Join Our Free Monthly Meetings
The Austin Adobe User Group has been meeting monthly since it was founded in 1993 as the Austin Macromedia User Group. It supports the use of the Adobe Creative Cloud with free presentations by experts in a wide variety of Adobe applications.
With the start of the pandemic, our meeting moved from being in-person to being on Zoom. We use the same Zoom room for every meeting. To get the address, please write to austinadobegroupmrg@gmail.com.
Recordings of each meeting are posted a few days after the meeting. Here are the topics we have recently covered and news of our next gathering.
Monthly Programs
from the Austin Adobe User Group
Part II: The New 3D Features in Adobe Illustrator. -copy
At the Austin Adobe User Group–Thursday, May 12, 6 pm-8 pm CST co-manager Cornelius Chopin demonstrated Part II of how to work with the new 3D engine in Adobe Illustrator. In this training session: You will learn how to create 3D objects in Adobe Illustrator using the new 3D engine. You will learn how to create 3D objects using Plane, Extrude, Revolve and the new Inflate option. You will learn how to use the new Material and Lighting effects to enhance any 3D object. Finally, you will learn...
The New 3D Features in Adobe Illustrator.
Join the next meeting of the Austin Adobe User Group–Thursday, March 10, 2022, 6 pm-8 pm CST. Like all our meetings, it’s free and available virtually around the globe on Zoom. The Zoom address is the same as in the past. If you need it, please contact austinadobegroupmgr@gmail.com. The new 3D features in Adobe Illustrator In this training session: You will learn how to create 3D objects in Adobe Illustrator using the new 3D engine. You will learn how to create 3D objects using Plane, Extrude,...
Part II: InDesign Case Study: Adding interactivity to long complex documents
December 13, 2021, at 6 pm - 8 pm, please join the Austin Adobe User Group online for our monthly meeting. These meetings are free. In Part II: InDesign Case Study: Adding interactivity to long complex documents, graphic designer and InDesign expert Tom Berglie will delve deeper into his explanation of a real-world project that was recently published. Now it’s time to turn the print version into an interactive PDF. Last July, Tom introduced us to the project. The publication is an...
Creating Animated Gifs with After Effects
Thursday, December 9, 2021, 6 pm – 8 pm, the Austin Adobe User Group’s monthly meeting, a free event, features a presentation by Roman Villareal. In this session, Roman showed how to create looping animated Gifs using After Effects and some plugins. This is a beginner- to intermediate-level tour of features, how-tos, and tips/tricks. This is also the twice-a-year meeting when the big raffle is given away. Be present to win a free annual subscription to the Creative Cloud. (The raffle was won...
How to Create a Portfolio Website with Adobe Portfolio
Thursday, November 11, 2021, 6 pm - 8 pm, the Austin Adobe User Group's monthly meeting, a free event, features a presentation by Carol Gunn. Create a personalized website to showcase your creative work with Adobe Portfolio. Included in your Creative Cloud subscription, Portfolio is easy to use, requires no coding, and automatically creates responsive versions of your site for desktop, tablet, and phone. About the presenter: Carol Gunn is an experienced graphic...
Upcoming Meetings Announced
The following meetings of the Austin Adobe User Group will occur on Zoom. Meetings are free and all are welcome. For the Zoom address, please write to karen@austinadobeusergroup.com. December 9: Roman Villareal - Creating Animated Gifs with After Effects January 13: Tom Berglie - Long Documents in InDesign: Part 2, interactivity February 10: TBD And don't miss the big global Adobe conference, also FREE. Adobe MAX 2021 will be held October 26–28, 2021.
Layer Masks Made Easy in Photoshop
The Austin Adobe User Group will met on Thursday, October 14th, 2021. The presentation was taken from a 3-hours online training that Cornelis Chopin is creating on "Photoshop Essentials Made Easy," in this training you will learn how to create layer masks to design a magazine cover. The Layer Mask is one of the easiest masks to create and use and is the most versatile of all image-based mask types. So, if you had to pick one mask to learn, this would be the one. In fact, most mask types are...
Fabulous Font Faces and Where to Find Them
After taking off the month of August, per our tradition, we will meet again, on Zoom, on September 9th, 6 pm CDT to learn a lot about fonts from Austin Adobe User Group co-manager Tom Berglie. Fonts are all around us: typefaces, letters, text, and all sorts of written messages. But what are fonts really, and how do they work? Does it matter what font or typeface you use for your design project? Are copywriting, proofreading, or illustrations more important to achieve efficient communication?...
InDesign Case Study: Long documents with complex formatting
July 8, 2021, at 6 pm - 8 pm, join the Austin Adobe User Group online for our monthly free meetings. These meetings are free. We'll be on the usual address for Zoom. If you need it, please contact austinadobegroupmgr@gmail.com. InDesign is the world-leading publication layout program for all kinds of colorful and visually rich publications, from a single business card to brochures, posters, magazines, newspapers, textbooks, and on and on. InDesign is also packed with features for...
Illustrator – Part 4, June 10, 2021 Austin Adobe User Group Meeting
Even More Classical Special Effects (F/X) Made Easy in Adobe Illustrator Thursday, June 10th, 6 pm – 8 pm (rescheduled) PART IV: In October, Cornelius presented Classical Special Effects (F/X) in Adobe Illustrator Made Easy and it was so well received that taught more in November and April. In the most recent meeting, we learned how to put images into text, to break up the text so individual letters could be altered, and different images could be placed in each letter. Cornelius is...
About the Austin Adobe User Group
Become a member of the Austin Adobe User Group
Membership is free! Simply attend a live event online.
Management – Join Mailing List – Site Credit
Meetings
Each month, at 6 pm on the Second Thursday, an Adobe-related topic or demonstration is presented by a variety of group members (share your knowledge) or visiting experts. The meetings are free and open to anyone interested in learning about Adobe products and meeting other Adobe enthusiasts. Before the Covid Pandemic, our meetings were hosted at the New Horizon Learning Center, 300 East Highland Mall Boulevard #100, Austin, TX 78752; (512) 349-9555.
Now we meet on Zoom. For access details, please send an email to karen@austinadobeusergroup.com.
Miss a meeting?
Check the Presentations page and/or our YouTube channel. When possible we record our presentations.
Membership advantages
Why join the Austin Adobe User Group? Besides meeting other Adobe enthusiasts and learning how to use Adobe software (through demonstrations at meetings), there are
- special discounts that are available only for User Group members on
- Adobe products
- training:
- discounts from some of our training sponsors
- discounts on books from PeachPit and O’Reilly (request the discount)
- Members are eligible to win door prizes provided by sponsors and one of the twice-yearly Adobe software drawings; see below for details. Questions? Email austinadobegroupmgr@gmail.com
Management Team
The Austin Adobe Users Group is made possible through the continued service from volunteer coordinators and others.
Cornelius Chopin of Rich Media Services, Group Co-manager, Presenter
Jon Merrifield of Peli Studio, Group Co-manager, Presenter
Karen Kreps of Net Ingenuity Group Co-manager, Google Distribution List Manager/Website host
Join the Mailing List for News and Announcements from the Austin Adobe User Group.
The group maintains a “many-to-many” email list on Google Groups. Anyone may join. The list is used for official group announcements and members are welcome to use it to post news of interest to other Adobe users and well as provides a forum to pose questions and comments. Messages and replies sent to the list will go to all members. There are approximately 500 members on the list at any time.
Share your Skills and Talents
Showcase your skills by volunteering your skills and talents with website design, email management, and event coordination. Gain visibility for yourself and your company. Contact us about how you’d like to contribute.
Get Involved
Give a Presentation at a meeting
Speaking Opportunities for Adobe Users. Want to share tips and tricks of how you use Adobe products? Besides helping others learn, you can network with other Adobe enthusiasts. And you – and your contact info/website – will be listed as a presenter on this site. Contact us about your presentation
About the Group
Our mission is to:
- Provide a helpful and supportive environment for individuals who want to learn about web and multimedia design and development using Adobe products
- Provide opportunities for Adobe users to share information, tips, and tricks.
- Provide networking opportunities for web and multimedia professionals in the Austin, TX area.
Find other Adobe User Groups
All Adobe User Groups are listed at https://aem-augs.adobe.com/adobe-user-groups/
Twice-yearly Drawing for Adobe Software
To encourage people to join and participate in the local user groups, Adobe allows each user group to have a drawing twice a year for one Adobe software package valued up to $2,100. The Austin Adobe User group holds the drawings at the June and December meetings. All members who are present at the drawing are eligible to win their choice of an Adobe product that retails for up to $2,100.
How to increase your chances to win
- Attend the meetings. You must attend at least one meeting before the drawing to be a member and be eligible for the drawing. Each meeting you attend increases your chances.
- Do something that benefits the group – review a book, give a presentation, or contribute in another way. Giving a presentation at a meeting gives the most “bonus” tickets.
If you want to volunteer and earn extra tickets toward the drawing or have any questions, contact Karen Kreps, austinadobegroupmgr@gmail.com.
Website Credits
All work on the Austin Adobe User Group site is done by group members who volunteer their time. Many thanks to the following folks:
Karen Kreps, Net Ingenuity – hosting the site, maintaining the domain name, design team member
Jon Merrifield, Peli Studio – graphic design team member