Sunday, 14 August 2011

7 Best Websites to Find Free Photoshop Textures, Background Styles

Textures are essential resources needed by every photoshop designer as they offer the possibility to create backgrounds, visual styles and environments to the design work. There are many places where you can find free textures for Photoshop, however some of the best site that are interesting for different types of content are mentioned below. Have a look…

Top Websites for Free Photoshop Textures 

1. Grunge Textures (url)

It is a place where you will find all sorts of grunge textures. With over 1400 textures sorted in 21 categories the site is a good choice for those designing in this style so appealing. provide quality background textures that can be used free of charge for digital artwork, 3D rendering, web design and print projects. They specialize in weathered and worn surfaces.

2. DeviantArt (url)

deviantART is a platform that allows emerging and established artists to exhibit, promote, and share their digital art works within a peer community dedicated to the digital art.There you will find a wide variety of designs including photoshop textures uploaded by members. It is undoubtedly one of the best sites to find textures, background styles.

3. Shizoo (url)

It is notable for its unique textures which are really interesting and original. There are also a number of other useful resources for your designs like brushes and icons.

4. Amazing Textures (url)

If you are looking for free textures for Photoshop in an orderly and then classified Amazing Textures is a great option and should give you a ride. Among other things, the site lets you upload your own creations. Their texture library has hundreds of free textures to download, high-resolution textures, images, backgrounds, wallpapers and texture maps.

5. Texture King (url)

Download free high resolution, high quality textures for personal and commercial use from TextureKing. The textures range in subject from house insulation to cracked marble to paint-splattered concrete. The categories include Concrete, Grunge, Wood, Metals, Stone/Rock, Fabric, Paint, Rust, Dirt/Sand, Plastic, Liquids, Plaster, Glass etc.

6. Star Textures (url)

Startextures.com provides quality high resolution textures, that can be used in any kind of digital and design artwork. It is a gallery of high resolution, quality textures classified into several categories with creative and unique content and really useful for those who want to make quality designs. All the textures are free to use in any kind of computer graphics, games, printed material, movies, website design and 3D models.

7. Texture Warehouse (url)

The site offers textures ideal for those who want to experiment with 3D design. They offer free, high resolution textures to designers and 3D artist. The images are licensed under a Creative Commons Licensed. The textures are updated frequently.
If you want to add some of your favourite sites to the list leave a comment. I hope this list will be useful for your photoshop design work.

 

Host Live Radio Shows Online, Create Podcasts, Broadcast DJ Sessions

Spreaker (http://www.spreaker.com) offers a new perspective on online radio: everyone has a voice and everyone gets a chance to speak their mind. By registering for free on www.spreaker.com you can record podcasts or go live with your own personal radio shows, audio web shows, start a discussion on whatever topic you wish, and people will listen.
It’s easy to start: Log in, or register with your Facebook account, and set up a profile by adding your personal information.
Click on the “Broadcast” link to start your show, and think of a snappy title for your show. Then select what category your show falls under.
Click on “Broadcast” and  the DJ console will load. Choose to go live or record a podcast.


Start recording! From here you can start your radio show by clicking on the circular button in the “Broadcast section”. Prepare an intro, or improvise on the spot for a more casual feel. Conduct interviews, respond to callers using Skype, and take in requests from listeners using Spreaker’s instant messenger.

Share your show on Facebook, Twitter, embed on your personal blog, and elsewhere. Get your friends’ attention and gain listeners with every broadcast. 
To make your show more enriched and personalized manage media files and commercial breaks:

Populate your tracklist. Click the add button pick out some music tracks from the the Music library, or  you can add your own media by clicking on “upload.” Drag and drop the track over one of the mixing decks.

Add sound effects. Use the effects pad to browse available sound effects or upload your own. Add laughter, applause, and other quirky sounds to give your show some panache.

Take Commercial breaks. The Commercial break countdown tells you how long before the next break starts, or trigger commercial break before the counter reaches zero so you can manage your show more easily.

Spreaker is the perfect platform for casual podcasting. You can add a new episode of your podcast from everywhere and it becomes immediately accessible to your audience (they can listen to you live or play the recording afterwards) as you can also embed your shows in blogs, websites. You can also embed in your facebook fan page.