Hot Software Posts
How To: Program your own arcade game with characters, backgrounds and music
Replicate the old arcade games like Pac Man or Galaga by downloading the free software Gamemaker 7.0. After you've downloaded the program, create your own sprites in an image editor, use the sounds already provided in the software and finally load your background. Then set up your game script, and you have your own arcade-style video game!
How To: Turn a CAD blueprint into a Google Sketchup project
Use a CAD plan as a reference for your Google SketchUp project. This tutorial shows you how to use the rectangle tool to create building walls and outline your building for SketchUp. Use the eraser tool afterwards so you can erase unneeded lines.
How To: Add special effects to your movies using a green screen and PhotoKey
PhotoKey is a cheaper alternative to Photoshop if all you want to do is work with green screen effects. This tutorial shows you the basic Chroma Key functions available to editors in PhotoKey, so you can start adding your own backgrounds and special effects.
How To: Animate a dragon in flight with Blender animation software
After you've already modeled your dragon (or any other winged creature) in the 3-D modeling and animation software Blender, you can then set it to fly! This tutorial shows you how to apply a flight animation to your new Blender projects.
How To: Set up multiple animations simultaneously in Adobe Flash
Have multiple animations going at the same time in your Flash project! This tutorial shows you how to use the scene editor, timeline and other functions in Adobe Flash CS4 and Swift 3D to make multiple animations run concurrently in a single project.
How To: Animate character poses in a movie clip in Adobe Flash
Use the Flash tools in Adobe Flash CS5 to create an animated character after you've already used the bone tool to create your character pose. Create several poses for your movie clip and then string them together in an animation using Flash!
How To: Use the Unreal Engine to improve your Papervision 3D usability
The Unreal 3 Engine is one of the most common and prevalent engines used to create and mod video games. This tutorial shows you how to integrate UDK and Papervision 3D to increase your productivity when creating a game, 3-D animation or other similar content.
How To: Create terrains and textures using the Unreal Development Kit for Papervision
The Unreal Development Kit lets you create terrains and add textures. This tutorial shows you a few tips to making a terrain, and then demonstrates how you can take this textured terrain and port it into Papervision 3D for your own projects.
How To: Create a transporter in the Unreal Development kit for Papervision 3D
The Unreal Development Kit contains tools and functions which can be of great use to someone interested in developing games with Papervision 3D. This tutorial shows you how to build a transporter using the UDK and then work with it in your Papervision project.
How To: Create skydomes in the Unreal engine and incorporate it into Papervision
Skydomes are effects you can use when mapping an outdoor level or map area to simulate the open sky. This tutorial shows you how to create a sky dome using the Unreal Development Kit and then incorporate that sky dome into your Papervision 3D project.
How To: Embed a .flv video file into a Flash movie application
Take an .flv video clip and embed it as a Flash movie, complete with stop, play and pause buttons to control the video. This tutorial shows you how you can use the Adobe Flash software to set up your own embedded videos.
How To: Control a Collada file and animate it in Away 3D Lite
Take an object you've already created as a Collada file, like a die, and then use Away 3D Lite to control the animation! This tutorial shows you how you can use Flash to create this animated effect and roll dice!
How To: Use Fruity Loops 9 to create custom button sounds in Flash
Stop using the same button sounds everyone else uses! Create your own custom button sounds with Fruity Loops Studio 9, then incorporate them into your Flash buttons using Action Script 3 and Adobe Flash CS3 (or any other version of Creative Studios).
How To: Design your own first-person shooter game using free software
Looking to create your own mod or write a game to round out your design portfolio? By using the free Reality Factory software, you can create levels, weapons, monsters and everything else that goes into writing a video game. This tutorials shows you how to create an FPS game using this freeware.
How To: Model hard surfaces or inorganic surfaces for 3-D models using Modo 401 3D
This tutorial shows you how to use the 3-D modeling software Modo 401 3D to create hard or inorganic surfaces for your models. Using an eight sided cylinder as the base example, you're shown various techniques to create hard surfaces for your models.
How To: Familiarize yourself with the various tools available in Silo 3D
Take a visual tour of the 3-D modeling and animation software Silo 3-D! This video shows you the various tools at your disposal when using this program, as well as showing you how to access the various features and functions for your own projects.
How To: Use MPEG Streamclip to transcode video for use in Premiere Pro
Use content taken from a variety of different sources or file types and transcode them so you can begin working with them in Premiere Pro. This tutorial shows you how to use a software program called MPEG Streamclip to achieve this on a Mac computer.
How To: Build a low-poly arcade machine for background in Modo 401 3D
Starting from scratch, this tutorial for the 3-D modeling software Modo 401 3D shows you how to create low-resolution, low-poly background pieces that nevertheless look professional and polished for your setting. Use multiple instances to populate a background easily and quickly.
How To: Install your software in bulk to set up a new computer
Tired of having to install multiple files every time you set up a new computer? This tutorial shows you how Ninite.com to set up a free installer so you can install all your free software applications at once (like web browsers, iTunes, GIMP, etc), instead of having to do it one by one.
How To: Turn particles into surface geomtery using 3-D modeling software Houdini 10
Trying to animate a 3-D object, like a roll of paper towels, unspooling? This tutorial shows you how to use Houdini 10 so you can turn particles or points on your grid into surface geometry so you can turn it into the right kind of animation.
How To: Make a screen saver for your DVDs using Windows Live Movie Maker
Take a few photos and still images, then use Windows Movie Maker to turn them into a screen saver style loop. This tutorials hows you how to use Movie Maker so you can burn your own short movie onto DVD.
How To: Sync your files and access data from multiple computers using Dropbox
Dropbox is a program (free at the basic level) which will allow you to access important files from multiple files. Just drop your chosen files into the Dropbox folder, and you'll be able to use and access these files from synced computers. You can even add music to iTunes remotely!
How To: Organize vocabulary words and study terms with Keep Your Word for Mac
Keep Your Word is an innovative and simple Mac application which will let the user keep track of different words - useful for anyone whose area of study gives them a lot of vocabulary words or glossary terms to keep memorized.
How To: Collect and organize web information with Yojimbo for the Mac
Yojimbo is a great Mac program which allows the the user to collect bookmarks, notes and entire webpages and assemble it into a single document. This tutorial shows you how to get it and then takes you on a visual tour of the program.
How To: Create your own animated .GIF image from a movie file with Gif Builder
Make your own small .gif animations on a Mac! This tutorial shows you how to use GifBuilder Carbon to take small movie clips and render them into your own .gif animations! This will work for any movie file except Windows Media Player formats.
How To: Install and run video editing software Eyeon Fusion on a Mac OS X
Even though Eyeon Fusion has been designed to run on a PC, you can still get it to run well on a Mac. If your computer is already Intel-based, you can use Bootcamp to set up a partition and run Eyeon there. Alternatively, you can parallelize your desktop and use this to run Eyeon Fusion.
How To: Extract content or split videos into smaller segments with free Virtual Dub
If you only want to take a clip a few minutes long from a larger movie, or split a movie into smaller segments, you can use the freeware Virtual Dub video editing program to accomplish this task (just make sure the file you're working with is already in .avi format).
How To: Update your version of HDRI Light Kit Pro and take a visual tour
Light Kit Pro just updated to version 1.5, and this video takes you on a visual tour of the new updates, such as a bounce card to use when adjusting light, so you can get the most out of your Light Kit photo editing software.
How To: Subscribe to blogs and RSS feeds in Microsoft Outlook
Have your favorite blog posts delivered straight to your email inbox! Many websites and blogs offer RSS feeds which allow you to subscribe and have new content emailed directly to you. This tutorial shows how you get RSS feeds sent to your Microsoft Outlook inbox.
How To: Use the ASAP Utilities to boost the functionality of MS Excel
If you have multiple spreadsheets you want to merge into a single master file, you can easily accomplish this task by using the ASAP utilities. This tutorial demonstrates how to get the most out of this tool for your own spreadsheets and MS Excel projects.
How To: Become a pirate TV producer and broadcast your own station
Start with a UHF or wireless TV transmitter (which you can easily get cheaply off Ebay or an electronics store), then pick what channel you want to broadcast to. Make your own news station, music show or anything else and start broadcasting!
How To: Create an in-depth composited image using Eyeon Fusion
Take a look at a single film shot, from start to finish, and watch this tutorial which teaches you some in-depth advanced compositing and special effects to use on your film clips and movies. This tutorial is aimed at users of Eyreon Fusion video editing and sfx software.
How To: Replicate the camera shake effect using video editing software
Create your own realistic looking custom camera shake effect! Camera shake makes the film look like the cameraman is unsteady, an effect which can be used to create a documentary or a more "in the moment" feel for your film project. Rather than using the premade node in Eyreon Fusion, this tutorial shows you how to create your own.
How To: Include the Text Input component to your Flash-based websites
Add extra interactivity to your website by incorporating the Text Input component. This tutorial shows you how to build your own component and customize it for your website's needs. Text input allows your users to interact with the website by typing in information - like names or email addreses.
How To: Script a Java popup window and add it to your Flash based website
The Java windows can pop up and alert your user to important aspects of your website - such as receiving a forum message. This tutorial shows you how to make your own Java-style popup alert window using Action Script 3 and add it to your Flash-based website.
How To: Prevent your image from pixelation by smoothing out your bitmap in Flash
Pixelation is a dreaded effect which can corrupt your image when you try to resize or rotate an image and end up with jagged edges. This tutorial shows you how you can use Flash to smooth out your images and prevent pixelated images.
How To: Add background music to your website using Adobe Flash CS4
Add a background .mp3 file to play music when visitors come to your website. You can also build buttons to allow users to pause, mute or play the file while they're on your website. This tutorial shows you how to build this system using Action Script 3 and Adobe Flash CS4.
How To: Incorporate the Scroll Pane component to your Adobe Flash design
Scroll panes can create frames within your website, which can be condensed and then scrolled through. Scroll panes help you optimize the screen space without losing out on content. Follow along with this tutorials and add a scroll pane to your own website or other Flash-based content.
How To: Add Radio Button components to your project in Adobe Flash CS4
Radio buttons let you build quizzes, surveys and polls which you can incorporate into your website, game, animation or other Flash-based project. Follow this short tutorial, which explains how to code radio buttons and then customize their appearance in Adobe Flash CS4.
How To: Use the Numeric Stepper component in Adobe Flash CS4
The Numeric Stepper component in Adobe Flash CS 4 is a small but very useful feature which allows users to select any number in a particular quantity - such as giving a birthday or indicating how many of a particular product they want to buy. Watch this tutorial to learn how you can use the Numeric Stepper component for your own projects.