Rss Bot

Character sheets are the order of the day in this tutorial, which covers how to create one for a 3D modeller-friendly character. By 3D modeller friendly, I mean a very clear and accurate detailing of the character’s clothes and accessories, and a body proportions guide to help with setting modelling boundaries. The full sheet will include close-ups on the character’s items, some expressions to get a full idea of how the face should be rigged for animation, texture presentation, front, back and side views, colour options, functionality, and 2D modelling wireframes. These are considerations that underpin some of the most amazing 3D art we've seen. Harajuku shapes and colours will be the main inspiration for our character design, in order to make it more eye-catching in any game or animation. We will be working with Procreate and Photoshop (some of the best software for digital artists), learning how to use suitable brushes and the editing tools in both software. This tutorial will give you an insight into creating character sheets, which you will be able to use in your own work. Get Adobe Creative Cloud here 01. Start by using shapes Shapes are a great way to communicate character Shapes are an integral part of sketching any of your character designs and they can help you set the personality and attitude. Big shapes can give off the sense of a kind or firm and strong presence, while small and thin shapes might show speed, flexibility or timid uncertainty! Shapes and psychology are connected, so for this concept of an underground street racer, we will be going for a strong but slow character. Choosing big circles and wide shoulder formations will help to portray an impactful personality. 02. Connect shapes to make a basic form Contrasting shapes create an interesting character Once we have decided on the shapes, we move on to setting the smaller shapes connecting to the main body. Here we can see how the arms and feet are going to look. To make your character more whimsical, try to work with juxtaposing the limbs and extremities. Here we will go for a big body, but very thin legs and small hands. This contrast will add a funnier spirit to your character. 03. Build a 2D body wireframe Drawing wireframe lines will give you a better understanding of the character's form A common overlooked step is presenting the body in the character sheet with no details or clothing. Drawing the original body shape provides a good base for any future 3D sculpt, without the distraction of form and outlines caused by the layering of several clothing pieces or accessories. Using the circles and body sketch as a base, we start to draw the anatomy of the character in raw form. This will allow the modellers to add the outfit as separate layers on top of the basic sculpt. Another tip is to draw the wireframe lines wrapping around the model in 2D form; this will give you a better understanding of how the clothes will fall around the character’s body. 04. Detail then finalise line art It's time to pin down the look and feel of the character Once the basic shape of the character is set, you can start with detailing the character. As mentioned, Harajuku fashion wear was chosen to create the outfit for this character. The character will be called ‘Torch’, so we can choose fire to be the striking element of his design. Drawing fire on his outfit will be a classic thing to do, so for that, we are going to add a gas-powered helmet igniting fire all the time. The helmet design is based on the kabuto samurai helmet with gas tubes instead of the classic ‘maedate’ piece. 05. Reveal character through accessories Texture details will be useful for a 3D modeller Torch is a racer who plays dirty so he can win. For that, we are going to give him a weak weapon to show his deteriorated sportsmanship. A classic bat pimped up to his style will be a perfect weapon. Since Japanese accessories are the inspiration, we will go for a katana-style handle. The textures are also presented in the sheet so the 3D modeller can visualise the end result. 06. Personalise your designs Feel free to give your designs a personal twist that make sense to the character When designing a character accessory, choose a known item and give it your own personal twist. Here, the classic kabuto helmet includes several parts we can change to fit our character. The gas tubes that replace the classic ‘maedate’ will be a perfect addition to reflect his fiery character. The design needs to still be functional, so the gas tubes placement needs to make sense. 07. Specify texture details Texture thumbnails are useful for modellers Providing the modeller with your preferred textures is always a plus. Torch will be wearing a leopard-print fur jacket with a simple shirt and fire shorts. It is preferable to paint the textures in squares in the full sheet to get the desired look. Some designs require custom-made textures, so this will be the job of the development team to change the 2D texture into one fitting for the model. 08. Explore different character angles Guide lines make it easier for modellers to understand your character Next we will work on the side and back view of the character. A tip to drawing the different views is to draw guides positioned on the joints. For example, we have a line that shows how tall the head is, or where the elbows are located, or even the body height. Once the lines are drawn over the main character, you can use the guides to paint him in all the angles, like front, side, three quarter and back. The poses should be drawn in the classic T-pose, excluding the arms, to make it easier for the modellers to identify the anatomy. 09. Detail limbs separately Drawing limbs separately is a common and useful approach When drawing the character in side view T-pose, you exclude the arms so the side seams will show and won’t be hidden by the limbs. In that case, we’ll draw the arm in a separate piece; this is a good way to present, especially if the limbs of your character include complex seams and folds. The hand is even drawn in a flat perspective as an easier guide. 10. Play with colour variations A mood board is useful for settling on a colour scheme Your chosen colours will not always be the final decision, especially when working in a team. For that, you need to present several colouring options and discuss what would be best to give both visual impact and memorable combinations. In a character sheet, you can get help from your mood board (see mood board tips here) and choose several colour designs. If you want your character to look visually stronger, you can choose to combine flat colours with a pattern or an animal print. This always looks more rich and aesthetically pleasing. 11. Include multiple facial expressions Personality is reflected in the equipment We will be drawing Torch in the three basic vital expressions: happy, sad and angry. Here we can play with how the gas tubes ignite the fire depending on how he feels: when he is happy, the flame will appear a pink colour; anger can be a sharp fire shape with sparks igniting from the tubes; sadness can be shown as a small and timid blue fire. 12. Present ambient occlusion layers AO layers are another way for modellers to better understand your character Ambient occlusion, or AO, is a rendering method to determine the darkest shadowed areas in a neutral diffused light setting. For example, AO could be added underneath his chin, between his fingers, above his knees, etc, any area where there would be no light casting on the surface. It is a good idea to present the AO as a separate layer on your character sheet. Even if your character will be transformed into a 3D model later, adding AO to the 2D sheet is a great way to pitch the idea to your client or team members. 13. Consider colour psychology Pick colours and textures that fit your character This plays an important role in determining the personality and attitude of your character. Torch is a very egoistic character and will do anything for the win, even if it means playing dirty. So we will be choosing purple to reflect vanity along with yellow (the leopard print) to show vitality and energy. You can experiment with other colours that fit the personality of your character. 14. Include lots of different poses Poses help to communicate a character's attitude Posing your character into the basic body movements allows people to learn more about your character’s attitude. To draw your character in different poses, always keep in mind the basic shapes that form your design. Drawing circles reacting to movement will help us with filling in the details. Remember the squish and squash techniques in animation and apply it directly to the pose. Another tip is making use of the spine as a simple line. When you draw this line, the rest of the limbs will be easier to fill in. 15. Extend the character into related items This rough and dirty car links into the character perfectly The final step in our character sheet is to create his prized car, the Totchi! Designing vehicles revolves around the same concept as character design. First we draw the main shape of the car after lots of research, then add the details that should be relatable to the character. In this case, the car should include the fire and the leopard print to show ownership. You can also exaggerate with the car shape and increase the sizes, so here we make the cockpit very wide and big to fit Torch in his one-person seat. This article originally appeared in issue 248 of 3D World, the best-selling magazine for 3D artists. Buy issue 248 or subscribe to 3D World. Related articles: 3D sculpting: How to sculpt with style These 3D portraits are unbelievably realistic 10 ways to improve your 3D anatomy View the full article

Summer isn't over yet! There's still time to go out and capture beautiful photographs. What's more, you can turn your HDR photos into works of art with a little help from the easyHDR Image Processing Software v3.13 Home Plan. HDR images cover more extensive dynamic ranges than regular digital cameras, resulting in a variety of different exposure levels. If you're on the hunt for a new camera, check out our guide to the best cameras for creatives. And speaking of exposure levels, this easyHDR software simplifies the task of polishing them thanks to straightforward tone mapping and LDR enhancement techniques. Compatible with both PC and Mac platforms, the easyHDR software allows you to transform raw and pale images into vivid photos. Lens correction, alignment, ghost removal, freehand transform, colour grading, and preset layer features are all included in this handy home plan. The software even allows for the importing of several image formats, including those that were previously generated with other HDR image processing software. Usually $39, the easyHDR Image Processing Software v3.13 Home Plan has been cut in price for a limited time to only $9.99 - that's a saving of 74%. Improve your photo editing workflow and start processing stunning images from the comfort of your home when you buy it now. Related articles: The best cameras for beginners in 2019 The best memory cards for your camera The best camera bags and cases in 2019 View the full article

Samsung's Note line has been a favourite with creatives for years, given its size, power and fantastic pen support. The new Note 10 Plus set the internet on fire when it was announced. Not because it made a top spot in our list of the best camera phones around, or its maxed-out specs, gyroscopic S Pen or even its stunning display, but because of its colour and lack of a headphone jack. The new Aura Glow colour, which makes the phone look like a unicorn has the back panel shimmering a different hue depending on how it grabs the light. Despite being a £999/$1,099 phone, Samsung took a gamble, and it paid off. The second headline-grabber – the death of the headphone jack, has been less well-received. How much you care about either of these will be entirely down to you; do you use an opaque case? You won’t see that ethereal shimmer. Already happy with a headphone jack-free phone or don't mind the idea of Bluetooth cans? Great, get ready for some excellent penning. Samsung Galaxy Note 10 Plus: Design and display With a 6.8-inch screen, the Samsung Galaxy Note 10 Plus is a giant canvas for that S Pen, stretching the limits of being pocketable, but it isn't quite as big as we thought it would be. If you’ve seen an iPhone Xs Max, it has a 6.5-inch screen, and that’s probably the upper limit of what you’d want to be carrying around with you. Samsung has managed to squeeze a much bigger display into a similar-sized chassis, which is lighter than the Xs Max, by zapping the phone’s bezels, creating an all-screen, notch-free experience. Taking centre stage is that curved AMOLED panel – it’s huge, punchy, vibrant and fills 91% of the phone's fascia, framed by a tiny border and interrupted only by a small, punch-hold front camera centred at the top of the phone. At the bottom is a USB-C port, speaker grille, that retractable, spring-loaded S Pen, and on the left are all the buttons. The top is where you’ll find the dual-SIM card tray, while around the back is the quad-camera setup. With a 6.8-inch screen, the Samsung Galaxy Note 10 Plus is a giant canvas The Galaxy Note 10 Plus’ design isn’t just the pinnacle of Samsung’s smartphone legacy; it’s the best we’ve seen to date, with the polished aluminium frame melding beautifully into the Gorilla Glass curved back and front. While there isn’t a case in the box, the Note 10 Plus is protected with IP68 water and dust resistance, and thanks to the pre-fitted screen protector, out of the box, you’ll have something safeguarding that screen. As for the tech behind the display, the Note 10 Plus features a Dynamic AMOLED panel with a 19:9 aspect ratio and QHD+ resolution (1440 x 3040). Featuring HDR10+ support, it gets very, very bright, and very, very dark. Blacks showcased by the Note 10 Plus look incredibly inky, deep and rich, making it perfect for watching content in low light with its 2,000,000:1 contrast ratio, and thanks to its supremely high brightness levels (up to 1200 nits), it’s easy to see what’s going on outdoors when using it. Viewing angles are also stellar, and while it hasn’t got the highest refresh-rate around – 60Hz vs 90Hz on the OnePlus 7 Pro and 120Hz on the new iPad Pro (see our full iPad Pro 12.9-inch review for full specs), it's still a class-leading canvas for your creativity in terms of size and colour reproduction. Samsung Galaxy Note 10 Plus: S Pen The S Pen supports 4,096 levels of pressure sensitivity As with the last few generations of Samsung Galaxy Note, and the Tab S, the Note 10 Plus features a Wacom digitiser under the display, which, when coupled with the phone’s S Pen, supports 4,096 levels of pressure sensitivity. This is combined with deep software integration with the phone itself. Pull out the S Pen from the bottom right of the phone, and a menu cascades up with shortcuts to S Pen functions like creating a new note, writing on a screenshot, translating on-screen text and more. You can supplement this menu with shortcuts to other S Pen apps, which can be downloaded through the Google Play Store. The Notes app is handy, and thanks to excellent optical character recognition (OCR), the phone can index notes based on your handwriting, making them searchable. Taking this handwriting recognition a step further, the Note 10 Plus also features the best handwriting keyboard available on any smartphone. The S Pen's precision wipes the floor with that of its main competition While there are some new gimmicks like air gestures – you can wave the Note pen around to zoom in and out within the camera app, none of these add to the experience. The only handy feature in our experience was using the S Pen button as a shutter release when taking pictures, perfect for capturing group shots with your phone on a tripod or propped up on a surface. What really sets the S Pen apart for us is how good it is for digital artists and illustrators. Its precision wipes the floor with that of its main competition, the Huawei Mate 20 X and its M Pen, latency is low, and you can work on much larger files than ever before without slowdown. We exported a multi-layered PSD file that was around 12.8MP and 90MB, working on it with virtually no lag over four hours. If you’re happy with Sketchbook for starting off projects and Samsung Notes for casual doodles, therefore, the Note 10 Plus is like having a pin-sharp Wacom Cintiq in your pocket. You can see an example illustration below: As with the Note 9, you can tilt the S Pen for intuitive shading, provided you’re working within an app that supports the feature. And if you want a more traditional drawing experience, the Staedtler Noris Digital is a compatible stylus that looks and feels just like a pencil, and can be had for around £20-30. Samsung Galaxy Note 10 Plus: Software The nuts and bolts of the Samsung Galaxy Note 10 Plus user experience is powered by Android 9 with Samsung’s One UI over the top. That means excellent app support, though not quite as good as the iPad from a pen point-of-view. The core UI is comprised of home screens that can be customised, along with a Bixby Home display to the left, which serves up a feed of things Samsung thinks you should care about – local highlights, fun gifs etc. It’s a familiar, highly customisable and high-quality UI, and you can scale back things you don’t care for, like Bixby, for example, or even overlay a new interface over the top - 'a launcher' - Android is flexible like that. With smart features like Samsung DeX to play about with too, the phone can be hooked up to a big screen to deliver a desktop interface on a TV or monitor with an HDMI adapter. This feature also extends to computers, so you can now create a window within your computer that gives you access to the phone. Neither are particularly fantastic for actual productivity, especially creative work, and we ignored them after testing them out. Samsung Galaxy Note 10 Plus: Camera Take control of your shooting experience with the Galaxy Note 10 Plus The Note 10-series carries forward the 12MP dual-aperture main camera introduced on the Galaxy S9 and combines it with a 2x zoom 12MP camera and an 0.5x zoom, ultrawide 16MP camera. Finally, the time of flight (ToF) camera helps with depth sensing to create better effects when blurring out the background of portraits and Live Focus photos and videos. Results across lighting conditions are very good, with detail consistently high and images looking poppy and saturated out of the camera. There are plenty of shooting modes, including Pro mode, so you can take control of your shooting experience, and the phone shoots RAW photos too. While low light photography isn’t quite as well handled as on the Huawei P30 Pro or Pixel 3, and there’s no 5x periscope zoom as found on the Oppo Reno 10X's camera, the Note 10 Plus still manages to deliver an excellent, multi-purpose imaging experience across lighting conditions. Thanks to the combination of optical and electronic image stabilisation, it also shoots brilliant videos at up to 4K resolution, 60fps, as well as up to 960fps slow motion at Full HD resolution. Samsung Galaxy Note 10 Plus: Performance, storage and connections A considerable amount of power and storage sit inside the Note 10 Plus' elegant frame, making it about as future-proofed as you can get right now. Specs include an Exynos 9825 processor combined with 12GB RAM and 256GB storage. That’s more space for your files, photos and games than found in some premium laptops, and you can boost it with up to 1TB thanks to microSD card expansion. If you opt for the 5G version, you can even pick it up with as much as 512GB storage, though the maxed-out model will set you back £1,199. The phone’s 4300mAh battery easily gets it through a full day, and with its supplied 25W charger, the Note 10 Plus powers up from 0-100% in just over an hour, which is fast, especially when compared to the three hours 30 minutes charging time of the iPhone Xs Max when using the in-the-box charger. Samsung Galaxy Note 10 Plus: Should you buy it? If you’re a creative who draws, there’s no competition; the Note-series is the only real choices when it comes to phones with excellent pen-input out of the box. Compared to the standard Note 10, the Note 10 Plus is significantly bigger, has a sharper screen, better battery life, more optional storage and RAM, as well as a ToF depth camera. The main selling point of the Plus for us is the larger screen to draw on and its extra resolution. There’s no getting around the fact the Note 10 Plus is costly, but it’s also very, very good. In a world in which the iPhone Xs Max (256GB) is £1,249, the Note 10 Plus (256GB) costs £999, delivering significantly better bang for buck. That said, if you’re not looking for pen-input, then there are plenty of excellent Android phones that undercut it, not least of all the Huawei P30 Pro (£799), OnePlus 7 Pro (£649) and the Samsung Galaxy S10 Plus (£799), and if you're happy with last season's model, the Note 9 is still a fantastic choice. View the full article

Three-letter logos are everywhere. From JFK to J-Lo, media personalities love having a simple and instantly recognisable moniker, and their fans love using them. In the world of identity design, companies spend millions on research and go through lengthy and highly complex design processes to come up with something that communicates their essence in one, extremely simple mark (read more about the art of logo design here). Sometimes, all they need is in their name – and if it can be expressed in three little letters, all the better. No special symbol, no balancing of logotype and logomark, no distractions. Just a tidy three-letter logo. What makes a good 3-letter logo? Achieving a three-letter logo that makes a lasting impression on people isn’t as easy as it sounds. Though each letter can be crafted in various ways to communicate something about the brand and what it does, bringing them together to form a balanced yet distinctive piece is challenging. Many designers opt for a solid, structured form. But there are a lot of these around – making it difficult to stand out from the crowd. For others, the curves and intricacies of a script-based monogram are the way forward. But the intricacy of a monogram can make it indistinct – hard to recognise in an instant. What’s usually needed is a touch of inspiration, and a touch of genius. Focusing only on logotypes – we haven’t included anything that relies on a mark – we reckon the selection below constitutes the best three-letter logos ever made, in reverse order... For our favourite logos in general, see our post on 10 of the best logos ever. 10. MTV MTV’s 2011 brand update tweaked the original 1981 design logo, but only slightly MTV’s powerful, structural logo was actually created by a start-up design studio called Manhattan Design back in 1981. Its heavy, three-dimensional 'M' establishes its solid form, with the spray-painted TV dropping in as a creative highlight to lend the identity some street cred. Made old-school style by Frank Olinsky, Pat Gorman and Patti Rogoff, the TV element was actually sprayed onto acetate in a stairwell in Greenwich Village. Even then, the designers envisaged the 'M' being used as a canvas for different colours, patterns, images and possibly moving footage too, giving the world one of its first adaptive logos. 09. CNN The clean, clear form of the CNN logo means it worked well on screen and its aesthetic and conceptual immediacy has made it an enduring winner As with MTV, it was a case of needs must in the early 1980s as cable television took off in the US. While the music station was to broadcast videos 24 hours a day, CNN’s concept was non-stop news. At the last minute, founder Ted Turner and his board realised they needed a logo and ad agency Communication Trends in Atlanta obliged. Turner ‘got’ the concept immediately – a cable running in-line through a smoothly curving, modernist formation of the three letters. The logo was designed in 48 hours and has been on air ever since the station’s launch on 1 June 1980. 08. Yves Saint Laurent Slim, elegant, well-proportioned, the YSL monogram was originally designed to represent the modern man Although the French fashion house rebranded as Saint Laurent Paris a few years ago, its beautiful monogram logo is still seen on fragrances, bags, jewellery and in various secondary applications. And why would the brand rid itself of a classic monogram, which stands out against the heavy structure of most other three letter logos thanks to the way the letters intertwine without becoming too indistinct and decorative? Designed by Cassandre – the pseudonym of Adolphe Jean Marie Mouron – the logo was drafted by hand in 1961. It has a touch of the art deco about it, perhaps tracing back to Cassandre’s own background as a leading poster designer of the 1930s. 07. NYC By deliberately choosing massive letter forms, Wolff Olins gave the city the option to use imagery within nearly every message it put out Could this be the biggest example of location-based identity design yet? Produced in 2007, its huge, blocky type makes it the epitome of a structural three-letter logo. The forms are designed to work vertically and horizontally, and just as the huge 'M' in the MTV logo was used as a canvas for music-related imagery, the chunky NYC is meant to provide a window into a multicultural city. Like the city’s layout, it has been designed on a grid of blocks, but in application it has proven itself adaptive and flexible. Designed by Wolff Olins, the logo has become a lynchpin of tourism marketing – following on from Milton Glaser’s I Love New York logo, of course – and the peg for a range of initiatives such as greenNYC. 06. SAS Designed by Bold, this livery celebrates the 70th anniversary of SAS. The airline’s iconic three-letter logo has been around since 1983 Designers love doing identity work for airlines. From sick bags to aircraft livery, there’s so much to play with. The core logo for Scandinavian Airline Systems had its origins with Landor Associates, which came up with the basic letter forms in 1983; was placed in a blue box by Stockholm Design Lab in 1998; and was released to fly free by Bold in 2016. 78.9 degrees is the sweet spot as far as leaning letters goes, according to this diagram by Stockholm Design Lab Essentially, the slant of the letters and the contrast between bold and thin strokes enables the type to look solid and yet light enough to fly at the same time. Bold’s addition of gradients to the brand colour palette have helped modernise the identity but it’s the expertly handled geometry in the lettering that chimes most with the straightforward Scandi functionality. 05. The BBC Today the BBC considers its brand to be its most valuable asset ABC, NBC, CBS, CBC… Broadcasting companies tend to have three-letter identities and great logos, but this clear, solid, globally recognised mark which the BBC has used since 1997 just has the edge on other contenders. You could argue that its grounded feel matches the corporation’s impartial editorial approach, or that the blocks look almost like keys on the keyboard at which a diligent correspondent is beavering away. However, Lambie-Nairn’s design really aimed to deal with the issues of the digital age. At the time, various BBC entities were using different logos, but its main mark – slanting letters with blue, red and green lines underneath them – didn’t render well at small sizes or on digital displays. Since the 1950s, the lettering has been in blocks, and Lambie-Nairn refined this tradition, using Gill Sans in hopes of giving the logo a timeless quality. 04. Caterpillar Caterpillar’s three-letter logo with its distinctive triangle establishes the reliability of the company’s equipment As a manufacturer of earthmoving and construction equipment, the strong and structured feel of its current logo looks just right. But the insertion of the yellow triangle adds a little mystery. What does it represent? A mound of rubble that needs to be moved? A hillside someone wearing CAT branded boots is about to conquer? Well, according to the internal design team that created it, the triangle actually conveys optimism, support and energy. It was introduced in 1989 and since 1996 the company has extended its reputation for rugged, high traction products into the clothing and footwear sectors. The three-letter CAT logo makes for an ideal tag for this gear. 03. The V&A The V&A’s logo works much in the same way a monogram would, establishing a classic yet modern identity Designed by Pentagram founder Alan Fletcher in 1989, the Victoria and Albert Museum’s logo is an object lesson in exclusion. By leaving out left-hand stroke of the capital 'A' and tightening the 'V' and the rest of the 'A' in to house the ampersand, a unique but very recognisable form is established. The thin, Bodoni-like serifs and strong contrast in the strokes speak of the V&A’s timeless elegance. In 2002, branding agency Wolff Olins helped give the identity more a dramatic and vibrant presence by demanding that it always be used in colour. Black was banned. Strictly speaking, it’s three characters rather than three letters, but to this day the V&A marketing department considers the logo to be as valuable as any piece in the museum’s collection. 02. IBM IBM shares the metrics of its 8-bar logo on its website, along with all the brand guidelines Just like a good piece of music needs to connect with the listener in the first eight bars, Paul Rand made an unforgettable impression on the nascent tech industry with his eight-bar logo for IBM. Redesigning his earlier identity from 1956, in 1972 Rand split the slab serif type horizontally using seven gaps, which seem to allude to the scan lines that were visibly present on early computer monitors (and televisions for that matter). The black bars – or positive space – are ever so slightly thicker than the white ones to overcome the optical effect of the negative space surrounding the logo. In a fast-moving business, it has stood the test of time. Like the modernist ethos Rand promoted, IBM’s logo stands for honesty and integrity. 01. The London Symphony Orchestra True genius expressed in three letters, as one. The London Symphony Orchestra logo by The Partners (now Superunion) Not as well-known as IBM, Yves Saint Laurent or, indeed, MTV, the LSO might be an unexpected choice in top position. However, this design isn’t just a three-letter representation of an organisation, it’s a mark that captures the very essence of an orchestra in a way that defies expectation. These letters appear as though they’ve been drawn in the air by the tip of the conductor’s baton. Designed by The Partners (now Superunion) in 2004, the logo is centered around the notion of motion. Two years ago, the agency returned to motion capture conductor Simon Rattle, taking the angles of his movements into custom lettering for the orchestra’s poster campaigns. If there was ever a way to use an identity to make classical music feel relevant and exciting, this is it. Read more: 5 logo design apps for beginners 6 famous textless logos and why they work 12 meticulous style guides View the full article

Earlier this month Apple launched its much-anticipated Apple Card in the US. We fell in love with the Apple Card when we first saw its sleek design, then we laughed at its fastidious care instructions. As if that wasn't enough, you can now buy skins and wraps to keep the high-maintenance Apple Card looking pristine. Initially the need for skins and wraps seemed bizarre to us. Although when you consider that this is Apple, and the card's design is on the same level as the best iPad accessories, maybe it isn't so unusual. But hold on, these skins and wraps aren't made by Apple. Instead, they're the creation of DBrand, and you can buy them now from just $4.95. Claiming to be made from premium materials that can withstand frequent use, these skins and wraps also boast unlimited customisation. Apple recommends that users clean their cards with isopropyl alcohol If anything, we have to ask why Apple didn't predict the demand for Apple Card skins. Earlier this year Apple decided to release a $999 stand for its new Mac Pro, so it clearly isn't adverse to charging a premium price for a useful product. The Apple Card Sleeve could've been a nice little earner. And if that stand's price tag sounds too much for you, don't forget to check out our roundup of cheaper monitor stands. If these skins aren't what you're after and you want to clean your card the Apple way, check out the full care instructions. Just make sure you have your lint-free microfibre cloth and some isopropyl alcohol at the ready, because the Apple Card is a precious thing. Related articles: The 100 greatest Apple creations Is Apple about to bring back its rainbow logo? Has Apple ripped off Elon Musk's company logo? View the full article

This tutorial is for people who have heard of static site generators and have decided they want to have a go at building their own site using one. Here's we'll be showing you how to start a blog using Jekyll. A basic knowledge of Terminal is good, although you should be able to follow along as the commands are all fairly simple. Sites on GitHub Pages are powered by Jekyll behind the scenes, so when used along with GitHub Pages, it creates a way to host and manage your website for free (see our list of the best web hosting services for other options). This tutorial assumes you are on a Mac; as Jekyll is a Ruby program, it is possible to run it on Windows but it is not officially supported. If you are following along on Windows, hop over here for help getting Ruby set up. After completing this tutorial, you will have created a Jekyll blog and learnt how its features and templating language can build a personal blog. This is a great starting point to develop your own site. Find the files for this tutorial here. 10 best static site generators 01. Getting set up On a Mac you should have Ruby installed by default but let's check by typing ruby -v in your Terminal. Now we can actually get Jekyll running in the site, make sure you are in the directory you want to build your site in and simply type gem install jekyll bundler; your computer will then go and grab all the dependencies needed to run a site. 02. Serve locally or build There are two main commands you will use with Jekyll – serve and build. To run your site locally type jekyll serve in your command line. This will run a version on http://127.0.0.1:4000 that you can preview your changes on. If you already have gem and other dependencies installed on your machine, this command may fail due to a mismatch in dependency versions; in this case, try bundle exec jekyll serve instead. Running the same but with the word build just compiles the site. 03. Get the starter files Copy the files supplied with this tutorial at this point to give you a basis to work from. This will give us a homepage, blog list, detail page and the assets structure for the site. Refresh your page at http://127.0.0.1:4000 and you will see we now have some basic pages to build from. Let's have a quick overview of how a Jekyll site works. A Jekyll site is structured in an easy to follow way. Any collections (types of posts) are held in their own folder, as are layouts and includes. You will notice a '_site' folder – this is the folder that Jekyll uses when you run a jekyll build command. Join us in London on 26 September for Generate CSS – click the image to book your ticket 04. Configuration Jekyll gives you a great structure to work with and an easy-to-manage config file Open _config.yml in your text editor and add your own details; one key area to check is to set your base URL. This is the folder that your site is loading in. The config file is similar to using Global Options combined with your wp-config file if you were building out a WordPress theme. You can control core information such as titles and meta descriptions, your email and social accounts and then all the information the site needs to compile such as collections and any plugins used. You can use a mixture of HTML and Markdown for pages, depending on what it is that you want to achieve. However, custom pages such as your homepage and list pages will generally be HTML, whereas posts and other general pages that use a set template will be Markdown. 05. Front matter Front matter is a snippet of YAML at the top of a file. Jekyll uses it to hold variables. Look in the about.md file and you can see we set the title, which layout to use, the author and any related images. 06. Liquid tags Liquid tags offer an easy way to work with templates and are also used in Shopify themes Jekyll uses Liquid – a templating language that uses objects, tags and filters. We use the object tag surrounded by double braces {{ }} to output front matter variables and a brace and percentage sign for logic {% %}. 07. Build your navigation Rather than a static navigation, we use the power of config files to separate the content from the template. We will hold out navigation items in the 'data' folder as a config file and then loop through them in navigation.html. We can just enter whatever pages and links we want going forward without going back to the template. Make sure you are really careful with whitespace when editing your config files such as navigation.yml or front matter at the start of a post because a stray space will cause an error. The config file is already set so enter the following code in your 'navigation.html' include file: We are using Liquid logic tags to look in the navigation config file and loop out a link and name for each entry, basically just a standard for loop. 08. Create the home page On our homepage we are going to list our latest blog post as a hero and then have a snippet from our about page with a link through. Let's start with the hero block. Open index.html and then add the following code: You will see that we first assign the latest post and then reference the thumbnail image set in the post's front matter. The post intro uses a Liquid filter markdownify to convert the Markdown to HTML. With that in place, let's add a teaser from the about page too. Add the following: This time we are using a for loop to check through the pages in the site. We are using page.url to filter out the about page and then we use a similar templating style to the hero in order to output the pages' information. 09. Blog list A simple card layout for the rest of the posts in the site that uses CSS Grid and Flexbox With the homepage created we can move onto the blog list page. To create the list page, we again use Liquid tags to give us the logic to loop through all the files in the 'posts' folder. The hero is done for you because it follows the same process as the homepage. Underneath the hero in 'blog.html', add the following: Again we use a for loop to go through the posts collection. But as we have already looped out the latest in the hero we offset this loop to start on post two. A Liquid filter is used to convert the date to a format of our choosing. 10. Blog detail page Not long to go now: we nearly have all the basic elements together. One important aspect left to address is navigation. When you are reading a blog post you need a way to cycle through and read more. We can add some nice pagination to our site using a page variable. Open post.html in the layouts folder and add the following: We use the page.previous and page.next variables to check if there is a post to click on to. If there is then we can output a block and include the title and link of the post. 11. Build and publish GitHub Pages renders the Sass files for us, so when you run jekyll build the compiled files are created in the _site folder. No gulp files or webpack here, just nice lean styles! You can even minify the Sass output as a setting in the main config.yml file for the site. The contents of this directory can be transferred to your chosen hosting. One thing to be aware of is that GitHub Pages actually supports Jekyll so you can build and host a site using your master branch as the source. You can find more information on this here. This article was originally published in issue 320 of net, the world's best-selling magazine for web designers and developers. Buy issue 320 here or subscribe here. Related articles: Build a blog with Grid and flexbox The best free blogging sites How to build a blogging site with Gatsby View the full article

Twitter was buzzing with theories over the weekend after Japanese developer, Yuichiro Kitao, pointed out that video games company Sega uses a different version of its famous text-based logo in Japan. And what's more, it appears that nobody really knows for sure why Sega has two versions of its logo. So how does its logo look different? Simple: the Japanese version uses a lighter blue, while the logo for other territories is darker. Cue rampant speculation as to whether this decision is motivated by colour theory. In his tweet, Kitao posts an image comparing the two different logos. The Japanese one appears first, followed by the darker alternative. For a passing thought about logo colours, this status appears to have captured Twitter's imagination. Hundreds of users have given it a like and have commented with their thoughts on why Sega has two logos. Sega of America’s director of production, Sam Mullen, even got in on the action by confirming that, yes, the video games developer does in fact operate two logos, each with a different colour. But the important question is why does Sega have two different coloured logos? Sadly, we don't know for sure. Mullen has his theories, including the idea that it's the result of a printing mix-up, or that the Japanese colour could be seen as more kid friendly. Either way, it's a curious detail that adds to the Sega brand. And considering that Sega's startup sound ranks alongside the best audio logos, it looks like the company knows how to use its branding to excite interest. Related articles: A short lesson on colour theory 12 colours and the emotions they evoke The essential guide to colour correction View the full article

Researchers warn users of several plugins to update as vulnerabilities are being actively exploited to redirect website visitor traffic. View the full article

From a backdoor placed in the Webmin utility to vulnerability disclosure drama around zero-days in Valve's Steam gaming clients, Threatpost breaks down this week's top stories. View the full article

Security researchers at Pen Test Partners have found a privilege escalation flaw in the much-maligned Lenovo Solution Center software. View the full article

You're reading Bootstrap Grid System Guide: Examples, Tutorials, and Tricks, originally posted on Designmodo. If you've enjoyed this post, be sure to follow on Twitter, Facebook! Bootstrap grid is at the core of the framework. It underlies everything. It is the heart and soul of the boilerplate and the main reason we choose it in the first place. In one word, it is where everything begins. … View the full article

After Valve banned him from its bug bounty program, a researcher has found a second zero-day vulnerability affecting the Steam gaming client. View the full article

Six bugs found in Cisco’s Unified Computing System gear and its 220 Series Smart switches can allow unauthenticated remote hackers to take over equipment. View the full article

Backdoor was intentionally planted in 2018 and found during the DEF CON 2019 security conference when researchers stumbled upon malicious code. View the full article

Microsoft released the beta of its new Chromium-based Edge - and it is offering rewards of up to $30,000 for researchers to hunt out vulnerabilities in the browser. View the full article

Apple accidentally re-introduced a vulnerability in its latest operating system, iOS 12.4, that had been previously fixed in iOS 12.3. View the full article

You're reading Creating a Custom Bootstrap Landing Page with Startup 3, originally posted on Designmodo. If you've enjoyed this post, be sure to follow on Twitter, Facebook! Designmodo’s Startup Framework is an affordable tool to help you create excellent web pages quickly. The framework is a drag and drop page builder, made with Bootstrap. This means you can easily and quickly generate production-ready, responsive pages in a … View the full article

VideoLAN has released an updated version of its VLC Player to fix over a dozen bugs. View the full article

Eight vulnerabilities would allow a range of attacker activities, including taking the Nest camera offline, sniffing out network information and device hijacking. View the full article

From the biometrics of one million being exposed, to new Microsoft Bluekeep threats, Threatpost discusses the top news of the week. View the full article

It's been a rough week for people who are overly attached to Android and iOS app icons. Not only were youngsters sent into a tailspin when Snapchat updated its icon, but now it's the turn of Skype users to go through the pain of watching their beloved app get a visual update. That's because Skype has got a new icon on iPhones and iPads. It's part of a larger aesthetic overhaul of Microsoft Office icons, which has been in the works since last year. And while the new icon is arguably more noticeable than the Snapchat update, is this redesign a case of users getting angry over nothing? Expect to see the new icon shortly In the redesign we can see that it's inverted the colours of the previous app icon, so now the S is white and the circular background is a blue gradient. The new Skype icon is in line with Microsoft's Fluent Design System and will roll out to all platforms in the next few weeks. As is often the case with redesigns of familiar products, the new icon has provoked a negative reaction from users. Plenty were quick to point out that the new colour scheme makes the telecommunications application look suspiciously similar to Facebook Messenger. Meanwhile, others noticed that the sizing of the new icon made it appear bloated and overweight, leading to them to consider removing it from their devices altogether – a response Skype probably wasn't going for. Let's just hope people aren't jumping ship too soon. The updated icon is part of a wider upgrade to the app that sees Microsoft fix some of the bugs that have plagued previous iterations. So while it might take a while to get used to the new icon, at least Skype will work better than before. In the cut-throat and fickle world of communications apps though, maybe this will be the nail in the coffin for Skype. After all, it's been flagging behind Whatsapp and Facebook Messenger for some time now. Or perhaps new features, such as Microsoft's plan to allow Skype users to make VoIP calls to each other in the start of 2020, will give the app a new lease of life. Related articles: How to design app icons 25 stunning iOS app icon designs How to nail your social media strategy View the full article

You're reading Bootstrap Modal Guide, Examples and Tutorials, originally posted on Designmodo. If you've enjoyed this post, be sure to follow on Twitter, Facebook! Bootstrap framework is rich in different components. Not only did the team take care of the design and its integral constituents, but they also put many efforts into functionality. That is why, along with static units like buttons or typography, … View the full article

Drawing a realistic-looking human body is difficult. Our guide to how to draw covers the essentials, but hands are so tricky that it's always useful to pick up extra advice. Luckily for us, illustrator and comic artist Miyuli is here to offer some quick tips on how to draw hands and nails, and artists on social media are absolutely loving it. The advice, which was recently shared in a tweet (below), outlines the benefits of using straight and curved lines to communicate the shape and nature of a hand. It also contains some dos and don'ts for drawing fingernails to help give artists a better sense of their dimensions. So if you're a digital artists who's been blaming your equipment instead of your skills, Miyuli's advice is worth a look-in before you splash some cash on the best drawing tablets. Check out the tips below. Despite only being shared very recently, Miyuli's tweet has exploded. At the time of writing, thousands of social media users have given it a like, and hundreds have shared it. Twitter users have also been flooding the replies to voice their approval. One artist said: "Thank you! I’ve been focusing on hands a bit recently and this really helps." While another replied with: "Super helpful guide and reminder! Thank you very much". Perhaps the reason this post is so popular is because it deals with the specifics of fingernails. These can be especially tricky to draw as, once you've nailed the shape of the hand, it can be all too easy to hastily sketch in some approximate nail shapes and call it a day. So hats off to Miyuli for explaining how to draw hands and nails quickly and clearly. As if this wasn't enough, the illustrator has also compiled a load of their art tips into a volume you can buy for $20. And if you would like to support Miyuli even further, be sure to head on over to their Patreon page and give them a couple of bucks. Related articles: Isometric drawing: A designer's guide How to draw a face 10 expert tips for charcoal drawing View the full article

3D sculpting is a pivotal stage of the 3D model creation process – it’s where artists’ ideas quite literally take shape. There’s no right or wrong way to achieve results at this stage and the approach is likely to differ significantly from artist to artist. We’ve assembled four masters of the craft to discuss the fundamental skills that underpin digital sculpting, individual styles, and how you can create your own stunning 3D sculptures. See our post on stunning 3D art for further inspiration. The basics of 3D sculpting Rudolf Béres has a strong knowledge of the games industry and is skilled in retopology and UV mapping It stands to reason that digital sculpting would be a very similar discipline to its tangible, squishy counterpart. Rudolf Béres has four years’ experience as a 3D character modeller and a strong background in traditional sculpting. “I studied traditional art at the Hungarian University of Fine Arts, and I earned a diploma award for working as a traditional sculptor and restaurator over a couple of years,” he remembers. “After all this I decided to move into the game industry and become a part of the digital art world.” ZBrush was an absolute miracle in my life Rudolf Béres There are few artists more qualified to discuss the fundamental skills of sculpting and how they translate to the digital world. “The traditional experience was a very good basis to start sculpting in digital,” continues Béres. There was one software in particular that catered to Béres’ previous experience: “ZBrush was an absolute miracle in my life and I wanted to work in it at first sight. Although it’s a completely different experience, the learning process is like playing with traditional clay or carving wood.” Even with a software like ZBrush (see our ZBrush 2019 review), Béres assures us there are key differences between traditional and digital methods: “The biggest difference is that you don’t have a real feel for the material. There’s also the fact that you can’t undo it when you’re carving a stone, or building an iron frame for your clay sculpt. The sculpting process is essentially the same, blocking, detailing, and so on. But I think that will change with the introduction of 3D printing sculpture methods.” Béres describes his artistic process as chaotic, explaining that it all starts with an idea, which usually arises from a picture or a real life experience. “In the beginning, anything and everything can change,” he adds. “Slowly the form begins to take place and I could turn a portrait of a normal girl into a vampire girl. To put it simply, don’t insist on sticking to your original ideas in the end, everything changes." Find your style ‘Border Patrol’ by Rodion Vlasov, based on a concept by freelance illustrator Viktor Titov Rodion Vlasov is a 3D character artist based in Russia, with six years of industry experience under his belt. “I began learning ZBrush towards the end of 2007,” he explains. It’s a time that Vlasov looks back on with great fondness: “Back then I was a child with big ambitions and aspirations. I had a ton of motivation to become the best in 3D.” Vlasov found this inspiration in forums such as ZBrushCentral and the artists that populated them, posting their work, WIPs and sketches. “It was a great inspiration for me. Imagine a little 13-year-old boy, who lives in a village, using the internet to communicate with artists from all over the world.” Vlasov’s work demonstrates a unique style and a penchant for striking and memorable characters. “I just let my hands sculpt while I keep the idea in mind,” he answers when asked how he achieves his unique visual style. I know that if I can’t do it today I will do it tomorrow Rodion Vlasov Despite his laid-back approach to sculpting, Vlasov makes sure to surround himself with inspiration: “I use reference images to help me find the right mood, I search for images based on my idea.” Vlasov also listens to music as he works, preferably dark ambient soundscapes. “Music is a deep sea of ideas,” he explains. “It helps create imagery in my mind.” Even for a creative soul like Vlasov, there will come a time when inspiration alludes him and motivation is hard to find. When this creative block strikes he accepts it with calmness and waits for it to pass, “I know that if I can’t do it today I will do it tomorrow,” he adds. “Instead I go and play video games, watch something, go outside and try to relax.” Vlasov asserts that it’s important to change up your activity for a while, just to take a break from CG. Get the right tools Despite having his own unique style, Vlasov insists that he doesn’t employ any unusual or notable techniques in his sculpts; he uses slightly tuned standard brushes for all his imagery, with no tricks. Vlasov outlines five things that are essential for any digital sculptor: “A PC, ZBrush, a standard brush, steady hands and a clear mind.” Finally, Vlasov imparts some wisdom for those that are new to the world of digital sculpting: “Be patient, do not rush, it will take time to get a result in any case.” He also has some advice for honing the fundamental skills of sculpting: “Learn anatomy and, perhaps even more importantly, strive to feel the forms of what you’re sculpting.” Improve your 3D sculpting efficiency ‘The Song of Tiger and Dragon’ by Keita Okada was created as a resin bust “I’ve loved creatures for a long time,” says digital sculptor and CEO of Villard, Keita Okada. Okada has a wealth of experience in creature creation, he has won numerous awards for his work and lent his talents to the video game industry. “Instead of using DCC tools, I decided to look for a more efficient way to create realistic creatures,” he adds, discussing how he got started in digital sculpting. A look through Okada’s impressive portfolio reveals a unique style and talent for intricately detailed, compelling creatures. When asked how he developed such an individualistic and recognisable style, Okada assures us that he simply kept practising, creating countless models until he developed a style that he could easily work with. Much like Béres and Vlasov, Okada favours using ZBrush in his sculpts: “I mainly use ZBrush, but I don’t usually use the more complicated features.” Okada favours Autodesk’s sculpting software because it allows him to produce and project more realistic details, such as carving or engraving on his clay models. Okada’s company, Villard, sculpts various kinds of concept models and art at an efficient rate, with creature production being their main focus and greatest strength. “The models we create are used not just for movies, but also for concept modelling, art, video games and much more,” he adds. Keita Okada’s sculpts have won him numerous awards from the likes of 3dtotal and ZBrushCentral When it comes to forming a career in digital sculpting, Okada praises the power of social media: “Nowadays, you can get your artwork easily noticed through social media. It doesn’t matter whether you are in Japan or any other country in the world, word will spread. So I would greatly advise every artist to upload their work and show it to others.” Much of the inspiration for Okada’s own creature work comes from browsing ArtStation and looking at the work of other artists. For those finding their feet in the world of digital sculpting, Okada has some sage advice drawn from his own experience: “Practise non-stop and find your own wild and beautiful style in your own work.” He also urges budding digital sculptors to experience the feeling of sculpting clay with your hands, adding that it’s a very important exercise. “You should clearly emphasise parts of your artwork that you put a lot of effort into and want to show off. Basically, knowing the good and bad points of your work is key,” adds Okada. Finally, he emphasises the importance of showing your work to others and getting feedback from a variety of different people. Craft characters Tristan Liu is a character artist and 3D generalist. This model is named Tara Tristan Liu is a digital sculptor specialising in characters. He is currently lead 3D artist for start-up AI company DeepMotion, in the San Francisco Bay Area. Previously he’s worked on projects such as World Of Warcraft, Diablo III and Overwatch. “I started in digital sculpting when I was in college,” remembers Liu. “I saw ZBrush 3.1 on one of the lab computers. After some experiments, I found it was a very intuitive way to express my inspirations and ideas in 3D. I fell in love with it immediately. “ZBrush is one of the tools that I use for sculpting,” he continues. “It depends on personal habits but to me, ZBrush is a powerful tool that meets all my needs for sculpting.” Liu believes a solid foundational knowledge of sculpting is key for building a portfolio and getting hired. “A professional artist can quickly determine your level by looking at your work. The industry is changing fast, so it is very important to keep trying new technologies and improving your skills.” A sculpt of Liu's character, Tara Liu’s work is notable for its high level of detail and realism. Explaining how he achieved this on his latest image, Tara (above), he says: “I used many references, including realistic photos and digital works. Scanned alpha textures were also very helpful for getting quick overall detail on the sculpt, such as fabric folds, wrinkles and metal scratches. I projected them to the surface before digging into the details too much.” He continues: “If you are going to texture your character after the sculpt, you need to be clear which details need to be sculpted, and which areas can use normal maps or displacements to achieve a similar result in texturing tools. Always zoom out to check that you are satisfied with the details when looking in the distance.” Katsumoto was created using Maya, ZBrush, Substance Painter and Marvelous Designer, before being rendered in Marmoset Toolbag Staying ahead of the curve with your sculpts requires constant experimentation and practice. During the gap between his long-term projects, Liu usually works on short-term anatomy or concept sculpting exercises to keep himself sharp and change the pace. “Be passionate when starting a project and be patient when it comes to completing it,” Liu continues. He states that the overall feeling of a sculpt is much more important than the details, also adding that it’s important to “always be humble and learn from your fellow artists.” So what are you waiting for? There’s no mystic art to creating great sculptures. According to our digital sculpting experts, all you need to do to get started is grab a ZBrush licence, brush up on the fundamentals of sculpture and continue to practise until you make perfect. This article originally appeared in issue 248 of 3D World, the best-selling magazine for 3D artists. Buy issue 248 or subscribe to 3D World. View the full article

Unbelievably it is over thirteen years since the CSS preprocessor Sass was released. Since then it has grown to be one of the best-known and best-loved CSS tools in a developers toolkit – see our post on What is Sass to learn more. Here, Natalie Weizenbaum, lead designer at Sass, tech lead of CSS at Google and closing keynote speaker at Generate CSS reveals her top five tips for getting the most from Sass. 01. Use Sass for sharing styles Sass has a lot of nice features for writing individual stylesheets, but where it really shines is that it creates a consistent visual identity by encapsulating design logic in functions and mixins, and re-uses them over and over. That's why design systems like Google's Material Design and IBM's Carbon use Sass! 02. Use PostCSS for transforming styles Six years ago, it was common to see Sass users using mixins for cross-browser compatibility or right-to-left language support. Today, PostCSS is the best tool for that job. Let humans write standards-compliant Sass stylesheets and leave the compatibility work up to the machines. 03. Use mixins for all styles in partials Even if those mixins are only used once! Only the root Sass file should actually produce CSS. This ensures you know exactly what order your CSS is generated in, and it makes it way easier to share styles later if they're written to be shared from the start. 04. Keep your styles neat and clean with a linter The stylelint linter provides a ton of excellent lints that will help ensure you aren't using any invalid CSS properties or other easy mistakes. The stylelint-scss plugin adds a bunch of checks just for Sass users, some written by the Sass team itself. 05. Give Dart Sass a try First released in 2018, Dart Sass is the new reference implementation for Sass. It's fast, it's easy to install as a pure JavaScript package, and it's rapidly developed—which means it's always the first implementation to support new Sass features and new CSS syntax. Check out Weizenbaum's talk on Sass in a Post-CSS world at Generate CSS this September. Buy a ticket to Generate CSS today. 5 things you never knew about CSS Add SVG filters with CSS Discover variable fonts and unconventional CSS solutions View the full article