Vonster Book brand logo.
In the world of design books there are no Grishams. A good selling book in our industry is the equivalent of an abject failure in mainstream circles. That said I thoroughly enjoy writing and crafting well thought out creative resource books.
It’s been said that anything worth doing is difficult. When it comes to the process of creating a book it’s long, hard, and at times painful, but it’s also a lot of fun and very rewarding as well.
Crumble.Crackle.Burn – Texture Resource Book.These organic textures are timeless in application and will quickly become a favorite resource that will inspire creativity and infuse your art with an authentic organic flair.
Free Bonus Texture Set
Email a receipt of the book purchase and get an additional set of “35″ textures not included in the book. Email here.
- Over 120 Stunning Textures (Including Bonus)
- 300 dpi Grayscale PSD (10×12)
- 300 dpi Bitmap Tiff (10×12)
- 10 Featured Artists Pages
- 1000×1000 Square PSD Brushes
- Works in Adobe Ai or Ps
Sneak Peek: Download PDF
FREE Texture Sample: Download
– View / Buy | Amazon (DVD Included)
Drip.Dot.Swirl – Pattern Resource Book.These diverse and unique patterns will jump start your imagination and take you on the fast train from Boringville, and enter the fascinating world of interlocked embellishments. Easy to customize and integrate into your own designs.
Free Bonus Pattern Set
Email a receipt of the book purchase and get an additional set of “12″ patterns not included in the book. Email here.
- Over 100 Incredible Patterns
- Easy to Customize and Edit
- Three Color Themes per Pattern
- 10 Featured Artists Pages
- Pattern Swatch Libraries Provided
- Works with Adobe CS2 and Above
Sneak Peek: Download PDF
FREE Pattern Sample: Download
- View / Buy | Amazon (DVD Included)
Flourish.Banner.Frame – Ornament Resource Book.This exhaustive volume of diverse and uniquely original vector based ornaments, frames, banners, borders, graphic rings, corner treatments, placards, and tribal flair is a no-brainer goto design resource for any design firm. Each piece of art in the book has been meticulously crafted with precision and elegance so it’ll work well both big and small.
Free Bonus Ornament Set
Email a receipt of the book purchase and get an additional set of “65″ ornaments not included in the book. Email here.
- Over 600 Amazing Vector Ornaments
- Easy to Reference Book Layout and Design
- Easy to Use and Compile
- Includes a Quick Reference PDF Index
- 10 Featured Artists Pages
- Sample Usages on DVD
- Works with Adobe CS2 and Above
Sneak Peek: Download PDF
FREE Bonus Set: View
FREE Ornament Sample: Download
- View / Pre-Order | Amazon (DVD Included)
Vector Basic Training – From the Department of Illustrative Design.I’ll demystify the systematic creative process, that enables you to take a drawn design and create the kind of precise vector graphics that separate the pros from the ever-growing minion of mediocre software jockeys. The methods I cover in the book will make creating your vector art easier and more precise whether you use Adobe Illustrator 8 or CS5.
VBT Facebook Page
Join the VBT Facebook page where I post new creative process tutorials, videos, links and resources that’ll help you continue to grow your vector skills.
- Large Step-by-Step Pictures
- Learn “The Clockwork Method”
- Info on Unique Plugins for Adobe Ai
- Quick Vector Building Methods
- Learn How to Art Direct Yourself
- Fun to Read & Full of Helpful Advice
- Over 4hrs of Screencast Video on DVD
- Source Files You can Deconstruct on DVD
- Creative Exercises Files on DVD
- Author Available for Live Training Workshops
Sneak Peek: Download PDF
- View / Buy | Amazon (DVD Included)
hello there lovely site and web theme. I am hoping I am not bothering you I just sought to inquire just what wordpress plugin you use to show the latest remarks on your blog? I really want to do the same for my website however I cannot locate the plugin or widget for it. Many thanks for your time
You mean these comment bubbles? It’s just part of the design I created and had developed into a WP theme. It isn’t a plugin.
Hi Vonster:
Please let us know where we can purchase your books for resale. Please take a look at our web-site to see what cool stuff we distribute to the design community.
Thanks
Best Regards
Alan F Weinberg,
OPR
Great, great stuff man. I’m an avid follower. Keep it up.
Alan,
If you contact HOW Books or F+W Publishing you could order them for retail. They’ll be able to set you up for that.
Von
I’d like to get buy the kindle version of ‘Vector’ but how would I then get the DVD? is it downloadable?
thanks
I believe if you buy the ebook version at the end of the ebook is a link that gives you access to the DVD video content online.
I just bought the PDF/ePub downloadable version last night…the PDF comes with a built-in link that takes you to a download page for all the video content.
Working my way through VBT and enjoying it. Thank you for all the time it took you to put this together!
One link given in the book is not working:
http://snipurl.com/vonsterswitch
I’ve searched online for a fix, but don’t see one yet.
The error given is this:
This SnipURL does not exist.
Possible reasons:
1. We delete snips used in spam.
2. You have entered an incorrect address.
3. It was deleted by the user who snipped it.
[...] on Glitschka’s highly acclaimed book, “Vector Basic Training: A Systematic Creative Process for Building Precision Vector Artwork,” the hands-on course will guide participants through a systematic process for developing [...]
[...] on Glitschka’s highly acclaimed book, “Vector Basic Training: A Systematic Creative Process for Building Precision Vector Artwork,” the hands-on course will guide participants through a systematic process for developing [...]
[...] on Glitschka’s highly acclaimed book, “Vector Basic Training: A Systematic Creative Process for Building Precision Vector Artwork,” the hands-on course will guide participants through a systematic process for developing [...]
Hi!
I wanted to compliment you on a great book “Vector Basic Training: A Systematic Creative Process for Building Precision Vector Artwork,” and I love the added videos as well.
I am a graphics designer collaborating with an illustrator whose black line work is extremely detailed and complex. Often times I find myself in a collaborative role requiring my design/computer skills to convert another illustrator’s blacklines to vector format so that their work has more commercial applications than simply being scanned to bitmap format.
In attempting to convert this detailed line work into vector art utilizing the methods outlined in your book, I am coming up short with finding a time saving/cost effective way to do this. May I send you a PDF file of one of these pieces for your review and suggestions? (I could definitely see the need for a second book of the quality of your first that would address the needs for highly detailed and complex art conversions.) Please respond to e-mail above.
I am also curious if this book was developed predominantly using AI CS4. The reason I ask is that the plugins you recommend are a bit expensive. Maybe you could get a discount for people that purchase your book from the software makers? Does CS5 takes care of the need for those plugins or are they still addressing those needs better then the native AI CS5 version?
Thank you again for your time, I look forward to your response.
Information regarding the plugins covered in Vector Basic Training:
The IP for BetterHandles was purchased by AstuteGraphics out of the UK and they’ve improved the plugin and renamed it to VectorScribe. It has all the same features as covered in the book they just work better now and they’ve added the same functionality as Xtream Path too.
Xtream Path will still work though, but now you really only need to purchase VectorScribe to do everything. And IMO VectorScribe works better than Xtream Path.
Xtream Path works with CS2 and above and VectorScribe works with CS3 and above.
For more information google VectorScribe.
Good work!
I stumbled upon your site while looking researching for tutorials, that give a good pattern design with the last steps on how to go about saving the (what format and the like) finished pattern for use on textile printing. I am a newbie and planning to create own patterns in illustrator for textiles.
Any help?
Thanks
For pattern specific tutorials visit: http://www.illustrationclass.com and type “Pattern” in the search pane. It’ll pull up several tutorials documenting the process. You might have to scroll down the screen a little bit to see the links to download. They are all FREE.
[...] that enables them to compete on the same visual level as multi-national corporations. Von has written four books and speaks at local AIGA chapters and design conferences nationally on the topic of design, [...]
[...] In an attempt to get a majority of my work posted on this blog (eventually); today I’m sharing an older project: a poster for a departmental chili cook-off that I won an American Graphic Design award for in 2010. The photo of the chili peppers is stock that I did a little fun doodling over. Our Copy Editor Steve Barcus wrote the copy, and I mixed a few fonts from the Wild West Press, namely Ashwood Condensed and Gatlin Bold, along with Lucas de Groot’s The Mix from his Thesis typeface set for the smaller copy. The background texture came from Von Glitschka’s book Crumble Crackle Burn. [...]
[...] cards for each attendee – so got started with labelling the envelopes (accent graphics from Von Glitschka’s amazing books) and once that was done I opted instead to create a simple ‘newsletter’ of information [...]
[...] obviously failed because my drawing was way too crude (on this topic, I’d recommend reading Von Glitschka’s Vector Basic Training! More about this soon). I made a second [...]
LOOOOOOOOOVE your work – a great inspiration! great to get various insight in the field!
[...] can also help you “Make your art look like crap.” Check out his [...]
Unfortunately that’s the same day as my Conceal and Carry training, so I can’t make it, but I did just buy your book on AMAZON! I can’t wait to read it and try it out! THE VONSTER ROCKS!
Hey Von,
I looked long and wide for an inexpensive vector training book/CD and luckily found yours. Just excellent!
What I like most is that the techniques will work – to a 90% plus degree – on programs that are not Adobe Illustrator. And the fact that you are teaching a structured process that can be learned and repeated each time required.
It’s exactly what I was looking for and well worth the money many times over.
Good job,
John…
Thanks John. I like to call it application agnostic. The methods work with any vector program sans the plug ins.
Hi Von,
Great book. My artwork and production methods have improved greatly since reading it. Thanks.
I saw in the videos that you often use a custom shortcut of F3 for cloning objects. Just wondered if you were aware that you can clone by holding down the Alt key as you drag the object.
Best,
Jim
Yeah I knew that but I never need to drag and clone. Just clone in place. Goes back to my FreeHand days which had a clone command. Adobe did a lame attempt of sub-selection in CS5 but it’s a piece of crap and doesn’t work half as good as FreeHand did 15 years ago. But I digress.
[...] created this logo concept for my own design business after going through Von Glitscha’s book, Vector Basic Training. He describes his entire creative process from drawing rough thumbnails “analog” style, [...]
Hi, I cannot see any videos on the DVD I got with the book! All there is is a Resources folder, PLAY.html and ReadMe.pdf but no videos whatsoever.
Should be straight forward so I’m guessing there could be a fault with my DVD??
This is how you play the videos on the DVD: http://www.vonstervault.com/VBT/PLAY_VBT_Videos.jpg
I need help.
I bought the Vector BT book and DVD. I can’t find anywhere in the pre-sale materials that the book and the video relies heavily on a plugin called Xtream Path. So I trudged over to their site to get the plugin ($139.00). It appears that they do not make the plugin for CS6 yet. They have no information about it’s release date. In fact, the CValley website looks about about an eyelash from being out of business (re: Copyright has not been updated since 1997).
Am I missing something here that I should have seen before shelling out for this book I can’t get the full value of?
Kevin,
Once VBT goes into a third printing I’ll be updating the chapter on plugins. You only need one plugin now and that plugin is called “Vector Scribe Studio” it works the same way as the CValley plugin it’s just better. The maker Astute Graphics bought “Better Handles” but than they created “PathScribe” which is one of the tools in “Vector Scribe Studio” and that works like Xtream Path just better. So the methodology will be the same just a better supported plugin.
More about this here: http://www.formspring.me/VonGlitschka/q/228787911493943297
You can get the plugin and a FREE plugin I also recommend called “Sub Scribe” here: http://www.astutegraphics.com/products/vectorscribe/studio.html
The methods I cover in VBT will apply to any vector program Corel Draw or even an open source app like Inkscape. I’ve used them on an iPad app called InkPad too. So the plugins aren’t required it just makes the whole process a lot easier than Ai out of the box with it’s core tool set.
Hope that helps.
Von