Art, Technology & People

I am very pleased to announce that Go Media has launched a new Vector Pack to go with their ongoing line of absolutely STUNNING vector graphic packs that are the absolute best in the business. Included in the set are Heraldry, Destroy, Scribbles, Skylines, Anatomy, Linework, and Radials, and if you've never seen these packs before, you are missing out on some absolutely brilliant product. Check out the entire product line at www.gomedia.us/arsenal!

For those of you wondering who these guys are, Go Media is a group of ridiculously talented guys headed up by my friend Jeff Finley. They are a progressive art studio based out of the USA that work in print and web based mediums and feature some of the most stunning artwork I have ever seen. I am absolutely in love with their art style and I'm already looking at hiring them for a custom design piece in the near future. If you're in to designing those wicked cool vector wallpapers you see on DA or want to print up a bad-ass T-Shirt design, check out their Vector Packs, you won't regret it.

Enjoy!
Dan

One of my good friends and "behind the scenes" P2L members Tony Eldridge is publishing his first novel and you can win a signed hard cover copy from his site! I've known Tony for quite awhile now and he has been recently brought on-board to P2L to help me with the marketing aspect of the site and helps out with the newsletter and other goodies on P2L. But one thing he didn't tell me until recently is that he is a writer and is about to publish his first novel called The Samson Effect! You guy might remember not too long ago, I announced the first book written by P2L member Tiago Dias (the guy who wrote those awesome streaming MP3 XML Flash player tutorials), so it looks like I'm surrounded by soon-to-be-famous authors!

The Samson Effect is a fiction novel and touches on the controversial world of Islam and the continued religious struggle we all witness and read about in the news.

Please check out the official website for this book at www.samsoneffect.com and don't forget to check out the official contest page to get your chance at winning a signed hardcover copy of the novel!

So a huge congratulations goes out to Tony for completing his first novel and we hope this is one of many to come!

Now, let's see who's next to release a book! (don't look at me) 😉

Dan

As I type this, the server is busy sending out our first online newsletter to over 12,000 people! I'm really excited about this and I hope you guys like the format and what we plan to bring to the newsletter in the coming weeks and months. If you have any comments or suggestions for future newsletters, please let me know and for those of you that aren't subscribed, you can do so by using the form on the homepage on the right side.

Thanks again!
Dan

Welcome to another review from P2L on Total Training DVD products. Tonight I'm going to tell you about a pretty sweet product for you Adobe software using webmasters called Total Training for Website Design – Extreme Website Makeover. Be sure to check out the final part of this review, where I'll tell you how you can win a copy of this package by mouthing off on P2L!

This is another beautifully narrated course series presented by the talented John Ulliman, an Adobe Professional and a multimedia designer since 1985. I've already gone through his entire Flash courseware so I can honestly say you don't get sick of hearing his voice. He speaks clearly and keeps you engaged in to the lesson so you can actually learn something instead of trying to deal with an annoying presenter.

First off, let me just mention that this isn't really a tutorial for the hardcore coders… this isn't a specialized PHP/XHTML type course. This is a dsigner based look at using many of Adobe's fantastic design tools to create and update websites. The courses cover the use of the following:

– Macromedia Studio 8 (Dreamweaver, Fireworks and Flash)
– Adobe CS 2

The primary function of the entire package is to teach us how to work with a client to update their website and go from ancient to in-style! It's the ultimate guide to extreme makeovers, and while some of the examples used may seem over the top, I can honestly say that I have seen real-live versions come up time and time again. So this is an ideal package for any of you junior webdesigners looking to get in to the Freelance market. Not only will you learn how to evaluate and improve old designs, but you will learn how to work effectively and quickly. This is important when you become a freelancer because you're often bidding at bottom dollar, so you really have to make the most of your time unless you fancy working for $3 an hour.

Let's have a look at how this package breaks down, plus you can score some free sample downloads by using the sample links located on the left of the product page.

Disc 1

1. Lesson 1: Introduction & Project Background (10:08 min)
2. Lesson 2: Creating a Company Logo with Illustrator® (24:52 min)
3. Lesson 3: Website Layout using Photoshop® (48:56 min)
4. Lesson 4: Making Slices with Fireworks® (46:50 min)
5. Lesson 5: Creating a Dreamweaver® Site (32:00 min)
6. Lesson 6: Cascading Style Sheets (46:19)
7. Lesson 7: Main Navigation Systems (47:19 min)
8. Lesson 8: DHTML Layers, Interactivity & Forms (51:42 min)

Disc 2

1. Lesson 1: ADVANCED GALLERY PAGES (67:58 min)
2. Lesson 2: FLASH® ELEMENTS & FLASH VIDEO (26:32 min)
3. Lesson 3: MAKING FLASH® SLIDESHOWS (59:35 min)
4. Lesson 4: CREATING A FLASH® BANNER AD (49:38 min)
5. Lesson 5: MAKING A MINI FLASH® SITE (73:36 min)
6. Lesson 6: SITE TESTING & PUBLISHING (36:32 min)
7. Lesson 7: WORKGROUP INTEGRATION USING CONTRIBUTE™ (20:47 min)
8. Lesson 8: INCORPORATING PRINT MATERIALS (30:07 min)

As always, the Total Training lessons play within a fantastic player interface that lets you jump around from lesson to lesson and skip to various sections. It's a snap to control the video, jump around to sections you want to re-review, or just skim through the entire course to look for key areas you want to focus on.

From a personal standpoint, I really enjoyed the second DVD, which focused on Flash based design and interactivity, which has always been my passion. The massive "Making a Mini Flash Site" was really cool and is an absolute MUST for anyone that wants to get in to making PROPER Flash based sites.

So once again, Total Training shows us why they are one of the top producers of self-learning interactive courseware for dozens of design and webmaster related products and I highly recommend you check out this awesome DVD package! To purchase your own set, check out the Total Training website for details!

How To Win!

Want to win your own free copy of Total Training for Website Design – Extreme Website Makeover? Well all you have to do it mouth off and win! Post feedback on any tutorial from now until Friday May 25th and I will randomly select one of those comments Friday night as the winner of the DVDs.

Good luck!

Dan

Here's your chance to win the Total Training for Website Design – Extreme Website Makeover package, valued at $149.99! We recently reviewed this AWESOME training product, and you can read the review here. To win, all you have to do is speak your mind and comment on tutorials! From now until Friday, May 25th, simply post your comments on any tutorials and on Friday night (sometime between 8PM and 11PM EST) I will randomly select a comment author as the winner. You can leave as many comments as you like and each comment will be considered an entry. Here's some minor rules and notes on the contest:

1. All entries should be valid comments, not SPAM. Remember that all comments fall under the same critique rules as the feedback areas of the forum. Do not be abusive in your comments, be constructive.
2. You do not HAVE to vote on a rating, although it is encouraged. Just a comment is all you have to do.
3. Your comment can be on any tutorial submitted any time… you have as much of a chance of winning by selecting the oldest submitted tutorial as you do the first.
4. P2L will pay the cost of shipping, however the winner is responsible for paying any duties or taxes.

If you don't know how to leave a comment already, simply click on the comment icon or click on "Comments:" just under the title of the tutorial record.

Also remember you must be a community member to comment! If you're not a community member, you can sign up for free here.

Once a winner has been selected, they will be contacted via PM and email and I will post their name in this post. Once notified, they have 1 week to claim their prize by confirming their shipping address. If they do not confirm their prize, a new winner will be selected the following Friday and so on…

So that's it guys, leave your comments and you can grab the loot!

Special thanks to Total Training for sponsoring our Sound Off Contests!

Good luck!
Dan