Design Resources

Check out our new and improved Design Resources page. We revamped all the material and put everything on one single page. From templates to screencasts, we've got all the information you need to create a fantastic bottle cap, all in one place!

Design like this!

Not like this.

Design Lesson #5: Clip Art and Finishing Touches

At long last, the quest for a perfect bottle cap design is over! Check out the final steps of the Tully design in this fifth Inkscape screencast. You'll learn how to use the Open Clip Art Library, how to draw stars, and how to use the dropper tool. Remember to double-check your design at 1" to make sure no element is too small! Seriously!!!

And here's the cap in real life:

Rock it, kitteh.

Now if only I could brew and bottle such a beer...

Design Lesson #4: Curved Text

Everyone loves curved text on bottle cap designs, and it's one of my favorite tricks for getting both important content and a fun design into a small space. Curving your text gives a label to your beer without overlapping or upstaging a large center graphic. Here's how to do curved text in Inkscape. This is the most complex step yet, but once you've watched the video, you'll be able to do it right every time! Warning: contains a couple of cat puns.

Design Lesson #3: Cropping

Learn how to crop your photo into a circle, square, hexagon, star, or squirrel shape within the Inkscape program. This is a great technique for getting the most out of your photo on a bottle cap: cropping allows you to include only the details you want. Like that cutesy-wootsy, crazy bifurcated face.

Design Lesson #2: Importing Images and Exporting Designs

Lesson #2 in our Inkscape Screencasts showcases 1) how to import images or photos from your computer into your design and 2) how to export your finished design as a PNG so it's ready to upload on BottleMark.com.

Also featuring the requisite cute kitty.

Design Lesson #1: Creating a Cap Canvas

Want to make better custom caps, but you're not a graphic geek? Good news! We just launched our first in a series of Inkscape screencast videos. The series begins with the most essential tasks and will move into the more complex tricks.

Today's video takes you from a new document in Inkscape to a ready-to-decorate cap canvas. 

Why are we such big fans of Inkscape, and not Adobe Illustrator or CorelDraw? Three words: free, open-source, downloadable. There's no excuse not to. Get Inkscape now!

Don't forget: if you have any design questions, you can always contact me.