Sizzlin’ Resources

Here ‘s a list of high quality sites and services I find to be very useful. For the most part all included below are FREE, but some sites provide extra perks with paid subscription. This page will always be a work in progress, the more I learn the more I will add. Also check out My Archives for more resources that may not necessarily be included here.

ARCHITECTURE/INTERIOR DESIGN

Arch Daily – continuous online source of the latest architectural news.
Architizer –  an open global community by architects for architects; network, view/post jobs & projects,  get news, and enter competitions.
The Contemporist – daily source (and they do mean daily) for architects and interior designers to discover new products and projects in the world of contemporary design.
Cool Boom: Architecture – interesting featurettes composed by blogger Sylvia in Valencia.
Cool Boom: Interior Design -interesting featurettes composed by blogger Sylvia in Valencia.
Freshome – created by Micle Mihai-Cristian for your architectural & interior design inspiration.
Google Sketchup – Free easy to use 3d Modeling Software.
Trendir – ultra modern decor. Designer Lillian Pikus keeps track of modern trends and new products which she features on the site.

GRAPHIC/WEB DESIGN
Blogs/Online Magazines
Abduzeedo – created by designer Fabio Sasso, this blog has grown into a prime resource for instruction and inspiration.
Blog.SpoonGraphics – written by graphic designer Chris Spooner. Includes Photoshop/Illustrator tutorials, articles, freebies and more…
COLOURlovers – millions of colors, palettes, and patterns at your fingertips. Explore their large design community, tools, and trends.
DZine Blog – covers a wide range of topics from graphic design to photography. Includes lists of the best WordPress, Graphic, and SEO content.
InDesign Secrets – the name really says it all, it’s all about Adobe InDesign.
Layers Magazine – the how-to magazine for everything Adobe: Articles, Tutorials, Reviews.
Media Militia – Inspiration, FREEBIES (love em’), Tutorials, & Articles
Smashing Magazine –  their aim is to inform readers about the latest trends and techniques in Web development. Topics include Coding, CSS, Javascript, Usability, WordPress etc..

For Your Inspiration
Behance Network – major online tool for creative professionals to showcase their work. Other features include a job board, open forum, competitions, etc.
Creatiu – Web design, photography, motion graphics, 3D animation, post production, visual effects, shorts, demoreels and more.
Debut Art – a highly select grouping of the world’s finest  illustrators, photographers, designers, and artists.
Deviant Art – platform that allows emerging and established artists to exhibit, promote, and share their work.
From Up North – large collection of round-ups on a range of subjects from web design to typography to motion graphics.

Free Online Image Editors
Aviary – free online tools: image, effects, audio, color, & vector editors.
Pixlr – advanced online image editor.

PHOTOGRAPHY (some links from Graphic/Web Design crossover into this category)

DIY Photography – created by Udi Tirosh to discuss photography tips and tricks and shows cheap alternatives to expensive studio gear.
DP Camera Review – in depth reviews, side-by-side camera comparisons, galleries, guides, forums, and competitions. (definite go to site before purchasing a camera)
Photography Blog – round-ups of the work various professional photographers.
Photography Served – features top work in categories such as commercial photography, product photography and portraiture.

TECHNOLOGY

The Arduino – only the coolest open source micro-controller for creating interactive projects (my personal opinion).
Cnet – the latest tech news, reviews, and software downloads.
Hack N Mod – hacks, mods, and do-it-yourself projects from around web. Includes tutorials, guides, and step by step video lessons (please use at your own discretion).
MAKE Magazine – brings the do-it-yourself mindset to all the technology in your life. Some projects are for fun (twittering cat toy), others are  practical (five-in-one cable adapter), and others are  astounding.
TED Talks – ground-breaking, creative, intuitive ideas/projects/technology from remarkable people all around the world.

TUTORIALS

Alfoart – great tutorials created by graphic designer Alexandra Fomicheva (some have gone viral).
The Creative Fan Network – 3d, Design, Illustration, Photo-manipulation, text effect tutorials etc…
CSS Library – CSS codes and examples
Kirupa – Flash and Actionscript tutorials
Pixleyes Tutorials – Photoshop, GIMP, Illustrator, Fireworks, InDesign, AutoCAD, Maya, Rhino etc. etc. etc…
The tuts+ Network – excellent collection of highly detailed tutorials in many different fields:
+Photoshop Tutorials
+Photography Tutorials
+Vector/Illustrator Tutorials
+Web Design Tutorials
+CG Tutorials

W3 Schools – teach yourself Web Design. Free tutorials in HTML,  XML, Flash, CSS, PHP, SQL … (pretty much any web design abbreviation you can think of).

FREEBIES
Free Brushes, Vectors, & More
Bittbox Freebies – free high quality textures. (also a good resource for tutorials and design articles)
Brusheezy – free brushes and patterns.
Brush Lovers – free (and $  premium) brushes available for download.
Colorburned Freebies – free vectors, textures, brushes, and more. (also a good resource for tutorials and design articles)
DryIcons – free icons and vector graphics.
Fudgegraphics Freebies – free vectors, textures, brushes, and more. (also a good resource for tutorials and design articles)
My Photoshop Brushes – free brushes, patterns, & custom shapes. Most of them are only available for personal use, but a few have commercial licenses.
Pattern8 – high quality free seamless patterns.
Plain Textures – free high resolution textures for 3D artists and web designers.
QBrushes – quality brushes for photoshop
Vecteezy – free vector graphics.
Vector4Free – free vector art, images, and graphics
Wordle – is used for generating “word clouds” from text that you provide. Tweak your clouds with different fonts, layouts, and color schemes.

Free Fonts
1001 Free Fonts
Abstract Fonts
DaFont.com
Font ex Free Fonts
Free Premium Fonts
Urban Fonts

Free Stock Photography
Dreamstime – decent collection of high resolution RF stock images for free.
Free Digital Photos – good collection; to use the image for free attribution must be given to the photographer.

MISCELLANEOUS

8tracks – handcrafted streaming internet radio. Listen to or create a mix (a short playlist of a at least 8 tracks). Share, discover, and follow others who make great mixes.
Ge.tt (Beta) – Ge.tt is a FREE  instant, real-time file publishing and sharing service. Turn any type of file into web content and share it instantly. Share documents, video, music, and photos in the browser making them available immediately for the recipient via personal link, facebook, email, even twitter.
Mango Languages – Want to learn French? Italian? Check to see if your local library has a subscription to Mango. You’ll have free access to their language learning courses.

DON’T FORGET to check your local library for more resources!