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The update comes on the heels of critical fixes in an unscheduled patch last week. View the full article

The Consumer Electronic Show (CES) 2019 is in full swing, and there's some impressive tech on show, not least the new Huawei MateBook 13 laptop. Widely touted as a potential Apple MacBook Air killer, the MateBook 13 features an incredibly narrow-bezel display and an 88 per cent screen-to-body ratio, which is more generous than the MacBook Air's 82 per cent. The best laptops for graphic design in 2019 And it's not just weight that the MateBook has on its side. Its two configurations, an entry-grade version and a high-end version, are not only backed up with powerful 8th Generation Intel Core i5 or i7 processors, the screen also supports touch, something we've yet to see on the MacBook Air. However, that said, there's no support for a stylus. The new MateBook 13 is 0.7cm thinner than the new MacBook Air The MateBook 13 sits among Huawei's already established MateBook series, slotting between the cheaper MateBook D and the premium MateBook X Pro. Like it's older siblings, the MateBook 13 offers a 3:2 aspect ratio display, at a 13-inch size with a 2160 x 1440 resolution. It's clear Huawei has Apple in its sights, with this latest offering 0.7cm thinner than the MacBook Air. We'll be getting our hands on one soon at CES 2019 to really get a feel for it, but right now – and considering that the pricing smartly undercuts Apple’s latest MacBook Air by 100 bucks – the MateBook 13 looks to be an option creatives might want to seriously consider. Read more: View the full article

Royole has unveiled its FlexPai – the world's first foldable phone – at the CES 2019 trade show. While the benefits of having a phone that folds remain hazy, electronics companies have been tripping over themselves to get one out for some time now. In a surprise move, relatively unknown startup Royole has overtaken the likes of Samsung to be the first to get an actual flexible phone onto the market. The Royole FlexPai is a 7.8-inch phone with a flexible AMOLED screen. We first heard of Royole's foldable phone in October 2018, when the company announced the FlexPai would go on sale for around $1300 just a few days later. Prior to the news, big players such as Samsung, LG and Huawei were the big names in the race, but none had managed to get their efforts to market. Originally debuted at an event in Beijing, a demo at the CES trade show currently running in Las Vegas was the first chance for a major audience to see the flexible phone in action. CEO Bill Liu wowed the audience by demonstrating how the FlexPai could be folded from a 7.8" tablet into a smartphone with displays on two sides. Liu also announced some details about the revolutionary phone. When folded the FlexPai offers two screens: one with a 16:9 aspect ratio and the other a wider 18:9. It's powered by Qualcomm's new Snapdragon 855 chipset and runs Android's Water OS, which supports the split-screen mode. It also includes two cameras (including one 16MP wide-angle lens) that work as both rear and front cameras, depending on how the phone has been folded. Sadly, early reviews suggest the FlexPai is still a little rough around the edges – it's not a contender for the best smartphone for designers quite yet. Flexible accessories What do you need with a foldable phone? Well, flexible accessories of course. As well as showing off its competition-beating FlexPai, Royole has used CES 2019 to reveal a flexible keyboard, bendy speaker, and smart selfie stick, all featuring thin, foldable displays. This flexible keyboard rolls up into its casing The bendy QWERTY keyboard connects to your phone via Bluetooth and can be laid on any smooth surface. The cool part is that when you're done typing, you can roll it up and pop it in your bag, or pocket. The keyboard works wirelessly and Royole promises impressive battery life. As well as the bendy keyboard, Royole showed off a smart speaker with a 7.8" AMOLED flexible touchscreen. Users swipe and tap the screen to play music or watch movies. The device also includes an 8MP camera that pops out of the top and rotates 180 degrees. Whether these flexible devices are part of a passing fad or set to become a stable of the smart office of the future remains to be seen. More news from CES 2019: CES 2019: Wacom unveils new entry-level Cintiq CES 2019: Gaming giant MSI unleashes high performance laptop for creative pros View the full article

A new year means new resolutions, which in the world of 3D means checking the lay of the land to make sure the tools you're used are the still the ones that are best suited to your needs as an artist. To kick off 2019 properly, we've gathered together the tools you should consider adding to your 3D art toolkit. All of the applications in this list are either new or have undergone a big update recently, so they're worth a fresh look. 01. MODO 12.2 New denoting techniques in MODO 12.2 promise faster and cleaner renders While MODO has been around for over a decade now, the latest version has definitely set out MODO’s stall for the future. With the integration of the latest rendering tools such as AMD’s ProRender and Nvidia’s OptiX Denoiser (pictured) with a heavily revamped and streamlined UI. MODO offers artists a strong platform to consider with its best-in-class subdivision modelling toolset – which can be leveraged to work with game engines easily through customised layouts and exporters. MODO 12 has also introduced a VR viewport (on Windows only) that allows artists to get close to their models in a way that is simply is not possible in other digital content creation applications. 02. Redshift 3 Redshift has earned its place in the industry as one of the leading GPU-rendered engines – its biased underpinnings allows much more flexibility than unbiased alternatives. Redshift is also famed for its very clean animations across a wide range of host applications, as can be seen in the Bruton Stroube video above that uses Redshift. In 2019, Redshift 3 will launch with a refactored core that increases the trace depth limit, allowing more indirect light bounces and improved transparency levels. Even faster render speeds are coming with Redshift 3 thanks to optimisation for the latest Nvidia RTX cards, as well as a wealth of other new features later in the year, including distributed and network rendering. 03. V-RAY Next While there are newer rendering kids on the block, Chaos Group has been hard at work maintaining and improving V-Ray with the launch of V-Ray Next, currently available for Autodesk 3DS Max and Autodesk Maya. V-Ray Next features GPU acceleration that offers a 2x speed bump over previous GPU V-Ray options. A much improved IPR for lightning quick playblasts, crypto matte output and volume rendering all mean that Chaos Group is continuing to keep V-Ray amongst the leaders of 3D rendering technology. 04. Octane 4 Released in November 2018, Octane 4, the leading unbiased GPU render engine, promises a lot for users in 2019. Octane already had one of the fastest interactive previews of any render engine, but with the addition of OTOY's own Brigade real time path tracing engine, Octane 4’s preview is between 10 and 100 times faster than previous versions. Out of Core geometry support is another feature of Octane 4, along with new denoising techniques with the implementation of the machine learning-based Spectral AI denoiser (video above). Hopefully Octane 4 will make good on its promise of allowing Octane to work with any GPU, as OTOY has worked hard behind the scenes over the past few years to maximise Octane's compatibility. 05. Gravity Sketch VR is fast realising its potential as a true creative tool. Price discounts on VR headsets, coupled with great software have meant that many areas of creative design are embracing VR. At the forefront of this creative software revolution is Gravity Sketch. When used as a concept development tool for 3D creation, there is little that can touch Gravity Sketch's ability to immerse an artist in their design. By purposefully limiting the toolset and features, Gravity Sketch enables artists to sketch in 3D and then use the intuitive snapping, surfacing and patch tools to create prototype models that can be exported as an OBJ or FBX into a full 3D or CAD application to be be refined. However, the lighting and texturing tools are good enough in Gravity Sketch to create a unique model sheet. 06. AMD ProRender A number of our highlights for 2019 are render engines that make the most of the new GPU hardware on its way in 2019. But many artists have already paid a significant amount for their 3D modelling software, and understandably begrudge having to shell out for a third party render solution no matter how good it is. Thankfully AMD has realised that this is an issue and made its hybrid CPU/GPU render solution AMD ProRender available for free. AMD ProRender is available as a plugin for Autodesk Maya, 3DS Max, Blender and SolidWorks as well as being the inbuilt accelerated render solution for Maxon Cinema 4D and MODO. There is also support for ProRender in Unreal Engine. ProRender is already an industry standard, is easy to learn and comes with a great inbuilt material library (with the plugin versions). It works on practically any Windows or Mac computer and is well worth checking out in 2019. 07. Houdini 17 SideFX, the developer of Houdini, has recently released the latest version of its procedurally focused 3D application. Houdini 17 Banshee features the OpenCL accelerated Vellum cloth solver for better simulations, with support for multi-layered cloth elements and dynamic constraints for stitching, bracing and tearing. Vellum also works across hair and grooming. There is a new material-based destruction tool paradigm that pre-fractures materials such as concrete, glass and wood and then builds networks to tie the resulting system together. In fact there are too many new features to list here. As ever, Houdini starts with the free Apprentice edition, but the Indie version is great value for freelancers and is also available for subscription on Steam. Take a look at our 15 top Houdini tips to get started. 08. Cinema 4D 20 Many Cinema 4D users have started looking at Houdini to cover some of the shortcomings in Maxon’s digital content creation software. However, the release of Cinema 4D R20 changes all that by offering a whole new motion graphics fields-based paradigm, node-based materials, improved viewport performance, and improvements to the hybrid ProRender integration including features like motion blur and SSS (see these in action in the video above by f°am Studio). Couple these with modelling improvements such as the new CAD importers and the whole new volume modelling paradigm, and Cinema 4D becomes one of the most compelling, easy to learn and stable digital content creation applications available in 2019. It is rightly being awarded an Academy Award for its MoGraph toolset in February. For advice and inspiration, take a look at our roundup of Cinema 4D tutorials and Cinema 4D tips. 09. Blender 2.8 It is hard to believe that Blender, the open source digital content creation application, is now 25 years old. There are few, if any, applications that can do as much as Blender can – from 3D modelling and sculpting, to animation and compositing, all available for the perfect price of free (take a look at our roundup of brilliant Blender tutorials for inspiration). With the recently released Blender 2.8 beta and accompanying roadmap, 2019 looks like an exciting year for existing and new users alike. Blender works on nearly every platform and the improvements in Blender 2.8 concentrate on making Blender easier to use, with a new UI, the Eevee real-time renderer (which works both for viewport and final render) and a raft of other new features. 10. Substance Painter Substance Painter has become the industry's favourite texturing application (art by Nikie Monteleone) Ladies and gentlemen, we may have a winner for the standalone texturing application of choice for the industry. Substance Painter seems to have become the default tool for texturing assets, with a constantly updating toolset that strives to match the creativity of its users. After a gangbuster year in 2018, Allegorithmic has spent the holiday break showing off some the stunning creations Substance Painter has been involved with, from games to CGI. When coupled with the rest of the Substance suite applications and the fantastic Substance Source asset library, this is a toolset that works as a linking tissue between 3D and game creation applications for keeping material looks consistent. It is deserving of any CG artist's attention in 2019. Read more: Become a better 3D artist How to land your dream job in 3D Essential Cinema 4D plugins View the full article

A Wacom Cintiq Pro is the dream creative tool for many artists and illustrators keen on drawing or sketching directly onto the screen; the only problem is that they don't come cheap. Even if you aim for the bottom-end 13-inch model you're not going to get much change from $800/£800, so if you're a student or just getting started in your creative career, the tool is almost certainly beyond your budget. However, there's some great news from CES 2019 for anyone who's after a creative pen display without having to cough up a fortune. Wacom has just announced the new Wacom Cintiq 16, and it's an entry-level model aimed at young designers, students and hobbyists, for a price that's much more manageable than anything in the Pro range. The Cintiq 16 has just enough features to make it a must-have entry-level pen display Cheap-ish and reasonably cheerful, the Cintiq 16 looks like it could easily become the go-to option for any creative who needs a pen display but balks at the price of a Cintiq Pro; it doesn't have the full range of Pro features, but there's enough there to get the job done. The best drawing tablet: our pick of the best graphics tablets in 2019 It features a decent-sized 15.6-inch HD display with an anti-glare film and reduced parallax so you can always see what you're doing. It's not a touchscreen, but it does come with the Wacom Pro Pen 2, which gives you 8,192 levels of sensitivity, low activation force and tilt recognition. Thanks to the Pro Pen 2's Electro Magnetic Resonance technology, you'll never have to charge it, and it also features two programmable side buttons for instant access to your favourite shortcuts. Get 8,192 pressure levels with the Pro Pen 2 For setting things up comfortably, it packs foldable legs that provide you with a 19-degree tilt; if you want steeper angles there's an optional stand that'll give you up to 68 degrees. And while the Cintiq 16 doesn't feature any ExpressKeys other than the Pro Pen 2's side buttons, there's ExpressKey Remote available that gives you 17 customisable, app-specific ExpressKeys, as well as a Touch Ring. If you fancy a bit of an upgrade then the Cintiq 16 is fully compatible with Wacom's complete range of accessory pens, and while if you sit it side-by-side with a Pro model you'll instantly spot the difference – the 16's display isn't as bright or as crisp as the one you'd find in a Pro, and its colour gamut is lacking in comparison, too – it's a cracking piece of kit that's going to be much in demand when it goes on sale later this month for $649/£529.99. Related articles: Wacom Cintiq Pro 32 review How to draw: the best drawing tutorials The best cheap Wacom tablet deals in 2019 View the full article

Always feel like there aren't enough hours in the day? Get more done every day with a productivity booster bundle. The Complete Productivity Booster Bundle will help improve your time management skills and teach you how to get twice as much work done every day. Boost your focus, and watch your work efficiency skyrocket. You'll be surprised at just how much more you're able to accomplish every day. The Complete Productivity Booster Bundle is yours for just $29 – that's 98% off the regular price. Related articles: 5 top tips for creating a productive workspace 8 simple productivity tools for designers 8 must-have products for a smarter studio View the full article

When working on projects like app design or branding collateral it’s important that there is consistency between different elements, to give a sense of continuity across the design. In Affinity Designer, Assets help address this issue. You are able to save sets of Assets, ready to drop into your document for repeated use. In this article, we'll show you how to get started using the Assets function in Affinity Designer. Watch the video above for a 2-minute overview, or read on for some top tips. This is part of a series of video tutorials showing you how to use Affinity Designer - a popular vector art tool for Mac, Windows and iPad. 01. Accessing the Assets Panel You'll find the Assets panel under the Studio category You can access the panel and add it to your workflow by going to View > Studio > Assets. Once selected you can drag it to your panels and keep it there for future use. I keep my Assets panel next to my colour palette. 02. Importing and exporting Assets There are plenty of UI kits available for Affinity Designer It may be that you are working with team and there is an existing collection of assets for your design, or that you want to download a UI kit (many of these are now being made for Affinity Designer). To import Assets, simply click the Options icon on the Assets panel and click on Import. This will bring up a finder window for you to select the relevant .afassets file for immediate installation - no need to close and reopen the app. To export Assets, just hover over the export option. This will create an .afassets file, and from here you can make your own asset kits for others to use. 03. Creating Assets Drag a design element into the relevant category To create an Asset, just drag whatever object you want to into the the relevant category. Things that you will reuse often, such as buttons, logos or illustrative elements are good things to turn into assets. However, technically you could go all out and turn whole website layouts into assets - if, for example, you wanted to replicate a template. 04. Creating categories and sections Organise your Assets into categories and sub-categories Click on the option/menu icon in the Assets panel to create additional categories and sub-categories. Sub-categories are useful if you want to divide up assets, for example: you might have one sub-category for branding (logos and so on), one for illustrative elements and another for UI elements such as buttons or icons. 05. Embedding Assets Embed assets to hand them over to another party Finally by clicking the option/menu icon in the Assets panel, you can embed your assets into the file. This means that when you share the file with someone, they will also be able to access all the assets relevant to the file. This is great for handing over work to a client, or if another designer wants to pick up where you left off. More in this Affinity Designer tools series: Using constraints Using Grids The Pen tool The Export persona The Pixel persona View the full article

Combining vector and raster tools, Affinity Designer is an affordable-yet-powerful alternative to Adobe CC. It’s available for Mac, PC and also iPad. Offering impressive quality and features, this tool provides a great middle ground between the more basic free graphic design software and the pricey but feature-rich Creative Cloud suite. In this tutorial, we’re going to be taking a closer look at Symbols. When creating design systems for things like websites or apps, its important to keep a sense of continuity in your work, which is where Symbols come in. With Symbols, you create an object and any changes you make will be reflected across all other instances of that object across the whole document, in real time. These features really are a game changer in terms of productivity and can save you hours of time when utilised correctly. Read on and watch the tutorial to see how symbols work. 01. Accessing Symbols You may want to add a Symbols shortcut to your window if you use it a lot To access the symbols panel, go to View > Studio > Symbols. It may be useful to add this to your your window permanently if you make a habit of using this feature. Once opened you can see three buttons with their own symbols: the first on the left is Create, second is Detach and the third is a Sync symbol. 02. Creating Symbols To create a Symbol, select the object you wish to turn into a Symbol. If your chosen object has multiple layers, make sure they are grouped to a single layer first, or else you will create several separate Symbols. 03. Editing Symbols Any edits will appear across all instances of your Symbol Now you've created a Symbol, you are able to drag and duplicate it to be used in other elements in your design. The beauty of symbols is that any edits are duplicated across all instances of that symbol. So, for example if your symbol is a button, any tweaks to that button's design will appear in every instance of that button. Ideal for creating consistency within your designs. 04. Detaching Symbols This feature enables you to make an edit to just one instance of your symbol Let's say maybe you want to make changes to only one button and not have the changes affect the rest of your your document. This is where the Detach tool comes in handy. With the symbol you wish to change selected, press Detach and you are now able to edit this element independently. More in the Affinity Designer tools series: Using constraints Using Grids The Pen tool The Export persona The Pixel persona View the full article

Taiwanese gaming pioneer MSI has announced a powerful new ultra-portable laptop for creatives at CES 2019. Aimed at professional artists, video editors, photo editors, graphic designers and animators, the 15.6-inch P63 Modern comes with up to the latest eight-generation Core i7 processor, and optional discrete Nvidia GeForce GTX 1050 Max-Q graphics with 4GB of GDDR5 VRAM. The best laptops for video editing The best laptops for graphic design Meanwhile, True Color Technology promises up to 100% sRGB on the IPS-level FHD panel, and four-sided 5.6mm bezels provide an 86% screen-to-body ratio to help you see every detail of your creations. There’s also Qualcomm Quick Charge 3.0 for your camera phone, a fingerprint sensor, support for 802.11 Wi-Fi and two 2W speakers. In addition, MSI claims the P63 Modern has an “all day” battery that can last up to 16 hours, which we look forward to putting to the test. The new laptop, which was launched in collaboration with the Discover Channel here in Vegas this afternoon, is part of MSI’s Prestige notebook series. Weighing in at 1.6kg, the 15.9mm thick device comes in charcoal blue and boasts a Quiet Mark certification for its Cooler Boost 3 dual-fan cooling system – which means it’ll be particularly quiet when you’re working. MSI also showcased the MS65 Creator. This 15.6-inch laptop comes with a 4K HDR IPS-level display with 100% Adobe RGB. Pricing and availability haven’t been announced yet, but both laptops will ship sometime this year. Read more: The best laptops for photo editing Asus announces new StudioBook S for pro designers The best laptops for Photoshop View the full article

Apple exploits will fetch the highest price. View the full article

Security incidents are set to grow as companies lag behind in securing their containers. View the full article

Samsung has unveiled a new laptop at CES 2019 that boasts an incredibly powerful graphics card. The Notebook Odyssey, which picks up where the previous models in the Odyssey line left off, gives creatives – especially video editors and animators – the chance to use an incredibly strong GeForce RTX 2080 graphics card on the go. The best video editing laptops Traditionally, Samsung's Odyssey range has been tailored towards gamers. And while the company has promoted the Notebook Odyssey as a device for 'serious gamers', it also has plenty to offer creators. Not least portability – the Notebook Odyssey comes in a slim 19.9mm chassis weighing in at just 2.36kg, with slim bezels on a 15.6-inch Full HD display. It boasts a refresh rate of 144Hz and Nvidia's G-Sync tech, so you can wave goodbye to stuttering and tearing. The slim design is perfect for carrying around The power-packed GeForce RTX 2080 graphics card is backed up by an 8th-generation Intel Core i7 six-core processor, both of which work together with the Full HD resolution screen like a dream. These two are complemented by 16GB of system RAM. If we can see any issues with this laptop, it's that the 1080p screen might leave a bit to be desired for photographers or any creatives used to working with a 4K monitor. The lack of a microSD card slot could also prove to be frustrating, if someone's trying to send you large files you might need to think twice about how you're storing them. Expect to see the Samsung Notebook Odyssey ship in the US during the start of 2019. Related articles: The 5 best laptops for Photoshop in 2019 The best laptops for programming in 2019 The best laptops for graphic design in 2019 View the full article

A proof-of-concept from the University of Maryland can defeat the audio challenges that are offered as an option for people with disabilities. View the full article

A glitch allowed hackers to access contacts, photos and more on Android devices - simply by answering a Skype call. View the full article

Samsung has previewed a 75-inch version of its MicroLED TV at CES 2019 – introduced last year as The Wall. It’s notable not because it’s so big, but because it’s so small: MicroLED is made up of millions of inorganic red, green and blue microscopic LED chips that emit their own bright light to produce brilliant colours on screen – and this is the first time Samsung has manage to make them small enough to create a TV that would fit in your living room. The benefit of MicroLED is that the picture should be better than OLED, and without any of the drawbacks of using an organic compound. That means Samsung’s TV should be able to deliver perfect blacks, higher contrast and a very wide HDR colour palette – all the while giving the TV a longer lifespan than OLED too. But because MicroLED is modular, at some point in the near future Samsung says we’ll be able to order custom MicroLED TVs at any size or aspect ratio. On show here in Vegas, Samsung’s new 75-inch MicroLED TV is the smallest version so far that's achieved a 4K resolution. At the other end of the scale, the company is also displaying a monstrous 219-inch model, which it says will offer “something above 4K. Price, of course, remains to be seen. But MicroLED displays are incredibly tricky to produce at scale – if one RGB sub-pixel is bad, it could be game over for the whole display – and we’re likely looking at tens of thousands of dollars, at least. So is this the next big thing for TV tech? Samsung certainly thinks so. Time will tell… View the full article

At its heart, design is about solving communication problems for your clients. But for most creatives, this is not a closed-loop profession. Rather than just beavering away in the studio with the blinkers on, it's also about supporting, nurturing and giving back to the industry as a whole. It's a virtuous circle: established industry figureheads pass down their wisdom to nurture the emerging talent coming up, and creatives from all disciplines pool their expertise to collaborate on projects that are greater than the sum of their parts. Giving back benefits everyone: the design industry is stronger and richer for it, and on an individual level, such projects can aid your development as well as benefit your creative resume. Looking for inspiration? Read on for six great ways to give something back to the wider design community this year.... 01. Pass on your skills Jessica Hische produced this 13-part training course on drop-cap lettering for Skillshare As a creative, your skills are everything. If you've spent years honing your raw talent into something your clients want to buy, you should protect that at all costs, right? Well, actually giving something back to the next generation benefits everyone. Through teaching, you can learn a lot about yourself and your process – it keeps your mind sharp, and helps you avoid slipping into lazy habits. It can be hugely rewarding and satisfying. And if you do it well, you'll help enrich the talent pool with industry ready, curious minds. It's not entirely magnanimous, either – you can make some money on the side by lecturing at design colleges, producing an online course on a platform like Skillshare, or even giving an intensive workshop for an organisation like D&AD. Put yourself out there and find something that's a good fit for you. 02. Support good causes For this rebrand of charity initiative Life Kitchen, hat-trick invited a diverse array of creatives to design a plate Healthy budgets from big-name clients may be great for the bank balance, but are not always good for the soul. In 2019, why not find the time to invest in charity projects and use your design skills for good? There are countless ways to do so. Perhaps consider taking on a not-for-profit client – perhaps for a reduced fee, or pro bono if the circumstances are right and you can afford to do so. Create artworks to auction off for a good cause, or join forces with other creatives for a charity exhibition. Not only is this a commendable way to use your skills to support something worthwhile, but it can also boost your profile and lead to other work – or lay the groundwork for an exciting new commercial collaboration in the future. 03. Mentor a promising talent D&AD New Blood Festival – which takes place in July – is a great place to recruit promising talent Internships have a bad rap in some circles, mostly because some deplorable agencies take malleable young creatives for granted, and exploit them for little or no money. We're not advocating that kind of behaviour here – it ultimately erodes, rather than boosts, our industry. But done properly, taking a promising young designer under your wing to nurture their growth is hugely beneficial for all involved. Rather like teaching, you may find you learn just as much as they do in the process. As graduate show season approaches, make the time to attend the ones that interest you – such as D&AD New Blood – and make a genuine effort to engage with people who show potential. Find a rough diamond to bring into your agency and help them grow, and your whole team will be stronger for it. 04. Give a useful talk at a conference Take the time to develop a thought-provoking conference talk rather than just rattling off your work highlights The design festival circuit is filled with big-name designers giving rousing keynotes, or slightly lesser-known creatives walking through their portfolio highlights. These can be inspiring, sure – but if you have the opportunity to get on the stage yourself this year, why not consider planning something with a little more structure, substance and practical insight. The industry will thank you, as your audience will have some more concrete takeaways afterwards. Shed some light on your thought process in a way that has universal relevance and appeal, or use your work to illustrate a broader theme that the audience can engage with. It may take a little longer to prepare, but it'll be worth it in the long run as your talk will be more memorable, as well as more shareable on social media. 05. Do your bit for the planet In 2018, Carlsberg announced its innovative Snap Pack – which uses dots of glue to significantly reduce the plastic used Why stop at design? While you're in full altruism mode, consider giving something back to the whole global community by pledging to be more sustainable with all the design decisions you make. Sustainability is climbing up the agenda for brands across the board, and even small changes help make a difference on a cumulative basis. Consider using recycled (and recyclable) materials, more eco-friendly inks, and cutting right back on the big villain of the age: single-use plastic. Sustainable thinking can stretch to every aspect of your business, and don't be afraid to enlighten your clients (and your peers) on the possibilities too. 06. Promote diversity and inclusivity Organisations such as SheSays, D&AD and The Other Box are all fighting for a more diverse design industry Diversity has been a hot topic in design for some time now, and while there have been some commendable changes in some sectors, there's still a long way to go to dilute the predominantly white, male, able-bodied demographic. Initiatives such as D&AD Shift and organisations such as SheSays and The Other Box are all working hard to promote a more diverse, inclusive industry for all, but real change starts at home. Don't just decry the state of play and wait for someone else to do something about it. Look outside of the usual silos when hiring. Encourage an inclusive working environment that gives diverse talent a chance to thrive. Review your HR policies to promote equality, and provide the necessary support for disabled creatives, or anyone that needs it. Your agency, and the industry at large, will reap the benefits. Read more: Ethical branding: real revolution or fluffy fad? How to make a brand more human 4 huge design trends we'll be seeing more of in 2019 View the full article

All artists have their own unique workflow when creating 3D art in ZBrush. This workflow can mean a bunch of techniques or a hierarchy in which you achieve certain stages. The more time and experience you get with ZBrush, the more advanced a workflow you will create for yourself. ZBrush lets you take charge, create your own menu and organise the interface to best suit your needs. Try to take advantage of that and save out your own preferences. If there are brushes or buttons you often use, find a place and put them somewhere easily accessible, create a separate menu or assign a keyboard shortcut to them. The Custom User Interface (UI) is a great way of controlling your workflow and maintaining a familiar, comfortable work environment. 30 top examples of 3D art There are things we do automatically because they have become our routine, but there are also ways and techniques we might be forgetting or have never investigated. I have gathered some basic knowledge and created this simple ZBrush tutorial to remind you of those little things which, when incorporated into your workflow, can help you work much easier or quicker. 01. Use image planes PLines can help you identify the parts on the model/reference image you're working on These are incredibly useful for likeness sculpts. Say you have a front and side picture of a person you are trying to sculpt, or a blueprint you need to follow – the best thing you can do is set up the image plane. First, make sure your reference images are the same size and preferably square. Navigate to the Texture folder and import them in. Activate the floor grid (shift+P), go to the Draw menu, click on the Front-Back sub-palette and select your front and back images. Repeat accordingly with Left-Right view. An interesting feature you will probably notice is blue and red lines pointing from the brush icon towards corresponding areas of the reference images. These are called PLines. They help identify the parts on the model/reference image you work on. Notice that there are also a bunch of sliders that can control the opacity of the grid images as well as your model. If you already have a model you would like to use as a reference, you can turn it into a grid. Below the opacity sliders, you will find a Snapshot To Grid button. Pressing it will take your model and make it into a reference grid. You can save your new image plane file by pressing the Save button located above the Grid Elevation slider. 02. Utilise Scale Master Scale Master prevents scale issues that can creep in as you import and export Artists often experience a common problem working across multiple software – scale issues. Import and export can seriously affect the model's scale. It is useful to use GoZ when constantly switching between ZBrush and other software, because it holds up the bridge for smooth file transitions. If you do not use it but want to make sure your scale is correct, you have to change it manually in ZBrush using the Scale Master plugin. Scale Master calculates the size of the model, lets you choose the units you wish to work with, can generate a bounding box as a subtool, and finally, exports the selected tool as an OBJ file with generic units as the selected unit scale. 03. Work with Sculptris Pro With Sculptris Pro you can just get on with sculpting your model One of the most recent additions in ZBrush allows you to focus on sculpting instead of constantly worrying about the subdivision level. Sculptris Pro works fantastically with Clay brushes. The smaller the brush the more dense the tessellation, and the more detail support. Do not forget to switch off Sculptris Pro when smoothing out your model, because Smooth also works in this mode. This problem happened to me a lot when I tried to smooth out the mesh, increased brush size and it wiped my details, replacing them with bigger polygons. 04. Backface masking Backface Mask can be a lifesaver Working on a thin mesh can cause a little trouble when trying to move or sculpt on one side and the backfaces follow the brush. One of my favourite tools in ZBrush is Backface Mask. Hiding in Brush > Auto Masking, Backface Mask can be a real hero and save your day, or at least some stress. 05. Hard surface modelling Try ZModeler or Gizmo 3D for hard surface modelling ZModeler is a great tool that enables you to create hard-surface models in ZBrush. It is the most basic yet useful. Hover over the polygons or edges to see what options you have. For extra choice and more complex creations try Gizmo 3D. It provides a vast array of options enabling very precise tool manipulation. Spend a little time familiarising yourself with the cones and corresponding colours, and it will all come together. 06. Dynamic subdivision Dynamic subdivision can smooth out your mesh without adding extra polygons Use dynamic subdivision found in Tool > Geometry > Dynamic Subdiv to smooth out the mesh without adding extra polygons to it. Applying it generates three subdivision levels. It can be useful when working on a low-poly mesh or with ZModeler to view the model in higher polygonal density, but with the brush still operating on a lower-resolution base mesh. 07. Use the colour picker Press C to grab the colour your cursor's pointing at It may happen that at some point during polypainting you lose track of colour coordinates or you need to match the exact tones on a different tool. You don't have to write your RGBs down. Just hover over the desired colour anywhere on the screen and press C on the keyboard. It will pick up the colour your cursor is pointing at. 08. Subtool master Stop digging through menus to find the tool you need This plugin was designed to make your workflow a breeze, simplifying your operations. It is a quick access to tools like Low Res Vis, which sets the subtool to the lowest subdivision level. Instead of going through the menus in search for a single button, or remembering all the hotkeys, all you have to do is learn one hotkey that you then assign to the entire palette. 09. Remesh By Union Remesh By Union is a great alternative to DynaMesh When you have subtools you need to turn into one solid mesh, but for whatever reason you do not want to DynaMesh them, you could use Remesh By Union. This is an option available in Gizmo 3D. All you need to do is merge the tools, activate Gizmo 3D and hit Remesh By Union. ZBrush will do its best to stick the topology together with the least amount of changes. 10. Activate symmetry With Use Posable Symmetry you won't lose your centre of symmetry again If you lose your centre of symmetry at some point or you need to edit a model that has been transposed, do not despair, as you can easily find it again. Simply go to the Transform menu, activate Symmetry and turn on Use Posable Symmetry. This will allow ZBrush to locate the symmetrical centre and the corresponding points of the subtool, and you will be back on track in no time. 11. Compare with snapshot Use snapshots to easily compare versions of your model Do you ever wonder whether your model looks better with or without some detail, or which colour or pose works best, and you wish to compare them? Rather than constantly jumping back and forth between the model's history, or duplicating subtools to compare the models, try snapshotting it. Press Shift+S on the keyboard to snapshot the model and drag out another version next to it. Having them side by side is a much smoother way to compare your subtools and details. 12. Check silhouette A silhouette can help you find cool poses and spot errors in your model It is a good habit to work on a silhouette of your model and check how it's looking every now and then. It helps to get an interesting pose and quickly find any faults in your model. Just switch to a flat colour and look at it from different angles. 13. Lights and background In the Light and Render menus you'll find all you need for setting up lighting and shadows Even if you do not use ZBrush for its rendering properties, it is still useful to know how to set up simple lights and backgrounds for testing purposes. The Light menu provides everything you need for a straightforward setup of lights, shadows and the environment background. In the Render menu you will find more options for further shadow adjustments. 14. Utilise the turntable A turntable animation is a simple but effective way to show off your work Having a turntable animation can help showcase your work. There are many applications out there you can use to make it interactive on your website or social media. ZBrush offers a simple way to record a turntable, a timelapse or front and back history. It is all located in the Movie menu. You will find a great amount of options to choose from to suit your needs and vision. It is definitely worth experimenting with. This article was originally published in issue 239 of 3D World, the world's best-selling magazine for CG artists. Buy issue 239 here or subscribe to 3D World here. Related articles: ZBrush 2018 review Model a stormtrooper in Maya and ZBrush ZBrush at the movies View the full article

Hoping to transition into a new career in 2019? If you've been dreaming of upping your income and working as an engineer, this online course bundle will have you on your way to becoming a front end engineer in no time. The Ultimate Front End Development Bundle typically retails for $1016, but is currently 96% off at just $39. Engineers are more in-demand than ever before. Now is the perfect time to switch gears and tap into this booming industry. Let the Ultimate Front End Development Bundle get you ready for this new career from the comfort of your couch. Tune into the eight courses whenever you want, allowing you to work at your own pace. The 48 hours of online instruction will school you in HTML, CSS and JavaScript. And there's no need for prior experience, as it's geared towards all levels of learning — including beginners – with courses like The Complete HTML & CSS Course: From Novice to Professional and The Complete jQuery Course: From Beginner To Advanced. Get access to these courses and be on your way to a new career for just $39 today. Want your products featured in The Creative Bloq Shop? Learn more about how to sell your products online! Related articles: The future of web design How to make it in the web design industry 5 articles to improve your web design career View the full article

Whether you're trying to persuade your boss to give you a pay rise or fleshing out the details of a potential job offer, it's absolutely vital to do your homework on pay beforehand – forewarned really is forearmed. "The most important thing to do before deciding whether to negotiate is to conduct background research," says Diane Domeyer, executive director of The Creative Group. "Review salary guides and speak to recruiters," adds Domeyer. "Try to find out if the company is growing or has recently reduced its staff, as these events can help to inform your bargaining power." Once you've armed yourself with the facts, use these five top tips to help negotiate a new salary. 01. Quit playing games
 When sending out your graphic design portfolio and applying for better-paying jobs, be honest about your situation. Domeyer says it's vital to avoid playing games. "Tactics such as misleading a prospective employer about your current salary or other job offers in an effort to obtain higher pay almost always backfire," she says. 02. Don't draw lines
 Always keep your options open when negotiating a contract. Whether you're negotiating with your current employer or a potential new one, Domeyer says it's a mistake to give ultimatums too early on in the contractual process. "Look for common ground and avoid an adversarial stance. You want to start off on the right foot." 03. The time is now
 Start looking around ahead of time rather than waiting until you're thoroughly fed up. "Often, by the time people ask for more money they're quite disgruntled about what they're currently on," says Be Kaler of recruiters Futureheads. "Try to have the conversation before you get to that stage." 04. Know your bottom line 
"Always have a 'Below This I Walk number' in mind when going into a meeting," 
says recruitment consultant Ted Leonhardt. "If you don't go in with one, in a weak moment you can find yourself agreeing to something you later regret. Our brains flick between emotional and rational responses – the rational mind is the slowest part." 05. If not now, try later
 Be aware that pay rises don't have to come instantly. If you can't negotiate more money now, try asking for a delayed or conditional pay bump to be written into your contract. Kaler suggests asking employers to consider writing a pay rise into your contract. "They might say: okay, we can pay that when you've delivered X, Y or Z." This article originally appeared in Computer Arts, the world's leading design magazine. Subscribe here. Read more: Let's talk about money How to make money on Instagram as a creative Learn the art of negotiation View the full article

Looking to extend your skillset in 2019? Maybe you want to learn how to start a blog or discover how to draw? Upskilling can help you skip to the front of the design opportunities queue. But what should you learn, and how? For some creative inspiration, read our for six pro tips from designers who've successfully upskilled. 01. Build your confidence "Have the ambition, confidence and drive to go beyond the area you're working in," advises Terry Stephens, creative director at Studio Nomad. "Look for inspiration that you can apply to your work in a way that's relevant to you." 02. Set broad horizons "Read something new, watch something different, or visit someplace and get lost," urges art director and experimental typographer Craig Ward. "If you're going to develop as a designer, you need to develop as a person." You might, for example, decide to improve your photography skills or learn how to draw better. 03. Be fearless "Flawless design bores me; 'ugly' design gets my attention," declares Jenny Theolin, educator and creative director at Studio Theolin. "I'd rather see you experimenting with the tools you have than considering your next software purchase." 04. Stay adaptable "Adapt to your environment," says Ben Christie, creative partner at Magpie Studio. "You should always be looking and learning, sucking up as much of the world as you can." 05. Work on your problem-solving For Stuart Radford, creative director at Superunion, it's all about developing your capacity to think creatively and solve problems. "The ability to come up with original and unexpected ideas is more valuable than anything," he insists. 06. Be passionate "Be true to who you are," concludes James Hurst, executive strategic creative director at DesignStudio. "If you can keep the spirit alive of doing shit you love, you won't fall into the trap of trying to be the same as everyone else." The full version of this article first appeared in Computer Arts magazine; subscribe here. Illustration: Flavio Montiel Related articles: The expert guide to working from home 30 life skills every designer should master 5 ways to improve your digital art skills View the full article

Asus has announced a new 15-inch workstation-class laptop for content-creation professionals at CES 2019 – and it looks exciting. The new Asus StudioBook S (W700) squeezes Intel Xeon processors, Nvidia Quadro P3200 graphics, up to 64GB of RAM and 4TB of SSD storage behind a 17-inch Full HD display, fit in a 15-inch chassis. (That’s thanks to 5.3mm bezels and a 97 per cent screen-to-body ratio.) Said display sports a 16:10 aspect ratio with a 178-degree wide-view panel with anti-glare. Asus claims it offers 97 per cent DCI-P3 color gamut coverage and Delta E<2 colour accuracy, all of which will appeal to 4K video and film editors, CAD designers and creatives on the move. Plus it’s Pantone Validated to ensure the colours seen on the screen are accurate, too. Speaking of portability, the Asus StudioBook S is also fairly light at 5.27pounds / 2.39kg. It’s slim, too, at just 0.72inches / 18.29mm) thick. The idea is that you can take this new breed of workstation with you, so you can work anywhere. It’s small enough to be stored in a carry-on, but – says Asus – it offers military grade durability. One feature we particularly like is the trackpad, which has a built-in number pad for when you need it. Connectivity options include dual-band Wi-Fi 6 and Bluetooth 5.0, and the Asus StudioBook S comes with the following ports: a USB-C port with Thunderbolt 3, three USB-A 3.1 ports, an HDMI 2.0 port, an SD card reader and headphone jack. Asus StudioBook S: price There’s no definite word on pricing and availability yet. All we know is that this information will be provided in the "coming months". But it’s safe to say this sleek portable workstation won’t come cheap. Also read: CES 2019: everything you need to know LG to reveal two ‘ultra’ monitors at CES 2019 View the full article

CES 2019 is upon us – and Creative Bloq is here in Vegas to bring you all the latest news, highlights and hands-on reviews from one of the world’s largest consumer tech shows. We’ll be focusing on the most exciting new innovations for designers, artists and creatives – from laptops to foldable phones and 8K cameras – so stay tuned throughout the week. You’ll find all the latest news right here. What is CES? The Consumer Electronics Show is an exhilarating glimpse into the future of tech, with the latest and greatest names in the business (apart from Apple) showcasing their new innovations. The annual trade show covers everything from drones and driverless cars to cryptocurrency, smart homes and beyond – and it’s massive. This year, more than 4,500 exhibiting companies are spread out over 11 venues with over 180,000 attendees from 150 countries expected, plus 6,500 media. It isn’t open to the public, though; only industry and journalists. When is CES 2019? The Consumer Electronics Show 2019 officially starts on Tuesday 8 Jan and will run until 11 January. However, Monday is packed with press events so expect exciting news and announcements. Confirmed press conferences include Intel, Panasonic, Samsung and Sony, with LG due to present the first presentation on the 7 January. CES 2019: news and highlights for creatives so far We’ve already seen some exciting new tech at CES 2019. And although the show hasn’t yet officially started, a number of companies have made some exciting early announcements – not just today but in the recent run up to the show. Here's what we've got so far... LG to reveal two ‘ultra’ monitors at CES 2019 Back in December, LG announced that it will be showcasing two new 'ultra' monitors. One, a whopping 49-inch ultrawide monitor, will be aimed at business professionals; while the other – a 38-inch gaming monitor – will have a curved 4K display, and be of most interest to creatives. Here's what you need to know. Also read: View the full article

Update: we're now just a few hours away from LG's press conferences at CES 2019, here in Vegas. Full news to follow as soon as it's announced. LG will be showcasing two new ‘ultra’ monitors at CES 2019 in January. That’s according to a press release from the company in December, which announced a new 49-inch display for business professionals and a 38-inch display for gamers and creatives. The new 49-inch LG UltraWide Monitor (model 49WL95) will sport a 32:9 aspect ratio screen – that’s the equivalent of two 16:9 screens – and a 5120 x 1440 resolution with 108 pixels per inch. It’s been designed to boost productivity by making it easier to multitask, and is aimed primarily at people working in finance, IT, digital design and architecture. At CES, LG will showcase its latest range of 'ultra' monitors However, it’s the new 38-inch LG UltraGear Gaming Monitor (38GL950G) that’s of most interest for creatives. A curved 4K monitor, it promises vivid images and accurate colour reproduction, covering 98 per cent of the DCI-P3 colour gamut. LG says it’ll also have a 144Hz refresh rate, response time of 2m/s – great news for gamers and video editors – and LG's Sphere Lighting technology. The latter displays ambient light from the back of the monitor to reduce eye fatigue. "With a wide choice of models that prioritize productivity, picture quality and out-of-this-world gaming, more and more consumers are seeing LG as a innovation leader in monitors,” said Jang Ik-hwan, head of LG's IT division of the Home Entertainment Company. We’ll be reporting live from CES 2019, so tune in from Monday 7 Jan 2019 for all the latest news for creatives from the world’s biggest tech show. Also read: The best 4K monitors for designers The best ultrawide monitors right now The best 5K and 8K monitors View the full article

Buy the Osprey Farpoint 70 for $160 / £111 at Amazon Buy the Ospry Fairview 70 for $126 / £108 at Amazon So you’re going travelling for a bit. Maybe you’re one of an increasing number of young professionals swapping the office for a digital nomad lifestyle. Perhaps you’re visiting some of the world’s creative hotspots or most inspiring design cities on vacation. Whatever your motivation, if you’re hitting the road soon, you’ll need the right bag to carry everything you need. The former is exactly the situation we found ourselves in recently, when part of the Creative Bloq team travelled to Mexico to work remotely for two months. Why? Because we could. But we needed a bag. Wheeled suitcases were no good – outside office hours we’d be exploring mountains, desserts, beaches and jungle; places where wheels don’t always go. Top-loading backpacks were out too: we wanted to be able to access our things quickly and easily at all times, even if they’d been haphazardly packed. But above all else, we needed our work equipment to be safe from wandering hands. (After all, no work: no play. And we were ready to play.) After many hours of research into travel bags and backpacks, we settled on Osprey’s Farpoint / Fairview series. Designed to be “carried like a backpack but packed like a suitcase” – and billed as the Colorado-based company’s lightest travel backpack yet – on paper it was perfect. But was it any good in real life? Osprey Farpoint / Fairview: sizing First, the name. The Farpoint / Fairview series of travel backpacks have the same features; the only difference is the Fairview has a female-specific fit. The series covers a range of capacities: 40L, 55L, 70L and 80L. The 55L and 70L options include a “zip and clip” day pack that attaches to the main bag; while the 40L and 80L versions come as one big backpack. For this trip, we needed enough room for our work tech – laptop, mouse, DSLR, chargers and so on – plus clothes for a variety of climates. So we opted for the 70L version. Both the Farpoint and Fairview are available in two colourways – grey or red; and grey or green respectively – with the Farpoint offering two sizes to choose from: S/M and M/L. The Fairview comes only in WS/M, but the straps and frame offer a lot of adjustment options, and it fit us perfectly. Osprey Farpoint / Fairview 70: design and features We’ll say it straight away: we loved the design of the Farpoint/Fairview travel backpacks. The main compartment opens like a suitcase thanks to a large, zippered and padlockable opening that runs three-quarters of the way around the main compartment. Inside, there are two compression straps to secure your belongings, and a large mesh pocket attached to the zipper flap. You can open the Osprey Fairview and Farpoint travel backpacks like a suitcase Outside, two cushioned handles on the top and side let you carry the bag like a suitcase or easily pull it off a carousel. On the back, meanwhile, an ergonomically shaped hip belt transfers the weight from your shoulders to your hips, and a die-cut spacer mesh harness (with an adjustable chest strap and load-lifter straps) makes it super-easy to customise your bag for your body shape. The best bit? The hip belt and harness pack can be quickly zipped away behind a small panel when you’re checking your bag in for a flight. When you want the harness out, you can tuck the panel away inside a small pocket at the base Finally, it comes with a 13L daypack that can be either zipped onto the back of the main bag, or clipped kangaroo-style onto the harness straps on your front – useful if it’s carrying your laptop or passport, say, and you need them to hand. (Yes, we tried this. And yes we felt ridiculously touristy – but didn’t it just spread the weight nicely!) The daypack comes with a smaller front-facing stash pocket for your sunglasses or phone, two meshed side pockets, and a laptop sleeve and meshed tablet sleeve inside the body. Osprey Farpoint / Fairview 70: what we liked The Osprey Farpoint / Fairview 70 is ridiculously comfortable. We overpacked (yeah, yeah, it’s been a while since we went travelling) but could still carry our stuff for miles and miles in comfort, with the hip belt taking the weight. (Er, this feature became even more valuable after we smashed our camera phone and lost Google Maps.) Even better, the arched spacer-mesh harness meant our backs didn’t turn into pools of sweat. In terms of portability and comfort, the Osprey Farpoint / Fairview 70 gets full marks from the Creative Bloq team. It was also ridiculously easy to access what we needed from inside the main compartment, at all times – we can’t overstate this aspect. And we liked the lockable zippers, which can be tucked out of sight underneath the zip casing to deter opportunist thieves. Speaking of safety measures, we also appreciated how secure the detachable daypack is when it’s zipped onto the main pack. There’s a hidden strap that doubly locks it into place for extra peace of mind. The external handles, too, proved remarkably useful for grabbing the bag from a carousel or bus and ferry-dump situations. Osprey Farpoint / Fairview 70: what we didn’t like We wish the detachable daypack had a hip belt as well. It’s only 13L, but on hikes or long airport transfers we often found ourselves wishing we could take the strain off our shoulders. (Although positive point: yes, it’s the right size for airline carry on.) Speaking of 13L, we also found it tough to fit in everything we wanted for our day trips. It’s doable, certainly – we used it for two months – but a squeeze. We’d like the daypack to be just a little bigger. The side pockets on the daypack could be a little bigger Failing this, more generous side pockets would help: on a good day you can just about force in a 750ml water bottle – but you can’t do it one-handed (while you’re walking, for example; you have to take the bag off your shoulders) and if your bag is full, forget it. The side pockets are next to useless. And if we were being really picky, we’d like a few more pockets or compartments on the inside. That’s what Osprey's packing cubes are for, of course. Osprey Farpoint / Fairview 70: should you buy it? Overall, we loved the Osprey Fairview 70. The capacity was more than enough for two months’ travelling around a country where temperatures varied from 0-35 degrees (and if you can pack for two months, you can travel forever). Yet, it was also compact enough to be super portable. We had no problem fitting it into hostel lockers, overhead compartments and crammed colectivos. Most importantly, the carry system customisation made it fit like a (non sweaty) glove. We wouldn’t hesitate to recommend the Osprey Fairview 70 to anyone considering either long-term travel or a short-term break to non-wheel-friendly terrain. And if you’re better packers than us, or not heading to multiple climates, we think the 55L version would be a great choice too. Buy the Osprey Farpoint 70 for $160 / £111 at Amazon Buy the Ospry Fairview 70 for $126 / £108 at Amazon Read more: 10 inspirational design cities The best design hotels in the world When, where and how to shoot the northern lights View the full article

Have you been sitting on a million dollar idea for a movie or TV show? WriterDuet Pro will not only help you craft your amazing project, it will ensure that it's in the industry standard format. And a lifetime subscription to this helpful software is currently just $99.99. WriterDuet is designed by established screenwriters for fellow screenwriters. Because of that, it's intuitive and knows what tools are needed to get your play, TV show or movie down on paper. Writing with a colleague? Working with a whole team on a script? The software allows you to work collaboratively in real time, letting you outline ideas on a collaborative corkboard and see changes filtered by who made them. Unsure exactly how to format your work? WriterDuet has industry standard formatting, so once you're done, everyone who sees your work will take it seriously. And you can easily import or export your projects to Final Draft, Fountain, Word and more writing platforms when needed. Though a lifetime subscription to WriterDuet Pro typically retails for $239, it's currently available at 58% off for $99.99 here. Want your products featured in The Creative Bloq Shop? Learn more about how to sell your products online! Related articles: 5 top tips for creating a productive workspace 5 outrageous product placements in movies 8 simple productivity tools for designers View the full article