a cup of tea cursing the new layer convention in Photoshop CS2.

[Interface] OmniDazzle, MacJournal and Icon Sets

cian@afterglow.ie (Cian Walsh) — Fri, 16 Jun 2006 10:49:59 +0100

Another small update to the interface page including some new work on behalf of the OmniGroup and Mariner Software. I've also tidied up the downloads page a little bit but am sure it will get tweaked further as more set and "stuff" is added.

On an additional Icon note, the updates to the Ireland and Hitchcock set have been slow in coming. Again as free time gets squeezed, working on them becomes a bit of a balancing act. That being said, the Ireland set only requires some small tweaks and there is a feature of the Hitchcock set which should please those on the bleeding edge of technology. All will become clear later during the summer.

[Site] A Bit of Spit & Polish on Photos

cian@afterglow.ie (Cian Walsh) — Thu, 25 May 2006 15:13:31 +0100

Photos

Even though I won't be troubling Ansel Adams anytime soon, I've rejigged the travel photo section of the site with bigger photos and hopefully better previews. These photos were generally snapped with consumer level digital cameras and even cameraphones so your mileage may vary with picture quality.
http://www.afterglow.ie/photograph.html

[Articles] Shapes & Styles Redux

cian@afterglow.ie (Cian Walsh) — Wed, 19 Apr 2006 00:15:36 +0100

Another small batch of tips for those that are knee deep in creating graphics through custom shapes and layer styles.

[Interface] Trans Lucy

cian@afterglow.ie (Cian Walsh) — Tue, 11 Apr 2006 21:21:46 +0100

Startly Technologies have released the 2nd version of their OS X media player app which ingeniously enables you to watch DVD's, Quicktime movies and even video streams in a translucent layer on top of your apps. Perfect for those multi-tasking sessions when Photoshop and Fawlty Towers come together in perfect harmony. I created the Lucy character for the Application Icon. You can download a 30 day demo from www.translucy.com

[Article Update] One Computer to Rule them All

cian@afterglow.ie (Cian Walsh) — Thu, 06 Apr 2006 12:57:03 +0100

With the new Boot Camp software from Apple enabling Windows booting on the Mac, and reports of success in booting Linux, the scenario laid out in this article is now entirely plausible. I should really change the Longhorn text to Vista, but it's all about the alliteration.

[Icons] March Icons

cian@afterglow.ie (Cian Walsh) — Fri, 17 Mar 2006 01:58:07 +0000

A small heads up to let you all know that the new Icon set will very shortly after March 17th. The clue is in the date. I had hoped to release these for St.Patricks Day but, aptly enough, Murphy's Law is in full effect at the moment.

[Interface] Updated Page

cian@afterglow.ie (Cian Walsh) — Wed, 08 Feb 2006 21:18:02 +0000

The site page has been updated with some new UI work including Daylite 3, the new version of the business tool from Marketcircle. Work will continually be posted to here as software and projects reach beta or release status.

View more Examples

[Articles] Wacom : Widescreen Tablet Review

cian@afterglow.ie (Cian Walsh) — Tue, 24 Jan 2006 18:53:19 +0000

Having recently upgraded (or sidegraded maybe) from a laptop to a desktop based system, I was looking for something other than a mouse/trackpad for ergonomic reasons.

My Powerbook had been a trusty companion on the road for 18 months clocking up 63,000km of use in hostels, river valleys and airport terminals. One thing that you do arguably sacrifice with a laptop is good posture. Laptops are balanced on knees, bent over in connecting lounges and typed on at awkward angles.

A mouse was only occasionally used in these scenarios as large flat surfaces were in short supply. However after a period of use, necks will start to ache and prolonged trackpad usage will be detrimental to your wrist. So to avoid this discomfort with a desktop, I decided to start using a tablet, more specifically the Wacom Intous3 A5 Widescreen Tablet. How does it stack up against a trackpad or mouse?

[Articles] Keyfob: Anatomy of an Icon

cian@afterglow.ie (Cian Walsh) — Thu, 19 Jan 2006 12:30:06 +0000

Following on from a previous article on toolbar design we're going to tackle it's Big Brother, the Application Icon. The two serve slightly different functions within the program but adhere to the same idea. While we could start on an existing application, we’re going to embrace vaporware and produce an Icon for an Application that doesn’t exist. This is simply to show the process. This tutorial will follow the construction of an Icon for an imaginary application called “Keyfob”.

RSS Nibbles (Not Feeds) Added to Site

Cian Walsh (cian@afterglow.ie) — Wed, 18 Jan 2006 01:43:54 +0000

In the beginning there was Nibbles
Well, after becoming slowly addicted to the world of RSS and on demand content, I've decided to finally add my own RSS option to the site. While I love the immediacy of RSS, I don't think it's right to advertise this as a daily flow of info.I had considered starting a blog but I find most blogs advertise a level of updates that they aren't able to keep up. (Sorry for not posting today, working late, here's a picture of my cat etc...)And I would be no exception.

So this will simply be another way of being notified of new Icon and Article Work that I will be adding to my site.I might also include useful links I come across in the course of the working week. Hence RSS Nibbles.

Any new work, be it Interface, Icons, Illustrations, or Articles that go onto the site will be put on the Nibble simultaneously. So I would say to stash this near the end of your feeds and go back every fortnight to see what's been happening in this particular nook of the Interweb. Thanks for subscribing.

Cian Walsh

www.afterglow.ie

[Upcoming Icons] Hitchcock, Ireland, iLust System

cian@afterglow.ie — Tue, 17 Jan 2006 18:23:41 +0000

These sets are being worked on simultaneously so progress on each is slowed somewhat. I am hoping to have one of the sets out before long but we will have to see which set wins it by a nose.It's too close to call at the moment.

Hitchcock Set

Ireland Set

iLust System

[Icons] Mac Creative Icons

Cian Walsh (cian@afterglow.ie) — Tue, 17 Jan 2006 18:23:18 +0000

For those about to doodle, we salute you. Designed in conjunction with the magazine MacCreative, this set incorporates some of the tools that any Apple based designer, editor, illustrator etc might use in their working day. Available for OS X

[Articles] Breaking the Pattern

Cian Walsh (cian@afterglow.ie) — Thu, 19 Jan 2006 00:25:08 +0000

The brain is a funny thing. This small organ lodged at the top of the body determines every single move, reaction and utterance that you will make from cradle to grave. The mind achieves this efficiently by forming patterns for the thousands of tiny decisions you make during any day. The majority of a brain’s function is to be as uncreative as possible to get you through the day.Tying your shoelaces, raising the toast to your mouth, braking at the right moment, holding a report the right way up, leaning slightly forward while climbing the stairs. All behavioral actions learnt at an early age which are performed effortlessly without any pause or internal debate. Companies aren’t ignorant of these patterns and have invested deeply in anticipating your future choices and being there to give you the product/service you never knew you needed. In the creative field, your imagination is your career. Time to fight for it. Read More

[Articles] Custom Shapes & Layer Styles

Cian Walsh (cian@afterglow.ie) — Thu, 10 Nov 2005 04:03:09 +0000

If you are a regular user of custom shapes in Photoshop, here are a few tips on using them when combined with layer styles. The benefits of using custom shapes for smaller work are the ability to scale losslessly and to experiment with colour and effects by way of saved layer styles.