Resource Links and Info For Building Apps

Thanks so much to everyone who came to the workshop about building apps from an Illustrator's POV. Here are some reference links that I think you'll find very useful when planning an app if you don't have a coder helping you.


Quick References for Creating an App

1. Be sure to create your work in RGB. Anything made for a screen is in this palette and you would use pixels to describe the size of anything you create. If you’re using a plugin like Kwik (from Kwiksher) then they already have the formats and dpi ready for you.

2. Most of the work you will make will be in a series of layered psd’s in photoshop or as a png with a transparent background. You can use jpg’s, but png’s don’t have the kind of compression that a jpg has and the quality is so much higher with a png because it is lossless compression.

3. To produce an app that you will want to upload to the app marketplace you’ll need to have an App Development license. It costs $99 for 1 year. https://developer.apple.com/programs/ios/

4. Here is the link for the company Kwiksher that has the software downloads for Kwik, Kutt and Kaboom. The free version allows you up to 4 pages/screens of your app and is a good way to just learn how to use the software. http://kwiksher.com

5. For the Publishing Software Kwiksher recommends Corona. http://coronalabs.com

6. If you choose to learn “X Code”, you can download the software and tools from here for free: https://developer.apple.com/xcode/

7. Here is a great step-by-step tutorial for using Kwik to create an app from complete scrap. http://www.raywenderlich.com/19415/how-to-make-an-interactive-ebook-without-any-code

8. Here is an article about building apps without having to learn code from USA today that has links to other software companies that provide different services than Kwiksher. http://usatoday30.usatoday.com/tech/products/2011-08-16-apps-how-to-make_n.htm

9. Will Terry has a great online course for learning Kwik to create story apps with interactivity. http://schoolofvisualstorytelling.bigcartel.com/product/learn-kwiksher-class-lite

10. The channel for Kwiksher offers some free tutorials for learning Kwik and some of the other software that Kwiksher produces to design and create apps. https://www.youtube.com/user/kwiksher

11. This link has some standard downloadable templates for creating apps that are in photoshop PSD formats. http://code.tutsplus.com/tutorials/iphone-and-ipad-design-templates-and-how-to-use-them--mobile-3418