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If you've been thinking about buying a new drawing tablet, then today could be your lucky day. Perhaps you want to treat that special someone in your life later on in the year and want to get organised. Perhaps that special someone in your life is you. We won't judge. You can consider it an early October treat. You might've thought you had to hold out for a Black Friday deal to snap up a bargain, but right now you can get an 11-inch or 19.6-inch Huion tablet for a knockdown price. Huion tablets have consistently made it to our list of the best drawing tablets. The Huion KAMVAS GT-191 has an RRP of £449 but is currently on Amazon for just over £300, at £318.84, or eBay at just £299.99, and the Huion Inspiroy Q11K costs just £69, down from £115 (also on Amazon). The Huion GT-191 has a 19.5-inch screen with a HD 1,920 x 1,080 resolution IPS screen for colour accuracy (displaying over 16.7 million colours) and consistent images. It comes with a free pen, the PE330, which has 8,192 levels of pressure sensitivity and a whopping 350 hours of battery life – after just one and a half hours of charge. There's also an adjustable stand, and the compatibility with Windows, Mac and other major programmes you'd expect. If you don't need such a big tablet, the 11-inch Huion Inspiroy Q11K is an absolute bargain. It costs under £70, comes with a rechargeable Pf150 pen, which has 8192 levels of pen pressure sensitivity. The tablet has eight customisable shortcut keys and wireless connectivity. It's also one of our top Huion tablet picks. If you're not in the UK, or want to check out other deals on Huion tablets, see today's best prices on a range of models below: Read more: The best tablets with a stylus in 2019 Wacom Cintiq 22 review Procreate 5: Drawing app gets its juiciest update yet View the full article

For anyone wanting to get into digital painting without having to pay too much for the privilege, there's a new option available in the form of the latest version of Corel's Painter Essentials, Painter Essentials 7. The full Corel Painter is a powerful natural media painting app that enables you to replicate all manner of painting techniques, but it comes at quite a price (although it is a one-off payment, rather than a subscription model). If you've just started out then Essentials is a great way to get a feel for Painter's tools without investing a stack of cash, and Corel's quite excited about this latest version, thanks to its new AI painting tools. There's a lot of work going on right now aimed at using AI deep learning techniques to copy the styles of famous artists and apply them to other images. The problem with it is that it takes an awful lot of computing power to do properly – much more than you're likely to have on your desktop computer – and the results can still be patchy. Corel says that its technique combines AI with its own brush technology to do style transfer with a human element. So you can import a photo, select the AI Van Gogh Auto-Paint setting, for example, and Painter Essentials will create quickly paint something that looks a bit van Gogh-like. It's good but it's not right We're not wholly convinced; while it kind of captures a van Gogh feel in the individual strokes, the overall look seems very automated to us, with none of the energy of a true van Gogh. Still, it's a fun toy to play with, and you could probably get some interesting results by experimenting with Painter Essential's other Auto-Paint settings. Beyond the AI tools there are plenty of other reasons to give Painter Essentials 7 a go. It features plenty of natural media brushes and canvas textures for ultra-realistic results, plus tracing, cloning and symmetry tools to kick-start your creativity. It's also compatible with drawing tablets, with full pressure sensitivity control, so if you want to just sit down and draw then this is a great way to get going. It's no van Gogh, but Essentials can still help you produce impressive artwork This latest version also features a new dark UI, improved performance and new brush technologies such as dynamic speckles, dab stencils and glazing brushes. And if you find yourself needing more than Essentials can deliver, it's easy to upgrade to the full Painter 2020 from within the app. Painter Essentials 7 is available now from Corel for both Mac and PC; it'll cost you $49.99/£34.99/€39.99. Related articles: Corel Painter 2019 review CorelDRAW for Mac finally arrives How to mimic oil paint in Corel Painter View the full article

You may not already frequent them, but online art galleries are a great way to help you out of a creative rut. They're useful when you're feeling uninspired yet unable to leave your desk because of deadlines, the weather or simply the guilt of taking some time out. Sometimes, the best medicine for finding yourself in a creative ditch is to take a step back and look at some of the work that has gone before you. Getting out of a creative block can be as easy as wandering around an art gallery or museum, but what if you don’t have immediate access to the Tate or the Guggenheim? Well, we have scoured the internet to bring you the best online art galleries and museums, where you can tap into some artistic inspiration or even buy some art without leaving your desk. Let’s take a look. And if you're more interested in improving your own artistic endeavours, check out our roundup of tutorials on art techniques, or kit yourself out with the essential art supplies you need for painting. 01. Whitney Museum of American Art The Whitney Museum of American Art is one of the best-loved art institutions in New York City, if not in all of the US. Showcasing American artworks from the 20th and 21st centuries, the museum buildings themselves are part of the canon of great American architecture designed by European architects, first residing in a Brutalist building by Marcel Breuer (now the Met Breuer) before moving to a purpose-built edifice by Renzo Piano in the West Village. The Whitney has put its entire collection online, so visitors to its website can browse almost 24,000 artworks, ranging from photographs, film, books, paintings, textiles and performance art. Some standout works include The Times Thay Ain’t A Changing, Fast Enough! by Henry Taylor, 2017, which depicts Philando Castille, an African American who was shot and killed by police while in his car. 02. Google Street Art Project The Google Street Art Project provides a platform via Google where you can view some of the world’s most amazing street art (see some of our favourite street art here). Street art occupies a bit of a no man's land between the public realm and the gallery, transforming the urban space into something of an ephemeral outdoor art museum. Street art can offer a window into the culture, history, activism and movements of a society. Google Street Art Project has attempted to capture street art in destinations like Buenos Aires and Berlin, as well as showcasing street art collections like that of Widewalls, and documenting street art festivals such as The Millerntor Gallery in Hamburg. Some of the walls, cities and projects that appear on the Street Art Project even come with audio guides that tell you the stories behind the walls. 03. Art UK Art UK is an online platform that brings together artworks from some of the most important cultural institutions across England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland. Its aim is to democratise art and the public’s access to it, and the team have curated works from over 3,200 venues around Britain that include paintings by Vincent Van Gogh, Francis Bacon, Adolphe Valette, Renoir, Mary Beale and many others. Over 40,000 artists are featured on the site, and visitors can search by artwork, artist or venue. Artists are listed by nationality, and it is interesting to note the wide array of international artists whose work is housed in British institutions. Art UK also has an online shop where you can purchase prints that will add a touch of class and colour to your home. If you need some inspiration, Art UK also has you covered, as it has sorted its artworks into categories like Abstract, Floral Art Prints, Modern Interior Prints and Impressionism. 04. artnet artnet is the leading online resource for the international art market. Its Price Database is part educational/part commercial resource, in that it catalogues art auction activity for the past 30 years, and is used by buyers and appraisers to make calculated decisions on their purchases. It also allows visitors to browse galleries from all over the world, with some of the most current and contemporary artworks held by cutting-edge gallerists on offer through the portal. You can also track and follow auction lots and sales, and bid on works by Bansky, Sol Le Witt and Damien Hirst, to name a few. artnet news also brings you up-to-date news on the goings-on in the art world, covering everything from art fairs to trends in the art world. Basically, artnet is the go-to place online for everything you need to know about the contemporary art world, its artists, galleries, works, buyers and collectors. 05. The Affordable Art Fair The Affordable Art Fair was originally held in Battersea in London in 1999 with a view to providing an alternative, and cheaper option for purchasing art outside a gallery setting. Prices for works are still deemed 'affordable' – they're capped at around £6,000/€7,500, depending on where the fair is being held. The Affordable Art Fair now has iterations all over the world, and its website allows visitors to keep up with fairs in Stockholm, Amsterdam, Hamburg and beyond, as well as the galleries exhibiting at them and the artists on show. The Affordable Art Fair is one of the best places to shop for art online, as prices range from around £50 to £6,000, so there should be something for everyone. It’s also a great place to familiarise yourself with emerging and up and coming artists. 06. Art Basel Art Basel started as a small, private fair in Switzerland in 1970, but has gone on to become one of the trendiest and most well-known art fairs in the world. Taking place in Basel, Miami and Hong Kong, Art Basel attracts the glamorous, rich and famous, who come not only to see the art, but to attend parties sponsored by big name brands and catch performances by pop superstars. The online catalogue breaks the collections down by fair, so those visiting the site can choose to browse mixed media pieces from Art Basel Miami Beach 2014, for example, or the Discoveries collection from Art Basel Hong Kong 2018. The photos of each artwork are high res and can be zoomed in on to get a sense of the materiality and texture. Read more: 5 apps that are shaking up the art market Banksy opens new homeware shop to protect his name Joker fan art is creepily compelling View the full article

Lighting keys show exactly how a scene will be lit, and express the scene's emotional story, while storyboards tell the narrative story. A good lighting key comes straight from the heart and requires empathy and poetic thinking. You’ll also need a solid understanding of the foundations of light so that you can wield this tool powerfully. I've worked on animated blockbusters such as Pixar's Coco and Sony's Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse, plus many more. Throughout more career, I've discovered these 15 ways help me get my heart on to the screen. I hope they help you, too. For further tips and tricks on improving your work, see our art techniques tutorials. Or if you want more movie inspiration, see the best 3D movies of the year. 01. Build up to big moments Lighting keys must be done in succession so you can control the dynamics along the way Lighting keys are done in succession. Like music, you have to know where you’re going so that you can control the 'dynamics' along the way. If you know you have a brightly lit burst of colour in your sequence, save it for the high point. Novice artists may want to start with a big moment, but there’s a delicate beauty in the build-up to a climactic moment. In this scene, Lightning McQueen is following in the footsteps of his former mentor, Doc Hudson, who taught him his iconic move 'turn right to go left'. When I first looked at the storyboards I knew this scene would be an iconic and sentimental moment that needed to be illuminated and brought forward from the rest of the sequence. My challenge was figuring out how to do so. At the time, artist Bill Cone was teaching me about lighting keys. I studied his work from the first Cars film, and one of his images, in particular, stood out to me. It was an iconic painting of the scene where Doc Hudson is out in the desert kicking up all this dust. Pixar had that image blown up big in the cafeteria. I would stare at it most lunches, enamoured by the way Bill illuminated the atmosphere so beautifully. I took inspiration from that painting and used it as an opportunity to pay homage to Bill, the same way Lightning McQueen was paying homage to Doc. I like to believe it adds a subconscious layer to this key that you can feel. 02. Learn to emphasise with your character Put yourself in the place of the character You can’t fake empathy. It’s stepping into the shoes of a stranger and building a bridge from your experiences to theirs. It requires humility, letting go of your personal biases, and the ability to think about someone else instead of yourself. This may sound uncomfortable, but sometimes being uncomfortable is key to creating work that will move people emotionally. In this example, Miles Morales has learnt something that completely changes his world view. In the moment, he’s feeling several emotions at once. As the artist we have to put ourselves in his place and think of a time we’ve experienced many emotions at once. During those times we tend feel lost and, in search of stability, we cling to whatever we can. So now let’s get practical. Essentially, to feel lost is to be in a 'haze'. Here, even though Miles is only a short distance from Peter, he’s got some strong atmosphere pushing him back into his haze. He desperately wants to find stability somewhere, so I made sure to covey that through his gestures: his eyes are watering, his head is coming forward, his eyes are filled with a strong highlight, representing his last glimmer of hope that Peter might be able to help. Miles is grasping onto his arm, which is a clear graphic shape as well. I also made sure to give Peter a lot of form on his shoulders so we could see that he’s also bearing that burden on his shoulders with Miles as he’s listening. 03. Give each painting a title The title will inform every decision you make Something you can do to keep your mind focused on the simplicity of the moment is to give it a simple title. This tip seems so unassuming that you might think it’s insignificant, but it’s useful when you’re painting multiple images in a sequence. This example consists of several lighting keys that I compiled into one image so that it would flow really well. The title is A New Day. That title informed every lighting decision that I made. Down below we see the early morning traffic being bathed in the first light of the day. I put Miles in shadow in the first key, heading toward the new light. The subway windows were a great opportunity to get light spilling through with God rays, the type of light you would experience in a cathedral with stained glass windows. Often when I think of God, church and rays of light, I think of a new beginning. The second Miles is now fully in the light. He’s become a silhouette, much like the buildings around him. The last image of Miles is on this iconic crane and he’s nearly invisible as he’s become one with the new day. 04. Paint light, not things Create a general direction for how the light looks and feels It’s easy to get caught up in the details, but most of the time that’s not necessary for the lighting department. Your responsibility is to create a general direction for how the light looks and feels. When you understand the fundamentals of light you can do this with relatively loose mark making. However, every studio is different, and some will want you to be more specific than this example here, and that’s okay. If you understand how light works it won’t be a problem for you, it’s simply more time-consuming. However, even in that situation you shouldn’t focus on the thing you’re painting. Instead, focus on where the light is coming from, how it’s travelling there and how it’s received by the object. When you focus on painting the light you’ll produce a realistic direction for the key. Here you can see I loosely lathered on colour and light over the buildings, losing much of the details (most don’t even have windows). This tells the technical director that these objects are less important than the cars in the foreground with their reflections on the wet pavement and Miles’ silhouette in the background. It was a real privilege to work with the team at Sony Pictures Imageworks because they could read this painting and know exactly what to do. That comes with their level of experience and their understanding of how light works. You’ll need to form your own relationship with the people working at your studio and see what works best for everybody to understand each other and work efficiently. 05. Learn from nature There are no shortcuts to mastering light and colour A question that comes up a lot is, 'How can I get better at lighting and colour'. There’s only one answer for this and unfortunately there are no shortcuts. Our limitless source for learning is being outside and studying the nature of light. For example, when I say the word 'sunset', you’ll probably have your own general idea of what that could look like. I could challenge you and ask for three vastly different sunsets and you could likely do it. The question is, could you do ten? Twenty? A hundred? A thousand? The exciting answer is that it’s definitely possible, and I would claim that there are infinite possibilities to the varieties of how a sunset looks. I would also claim that a sunset can be any colour on the wheel, any value and any saturation. This is why nature is our best teacher because it will never be mundane or boring and it will always surprise you. When I started working at Disney, my production designer and former teacher there was Bill Perkins. I also asked Bill how to improve my understanding of light and colour. He told me to go to a spot down the street from the studio that had a big white building surrounded by trees and paint it at the same spot every day and paint notes on how each day is different. If it’s not different, it’s not a problem with nature, it’s a problem with my perception. This is our problem with light. Our eyes will try to convince us that they know what they’re seeing, but we have to override that notion and be humble enough to look as if it’s our first time. When you learn to do this you’ll see colours that you never knew were there. Learn more about colour with our post on colour theory. 06. Make a simple visual statement Simplicity is powerful The simpler your image is, the more powerful it will become on screen. This concept can become complex very quickly: take this example from Spider-Man. This is an iconic moment and Miles has not only made peace with himself, he’s restored peace to his neighbourhood. So for my first attempt I got caught up in the texture of the sky (there aren’t very many skies in Spider-Man so we were writing the visual language as this piece was being developed). I achieved a lot of grit and emotion, but it wasn’t right for the moment. The first one says there’s a lot going on in Miles’ mind when really this is a time for Miles to exhale and be at peace. In my second attempt, I focused too much on the graphic stylisation of these clouds: they framed Miles nicely, but it felt like they were closing in on him. In the third one the clouds were pushed way back into the background, becoming one clear shape. They’re repetitive so they read as a pattern and overall are soft yet still with a subtle, active shape – in line with the style of the film. The images now feels like a triumphant and calming place for Miles to claim peace. 07. Dig deep, emotionally Your audience will feel what you feel If you want your audience to feel where you’re coming from then you have to dig deeper and push yourself to get more emotionally connected to the content. In this example, Miles is about to make his big decision to become Spider-Man. So I combined two keys to match the camera pan. I had all these lights going on and lit his face really intricately, yet I was unsatisfied. I couldn’t figure it out and it was driving me crazy at the time. I had done everything technically right. I understood the moment and it looked pretty cool, but it didn’t have any feeling. I then came up with this scenario: “Miles is a bit of an outcast; he has one foot in two different cultures, and he doesn’t feel like he fits in any of them. He’s found his calling, but doesn’t know if he can live up to being Spider-Man. He’s in the city that he wants to protect, but yet doesn’t feel a part of it.” That was my big 'a-ha' moment. I kept the city vibrant and put Miles’ face in the shadows. I used his tough exterior as metaphorical armour to protect himself from getting hurt. This is a sentiment I can relate to and I’m sure other people can, too. So, the solution was to not do more, but do less to get the right emotion across. 08. Differentiate between sight and photography We see in our minds, not our eyes Light is our only means of seeing and understanding the world around us. We see in our minds not in our eyes, and we’ve learned through school that the path to realism is detail. The pinnacle of this concept is the camera, which picks up every little detail and treats them all as of equal importance. This concept is not a natural one: it’s how a machine translates light, not necessarily how people translate light. Our vision is much closer to an impressionistic painting because we choose what we should focus on and we generalise and assume the rest. Imagine if I asked you to go to the park, pick out someone sitting on the bench and look at them for five seconds, then close your eyes and describe what you saw. Most of us would describe features about the person we found interesting, but we’d have trouble relating the exact style of the bench, the type of grass or what was in the background, although we would likely have a general sense of the surroundings. This is how you should paint, if you want to share your experiences and heart through your work. So you may ask, doesn’t film and CG animation use a camera? Yes, but the chief role of the cinematographer or designer is to negotiate with the camera to get the audience to focus on the right details. They may use set dressing, blur, and other varieties of VFX to achieve this. When you understand this principle, it will help you to be clear with your visuals and the audience will be less likely to be distracted. See our post on the best cameras for creatives if you do want to upgrade your kit. 09. Get the art right first Art first, logic second For me to get my heart across in an image I have to get it feeling right on an artistic level, before I go in and delineate what the specifics are. This is similar to how many painters approach their work: they’ll go in with loose gestural marks and get it feeling right before they tackle the specifics. I’m sure there’s many reasons for why this tip works for people. My reasoning is it gets me engaged, thinking creatively and excited about what I’m creating. The details can always be decided later. For my personal project, Little, I’ll start with abstract mark making before I figure out what the composition is going to be. I also did this with Spider-Man – often starting in pastel then taking that image and combining it with the storyboard to get something that has heart and also fits the bill for what the directors needed from me. 10. Take feedback Don't tell people what it's about, let them tell you This is a great one for students. If you have a concept or lighting key you’ve been developing there can be an underlying fear of sharing it with people. Not because you didn’t craft it well, but because they might laugh at it or misunderstand it. This is something you need to face head-on: start showing your work without having to explain it. Family and friends will generally be nice to you: if you give them an explanation before they see the image, they’ll compromise between what you said and what the image actually looks like and agree with you. It’s better that you show the image with no explanation and let them tell you what it is. This will give you valuable insights that you can use to investigate what about your image is giving that impression and how you can fix it. Not everybody within your social circle is going to be able to give you the answer – that’s your job, after all – but everybody’s opinion on looking at images is valid. 11. Choose light that you've seen before Focus on emotion You can see a trend here, right? I often gravitate more towards emotions and feeling when talking about lighting because it’s the responsibility of a lighting key. Here we have one of the last shots in Spider-Man and Miles is airborne looking down at the city. Obviously, I’ve never experienced this before in my own life. I’ve seen similar things for brief moments on a plane or through daring photographers prints, but if I were to create a key solely on those experiences it wouldn’t have much of my emotion put into it. This piece was titled On Top of the World. That’s an emotion I’ve been lucky enough to feel a few times in my life. Sometimes I’ve felt on top of the world because I’ve just fallen in love, achieved a difficult goal or been hit with inspiration. The feeling is dizzying and exciting and it seems like the world around is sparkling with excitement and opportunity. These are all things I can take and translate them visually, as I’ve done here, to get the feeling across – not just the time of day. 12. Study light fundamentals Anything is possible but stay realistic Sometimes when we look at work by great painters of light we get the sense that anything is possible, and for the most part that notion is true. However, your mind must be rooted in the fundamentals of how light works and it can be a complex area of study. People will often make up lights and colours that have no origin point and contradict other statements made about light. Compare this to music: you can play any note you want on the scale, but if you play two notes that just don’t go together it sounds bad. Yet there are some masters of music who play right on the edge and put the wildest combinations together and somehow it all magically works. That’s a mark of someone who has spent time to master their craft and it doesn’t come easily. 27 top movie sequences Think of your lighting key like a real-life movie set. You have to place lights somewhere and they’re going to affect other things. Here you can use methods to intensify or dull the reaction of light on an object, but it won’t change how it works. In this example I need to amplify Miles launching over a car crash. I could just make him bright and that fixes that problem. However, where is that light coming from? Wouldn’t it cast a shadow? Why is the light only hitting him? Why is everything else desaturated and he’s saturated? Lighting can become a puzzle very quickly! So in this moment, I found the opportunity to hit him with a strong spot light from the taxi- cab. Now I’m sure if you were going to go in there with a ruler, you could explain that the angle of light on a car wouldn’t tilt in that direction, but that’s where we’re allowed to cheat a little bit. It’s still a real light, it’s logical where it’s placed and how it’s working – I just went in there and adjusted it a bit to suit my needs. Again, you can cheat where lights are placed, but you can’t cheat how lights work. 13. Start with an overcast day I learned this from a class I took with Robert Kondo and Dice Tsutsumi. Often a computer will render in phases. One of the first phases will show the render of the shot in neutral light. Why neutral light? Because it accurately shows the local colour and general value of every object. Where can we see neutral light in nature? That’s simple – we see it in any overcast day where the light from the sun is diffused through the clouds and spread almost evenly to everything around us. There’s typically no cast shadows or intense light interactions so it simplifies things significantly. From here you can paint over it with your digital tools, adjustment layers or just translate it traditionally to suit your light condition. It’ll ensure continuity that everything in your shot is being hit with the same light and changing colour, temperature and value appropriately. In this piece for Cars 3, the overcast day was handed to the shading department because it needed to make sure all the local colours matched what they were painting on to the models. The one painted at near dusk was for the lighting department to know how to alter all those neutral colours to fit the moment. 14. Start with the right song If you can write it, you can light it This happens to me on a daily basis. I can’t find the right palette to match the mood that I’m looking for, I may not have time or luck to capture the perfect moment in nature, haven’t found the right reference or can’t get my head on straight about what’s going on. A good solution is find a song that you think sounds like this moment. Again, this sounds artsy, but we’re artists! Let’s be artsy and get in the right mood to create our masterpieces. This is an example where I was struggling to find the right palette for Spider-Man. I knew it was dusk, but there’s so many solutions to this time of day, so how do I choose one? Eventually, I found the right song that matched the moment for me and that helped me to gain the nuances of the right palette. 15. Describe the moment Find a song that 'sounds' like the moment Another tip is to write out terms that describe the moment. This is especially useful for mundane moments. So here’s my seemingly mundane moment example. You have Miles’ back to camera and he’s opened a door to the rooftop. The way it’s framed means we don’t get much space on the picture plane to see what outside looks like. So I wrote out words and expressions such as 'stepping out into the fray', 'electric blue city', 'the final door', 'determined', 'ready', 'facing your fears' and so on. All of these helped direct me as to what was going on here and how this could actually be a really meaningful key. Some people may say that some keys are just fillers or they’re all serving your climax. I strongly disagree with this. Every lighting key should have something to say. Whether that voice is quiet, loud, piercing or silent, there’s still value and it should be approached with respect and care. This article was originally published in ImagineFX, the world's best-selling magazine for digital artists. Subscribe to ImagineFX. Read more: Stunning special effects in movies: 10 stunning examples Check out these incredible posters for movies that never happened The greatest CGI movie moments of all time View the full article

You're reading Geocode API Review: Scalable and Reliable Geocoding & Geoparsing, originally posted on Designmodo. If you've enjoyed this post, be sure to follow on Twitter, Facebook! Geocoding refers to the process of converting addresses into geographic coordinates. On the other hand, reverse geocoding refers to converting geographic coordinates into human-readable addresses. For a layman, the whole process would not make sense, however, geocoding hold a lot … View the full article

You're reading Zenscrape Review: Website HTML Extraction, originally posted on Designmodo. If you've enjoyed this post, be sure to follow on Twitter, Facebook! Over time, data has become the core of business strategies and market research. It is being termed as the ‘differentiator’ since, whether you want to start a new project or take your existing business up a notch, you will need … View the full article

Drawing a circle may seem simple, but penning a perfectly round shape is way trickier that you might imagine. Don't believe us? Have a go with this Can you draw a perfect circle game and see how you get on. Our guide to logo design points out just how important circles are in the world of art and design, but drawing them freehand takes serious skill. The best score we've got so far is a pretty impressive, even if we do say so ourselves, 89.5 per cent. So close and yet so far. All joking aside, this game, developed by the Vole WTF team, is actually a really good way to put your artistic skills to the test, especially if you have the luxury of the one of the best tablets with a stylus to try it on. The more we practised, the higher scores we got – practise really does make (11% off) perfect. However, we've now lost count of how many attempts we've had or how much time we lost to this ridiculously simple but addictive game. While we head off to learn how to draw basic shapes, why don't you give the game a go and see if you can beat our (current) top score. Read more: Illustrator tutorials: The best lessons to sharpen your skills The designer's guide to the Golden Ratio How to draw: the best drawing tutorials View the full article

Once you've found the best art easel for you, you'll probably spend hours at it, so it’s very important to invest in one that will suit your needs and be comfortable. There are several things to bear in mind when deciding what type to buy, as an art easel is one of the most important art supplies in your toolbox (see our guide to more essential art supplies). Space could be a consideration – you may need to be able to pack away your setup at the end of each session, meaning you'll be looking for a foldaway or lightweight small easel you can carry with you. Or, you might be looking for a more solid studio easel that will be a more permanent fixture in your space, and last you a lifetime. Or perhaps you're looking for an art easel for the child or small person in your life. A quality art easel can be a fairly considerable investment so it’s worth taking some time to think about your needs before you begin. This guide will help you navigate some of the options available to fledgling artists and help you find the best art easel for you. And never fear if your budget isn't massive, as we've got the best art easels for a range of price points. Looking for more art supplies? Also check our post on the best pencils and the best sketchbooks. It's also worth keeping an eye on the best Black Friday deals. Mabef easels are designed for quality and longevity. I have personally owned a number of Mabef designs for over 25 years and they’re all still going strong. Made from stain-resistant oiled beech wood, the finishing on these Basic Studio Easel Mabef easels is beautiful and well worth the investment. The M/09 model is a great starting point for the serious studio artist on a budget. Although it doesn’t have some of the frills of other models, the M/09 is a solid model that will stand the test of time and will prove a good studio work-horse for the burgeoning professional studio. This heavy duty studio easels a great mid-point for a lot of artists’ needs. It’s not from a big name but the overall functionality certainly makes up any difference. An Atworth H-frame easel will give you a more stable easel to work on, and, although it’s not collapsable, the wheels make it easy to move around the studio as needed. You can also convert it into a horizontal easel, which gives you a wealth of options when it comes to your medium, too. Convertible easels are perfect for watercolour painting or just as extra table space. Some table easels come as a box with ample storage to save space, which can seems like a good option at first. The stumbling block of these designs is their lack of adjustability. If you’re working at a table then you need to be able to adjust the baseline of your canvas, that’s to say, how high the bottom of your canvas is from the table. That's where this Mini Easel really comes into its own. The adjustability of this easel enables you to work at your own height, which will save you a lot of discomfort in the long run. When it comes to your child’s creativity you don’t want to instal limitations so versatility is the key word. Melissa & Doug have built themselves a name as one of the top suppliers of kids' creative kit over the past 30 years so they must be doing something right. This multi-use easel by Melissa & Doug is easy to assemble, folds away easily for storage and includes a dry-erase board, chalkboard, locking paper-roll holder, child-safe paper cutter, four easy-clip grips and two large plastic trays that can be removed for easy cleaning. Hours of messy fun guaranteed. Younger children won’t stand for long at an easel, and will often be tempted to push their easel over, so a table easel can be a better option, and table easels can also be set up on the floor to make them even more accessible. A table-top easel from a trusted name like Melissa & Doug such as this double-sided tabletop easel is a great option for those younger Picassos. Its built-in paper roll, reversible design and sturdy wooden construction make this a great option that’s designed to inspire hours of fun. If you’re looking to kit yourself or someone else out with a full artistic kit including an easel then the 111 Piece All Media Art Studio Paint Set from Daler Rowney could be a good place to start. Now, most of this kit is student grade or below, but it’s enough to get most people started off with a host of mediums and is a good place to build upon. The kit includes one aluminium easel, one carrying case, one eraser, one pencil pouch, a stretched canvas, mixing palette, pencil sharpener, one set of travel watercolours, colouring pencils, oil pastels, acrylics, brushes and much more. This Ktaxon Tripod Easel Stand with drawer is made of high quality beech. If you’re tight for space, or just don’t want your paint left out for little fingers or paws, then the addition of the drawer at the base of this easel is a huge plus. This adjustable easel makes a handsome addition to your home or studio and is also a great way to display your work to visiting friends and family when not in use. If you’re looking for an easel for part-time use at home, this is a great choice. Read more: Pixel art: 34 retro examples Essential art supplies for painting The best sketchbooks available now View the full article

Microsoft has released fixes for nine critical and 49 important vulnerabilities as part of Patch Tuesday. View the full article

Apple released fixes for Catalina and patches for iCloud and iTunes for Windows software. View the full article

If you’re looking for a home for your WordPress website, you’re going to need a quality web hosting service. And if you’re not particularly au fait with the ways of the web, this can be incredibly confusing, not to mention costly if you choose the wrong service provider. But it doesn’t need to be. Kinsta is a high quality, reliable WordPress web hosting service, which offers affordable plans for a wide range of requirements. So whether you’re a budding designer wanting to launch your first online portfolio, or a web pro wanting advanced features to take your site to the next level, Kinsta has you covered. Packed with an extensive toolset, Kinsta pulls ahead of its competitors with a number of key features, including lightning-fast architecture, a high security network and free site migrations. Let’s take a closer look at why Kinsta’s stand-out WordPress web hosting service is the perfect solution for creatives. 01. It won't break the bank Finding that perfect corner of the web to place your website can be expensive, especially if you choose a mediocre service. Kinsta keeps web hosting affordable and removes the risk of added costs with a number of clear pricing plans to choose from. A premium solution at a price that won’t break the bank, Kinsta offers plans from just $30 a month for starters, right through to $1500 enterprises plans and everything in between. The best value for money, Kinsta rates are highly competitive, with options to suit every and all budgets. 02. You don't have to be a web wizard to use it Don’t know how to code? Confused by web hosting? Rest assured you’re not the only one unfamiliar with the workings of the web, but the good news is the Kinsta team are on hand to help you every step of the way. Kinsta puts web hosting within everyone’s reach, offering 24/7 support from leading WordPress experts. Over the past decade, Kinsta developers have armed the software with tools to optimise your site’s performance and make managing it a cinch. A prime example of this is its one-click staging environment, where in – yes, you guessed it – just one click, any WordPress install at Kinsta can have its own staging area, completely separate from the live site. Simply press the ‘create a staging environment’ button and you can test WordPress versions, plugins, code and general development, all without affecting your live website. Being big fans of making things super-simple, the Kinsta team have also extended this ‘one-click’ feature to SSL and CDN implementation, meaning offloading bandwidth requests and reducing load times has never been easier. Kinsta is jam-packed with easy to understand and use features to make your website’s performance as fast and efficient as it can be. And if you get stuck, just call on the expert Kinsta team, who are available around the clock to help. 03. But if you are a web wizard, there's lots here for you too! Kinsta also accommodates the more seasoned web user, offering plenty of advanced features to help take your WordPress sites to the next level. Built from the ground up with WordPress developers in mind, you’ll find lots of tools under Kinsta’s hood to help speed up and automate your workflow. The multi-user environment option is a standout feature, offering both safety and convenience, with permissions set individually so each user gets the access they need and no more. Kinsta also offers detailed website analytics for advanced developers, one-click cloning and nothing but the best tech stack optimised for WordPress. Kinsta is a highly capable and powerful tool, but at the heart of the service is the user. A subject that is confusing for some, the Kinsta team have broken it down to make it accessible for beginners, and, at the same time, loaded it with tools that will excite even the most seasoned WordPress user. Add all that up and it’s not hard to see how Kinsta has been awarded top tier status by ReviewSignal five years in a row. So what are you waiting for? Sign up with Kinsta and settle into your new home online for less today. View the full article

Looking to pick up a great Surface Pro Black Friday deal this year, but don't know where to start? You're in the right place. In this article, you'll find all you need to know to bag a bargain on Microsoft's leading 2-in1 tablet/laptop. Black Friday isn't upon us yet (this year's event takes place on 29 November, with Cyber Monday following on 2 December), so for now we'll be offering all our predictions for 2019: the kinds of Surface Pro Black Friday deals we expect to see, which models will be discounted, and where to look for the best bargains. In the run-up to the shopping event, we'll update the article with all the early Surface Pro Black Friday deals. Then on the 29 November through to 1 December, we'll be working tirelessly to bring you all the very best offers as soon as they go live. Which Surface Pro models will be getting a Black Friday 2019 discount? On Black Friday 2018 and Amazon Prime Day 2019, we've saw a number of strong discounts on the Surface Pro, and we expect this to be the case for Black Friday and Cyber Monday this year, too. At its Fall Hardware event on 2 October 2019, Microsoft unveiled two new Pro models: the Surface Pro 7 and the Surface Pro X, on sale 22 October and 19 November respectively. This bodes well for potential Black Friday Surface Pro 6 deals. Are we going to see any offers on the new Surface Pros? Well normally we'd say no. Typically retailers focus on slightly older stock for their sales. However, over last year's holiday event, many bucked this trend by knocking down the price of the then-brand-new Surface Pro 6. There's nothing to say the same thing won't happen with the Surface Pro 7 or Pro X this year, if those are the models you have your heart set on. Of course, we'll share any deals here as soon as we hear of them. There's also the older Surface Pro to consider in the mix. To help you decide which one's right for you, take a look at our Surface Pro 6 review, our Surface Pro review, or our hands-on Surface Pro X review. Surface Pro 6 Black Friday deals Last year we saw plenty of strong Surface Pro 6 Black Friday deals, as well as great bargains to be had across the year, for those who were keeping their eyes open for them. Retailers to look at include Amazon and the Microsoft online store, plus Best Buy, Walmart and Costco in US, and John Lewis, Very, AO and Currys in UK. Check the price widget below to see the best prices available right now in your region. For a better idea of the kind of Black Friday 2019 Surface Pro 6 deals we might expect, and which retailers to look out for, read on for a selection of the best discounts we've seen on this product since its release last October. Remember, this is an older model now, so we predict lower prices this year on the Pro 6. For more bargains in the Surface range (and more), take a look at our predictions for the best Microsoft Black Friday deals 2019, or our general guide to nailing Black Friday and Cyber Monday 2019. How to get the best Surface Pro Black Friday 2019 deals It sounds extreme, but to make sure you get the best Surface Pro Black Friday deal this year, you need a game plan. Step one is to bookmark this page. We'll be keeping it updated with a curated list of the best offers from the most reliable retailers, in the run-up to Black Friday and during the event itself. While you'll likely find some good offers on the Microsoft online store itself, a number of other retailers will also be offering great discounts, from Walmart and Best Buy to John Lewis and Very. Keeping on top of all the different Surface Pro Black Friday deals is tricky, which is why we're taking the hard work out by collecting them in one place (you're welcome). Second, remember that while there'll plenty of hot offers on Black Friday and Cyber Monday themselves, those aren't the only days you'll be able to pick up a bargain machine. Eager retailers have been rolling out offers earlier and earlier each year - and with Black Friday falling relatively late this year, we definitely expect some good early deals. In 2018, there were competitive offers popping up from early November. To make the most of the offers, it's worth checking for add-ons such as software, keyboards and covers, or gift cards that will make your deal even better. It's also worth considering refurbished models – there are some great bargains to be had on pre-owned products. The very best deals won't stick around forever (many will sell out on the day). If you're reading this article, you're already ahead of the game – make the most of the weeks running up to the 29 November to figure out which Surface Pro product is right for you (how much storage do you need? How powerful should it be?), so you know what to focus on and don't end up panic buying the wrong model. View the full article

Google's October security update fixed several critical and high-severity vulnerabilities. View the full article

Once you've found the best art easel for you, you'll probably spend hours at it, so it’s very important to invest in one that will suit your needs and be comfortable. There are several things to bear in mind when deciding what type to buy, as an art easel is one of the most important art supplies in your toolbox (see our guide to more essential art supplies). Space could be a consideration – you may need to be able to pack away your setup at the end of each session, meaning you'll be looking for a foldaway or lightweight small easel you can carry with you. Or, you might be looking for a more solid studio easel that will be a more permanent fixture in your space, and last you a lifetime. Or perhaps you're looking for an art easel for the child or small person in your life. A quality art easel can be a fairly considerable investment so it’s worth taking some time to think about your needs before you begin. This guide will help you navigate some of the options available to fledgling artists and help you find the best art easel for you. And never fear if your budget isn't massive, as we've got the best art easels for a range of price points. Looking for more art supplies? Also check our post on the best pencils and the best sketchbooks. It's also worth keeping an eye on the best Black Friday deals. Mabef easels are designed for quality and longevity. I have personally owned a number of Mabef designs for over 25 years and they’re all still going strong. Made from stain-resistant oiled beech wood, the finishing on these Basic Studio Easel Mabef easels is beautiful and well worth the investment. The M/09 model is a great starting point for the serious studio artist on a budget. Although it doesn’t have some of the frills of other models, the M/09 is a solid model that will stand the test of time and will prove a good studio work-horse for the burgeoning professional studio. This heavy duty studio easels a great mid-point for a lot of artists’ needs. It’s not from a big name but the overall functionality certainly makes up any difference. An Atworth H-frame easel will give you a more stable easel to work on, and, although it’s not collapsable, the wheels make it easy to move around the studio as needed. You can also convert it into a horizontal easel, which gives you a wealth of options when it comes to your medium, too. Convertible easels are perfect for watercolour painting or just as extra table space. Some table easels come as a box with ample storage to save space, which can seems like a good option at first. The stumbling block of these designs is their lack of adjustability. If you’re working at a table then you need to be able to adjust the baseline of your canvas, that’s to say, how high the bottom of your canvas is from the table. That's where this Mini Easel really comes into its own. The adjustability of this easel enables you to work at your own height, which will save you a lot of discomfort in the long run. When it comes to your child’s creativity you don’t want to instal limitations so versatility is the key word. Melissa & Doug have built themselves a name as one of the top suppliers of kids' creative kit over the past 30 years so they must be doing something right. This multi-use easel by Melissa & Doug is easy to assemble, folds away easily for storage and includes a dry-erase board, chalkboard, locking paper-roll holder, child-safe paper cutter, four easy-clip grips and two large plastic trays that can be removed for easy cleaning. Hours of messy fun guaranteed. Younger children won’t stand for long at an easel, and will often be tempted to push their easel over, so a table easel can be a better option, and table easels can also be set up on the floor to make them even more accessible. A table-top easel from a trusted name like Melissa & Doug such as this double-sided tabletop easel is a great option for those younger Picassos. Its built-in paper roll, reversible design and sturdy wooden construction make this a great option that’s designed to inspire hours of fun. If you’re looking to kit yourself or someone else out with a full artistic kit including an easel then the 111 Piece All Media Art Studio Paint Set from Daler Rowney could be a good place to start. Now, most of this kit is student grade or below, but it’s enough to get most people started off with a host of mediums and is a good place to build upon. The kit includes one aluminium easel, one carrying case, one eraser, one pencil pouch, a stretched canvas, mixing palette, pencil sharpener, one set of travel watercolours, colouring pencils, oil pastels, acrylics, brushes and much more. This Ktaxon Tripod Easel Stand with drawer is made of high quality beech. If you’re tight for space, or just don’t want your paint left out for little fingers or paws, then the addition of the drawer at the base of this easel is a huge plus. This adjustable easel makes a handsome addition to your home or studio and is also a great way to display your work to visiting friends and family when not in use. If you’re looking for an easel for part-time use at home, this is a great choice. Read more: Pixel art: 34 retro examples Essential art supplies for painting The best sketchbooks available now View the full article

If you have a recent Apple device and want to know how to make your own Memoji, you've come to the right place. Sometimes it feels like there will never be enough emoji. For starters, new emoji get added to the standard collection every year (we're particularly looking forward to the flamingo emoji becoming official). For iPhone and iPad Pro users there are also Animoji – animated emoji that use your voice and mirror your facial expressions – and Memoji, your own animated alter ego that you can customise for any situation. Not sure about how Memoji work? It's easy to get started. First of all you'll need some up-to-date hardware; an iPhone X or better, or an iPad Pro with FaceID (we've found the best iPad Pro deals if you feel you need an upgrade, you can also keep an eye on the best Apple Black Friday deals). And to get the best experience you should be updated with the latest version of iOS 13 or iPadOS. There's an emoji for everyone in this new 2019 update If the standard emoji aren't enough for you, now you can make your own To create your own Memoji, simply open the Messages app, and either compose a new message or go to an existing conversation. Then just follow these easy steps: Tap the Animoji icon – the monkey – then swipe right to the New Memoji icon and tap that. You can then build your own Memoji out of ready-made features, such as skin tone, hairstyle, eyes and so on, and the latest version in iOS 13 enables you to add even more features such as makeup, piercings, teeth and more. Once you're happy with your creation, hit Done, and that's it! Your Memoji are stored in sticker packs in your keyboard so that you can use them in messages whenever you want and record messages that'll be spoken by your Memoji. You can customise your Memoji with all manner of features And if you're making a call using FaceTime, you can substitute your own face with a Memoji or Animoji, and even add camera effects to make it look even more striking. If you get bored with your current look you can swap it around whenever you want during the call. If you need to know more about using Memoji and Animoji, Apple's put together a handy guide that you can find here. If your iPhone can't cope with iOS 13 and you want an upgrade, see our best deals on the iPhone X below. Related articles: Ford secretly designs new official pickup truck emoji The 21 best iPhone apps for designers 4 things we love about the new iPhone 11 View the full article

We all know that if you want to make a killer saving on some new hardware then the best time to do it is Black Friday. But if you have your heart set on a new MacBook and you can't wait for those Black Friday MacBook deals to roll around, here's some great news for you. Best Buy is currently running a stack of MacBook Pro deals, and if you need some new Apple goodness in your life right now then we'd recommend picking the model that's best for you and going for it. Looking at the discounts available, we doubt you'll be able to find a significantly better deal on Black Friday without turning up at a store first thing and having to literally fight people for it. The best cheap Apple laptop deals in 2019 Our favourite MacBook bargain in Best Buy's current selection is a 13-inch MacBook Pro that's been knocked down from $1,499.99 to $1,199.99, saving you a tasty $300. With 8GB memory, an Intel Core i5 processor and a 256GB SSD it's at the lower end of the Pro range, but it's still the perfect machine for getting everyday design work done on the move. If you need a heftier machine, however, there's a massive saving to be had on a 15-inch MacBook Pro with Touch Bar. This beast comes with 32GB memory, and Intel Core i9 processor, a 1TB SSD and an AMD Radeon Pro 560X driving the graphics; it's a serious creative workhorse, and right now you can get $800 off the usual price of $3,799.99 – that's $2,999.99 to you. Still not convinced? There are more MacBook Pro deals to be had from Best Buy, so you shouldn't have too much difficulty finding something to suit your budget. There are other MacBook Pro deals to be found over at Best Buy; head over to its MacBook page to see what's on offer, but don't hang about as we're not sure just how long these amazing prices will be available. Not in the US? There are still MacBook Pro deals to be found elsewhere. Related articles: Apple Watch sale: the best Apple Watch deals in October The best iPad Pro deals in 2019 Best Black Friday iPad deals: Get an Apple device for less View the full article

U.S. and U.K. agencies warn consumers to update VPN technologies from Fortinet, Pulse Secure and Palo Alto Networks. View the full article

Joker came out last Friday, and it seems like everyone is talking about it. It's already made over a quarter of a billion dollars at the box office, and has divided critics and viewers alike with its portrayal of a man and his mental illness. Whether or not you liked the film, or have even seen it, there's plenty of Joker fan art populating the internet for you to enjoy. We've picked a few of our favourites below. If you'd like to get involved but need a little help, don't miss our roundup of tutorials on various art techniques, as well as our post outlining no less than 61 top-class Photoshop tutorials. If you haven't seen it, watch the trailer for the film below. And if all this Joker art gets you in a spooky mood, then check out our favourite Halloween Doodles. First up is this piece by burinsnap, which creates a startling atmosphere: There there's this rather sympathetic portrayal of the Joker by James Passfield. His tweet also includes some process shots, which we always appreciate. There's a touch of Michael Jackson about this one by Chaengaroo. We love this depiction by illustrator and comic artist Eleanor Ananda, which goes for a more realistic depiction of a sorrowful Joker. While this piece by illustrator Paula Hsu Art has a poetic quality about it. There's something eerie in the expression in this piece, by Kplaxit, over on DeviantArt. And this one by Minokreit, also on DeviantArt, is downright terrifying. We love the line art here. And it isn't just drawings on the Joker that are surfacing. Tjscreates has made his own poster in homage to the film, as well as a great process video which shows his work in Photoshop (click the arrow to see it). Bryanzapp has created several different pieces of fan art for the movie. We particularly like the one below. Plenty of people are creating Joker fan art as part of Inktober. If you want to get involved, see our Inktoker tips from those who've succeeded in past years. Did we miss your favourite piece of Joker fan art? Let us know on Instagram, Facebook or Twitter. Read more: Controversial BBC competition produces some incredible fan art Fan art commemorates big Game of Thrones deaths New Bond 25 poster revealed – and we're majorly underwhelmed View the full article

Everyone needs something to drink, and while it's perfectly feasible to get by on tap water, realistically we all want a bit of flavour in our lives, and maybe something with a little extra kick as well. That's why the global drinks market is so huge, and why so much money and effort goes into creating appealing brands. Drinks account for some of the largest brands in the world, and having an instantly recognisable logo design is key to success in a crowded market. And because tastes change over time, most (but not all) of the big brands need to keep refreshing their look in order to stay relevant. Here are six of the best drinks logos. 8 brands that rule at social media 01. Coca-Cola It's the real thing, but do you mind if they only have Pepsi? There's something distinctly magical about Coca-Cola's branding. And by that, we don't mean that it has a particularly brilliant logo design; it's a perfectly serviceable logotype, originally designed in 1886 and given various minor adjustments over the years. The last major addition to it was in 1969, when the white wave was added underneath, and that seems to have been largely shelved in recent years. What we love about the Coca-Cola logo is how it's wormed its way into the popular subconscious thanks to many, many years of repetition via keenly focused advertising. If you're in a supermarket and you want brown fizzy drink, you're probably going to reach for the Coca-Cola. And yet despite the power of the Coca-Cola brand, it's still somehow divorced from the product itself. If you're in a pub or restaurant and you order a Coke, only to be told, sorry, they only have Pepsi, chances are that you don't really care. Isn't that weird? 02. Pepsi Being second best in a market this big is no bad thing Forever stuck in second place in the global 'best brown fizzy drinks' stakes, Pepsi – originally launched in the 19th century as Brad's Drink – is in a constant state of trying to catch up with Coca-Cola, and so has worked harder over the years at updating its brand in an attempt to capture some of its rival's magic. For the longest period it called itself Pepsi-Cola and had a very similar red logotype; it was only around the time of the Second World War that it adopted its familiar red, white and blue design, to show support for American troops. Originally used on its bottle caps, the design has become the brand's default logo and has been tweaked numerous times over the years, most recently in 2008 to give it a smiley appearance. It's a strong look, and yet somehow it's never had the power of Coca-Cola's design. 03. Red Bull Made in Thailand Red Bull as a brand is about much more than an energy drink; today the company's as well-known for its Formula One team and other sporting enterprises as it is for its caffeine-packed beverages. However its iconic, energetic logo, featuring a pair of solid-looking bulls about to lock horns, actually predates the Red Bull brand itself. Red Bull founder Dietrich Mateschitz came across an energy drink called Krating Daeng in Thailand and stuck a deal with its creator to create a version suitable for Western palates. And while he changed the recipe and translated the name into English, he retained the Krating Daeng logo design. It may be instantly associated with Red Bull worldwide, in Thailand you'll still see it adorning bottles of the original Krating Daeng. 04. Starbucks Mermaids and coffee, an obvious combination The Starbucks logo is a fascinating exercise in branding that shouldn't really work. Originally created in 1971 by Terry Heckler, the two-tailed mermaid design, derived from Norse folklore, has been refined over the years as the Starbucks brand has grown into a global coffee powerhouse. Quite what a mermaid has to do with coffee is anybody's guess, and yet it has become inextricably linked with the Starbucks name, to the extent that the company's 2011 rebrand by Lippincott put the mermaid front and centre, without any text. That's quite an achievement for an over-complex mark with no real link to the product it's promoting. 05. Heineken Refreshes the parts other brands can't reach Heineken may be one of the world's biggest beer brands, but it's one that's never taken itself too seriously, as its traditionally light-hearted advertising demonstrates. When the company's chairman, Freddy Heineken, brought in a rebrand in the 1950s with the company name taking prominence, he insisted that it should have a friendly appearance. So the wordmark ditched Heineken's previous all-caps look for more rounded, smaller letters, and also adopted a small backwards slant on the letter 'E', giving it a smiling appearance. 06. PG tips Nice cup of tea, anyone? PG tips may not be a global brand, but it's one that shines out as a beacon of hope anywhere in the world where there are British expats in search of a good cup of tea. There are various brands of tea available in the UK, but PG tips is the only one that really matters to a nation of serious tea-drinkers. Established in 1930 as 'Pre-Gestee' – referring to tea as a digestive aid – it soon became known as PG, and manufacturers Brooke Bond later added 'tips' to the name, in reference to it being made using only the tips of the tea plant. Its distinctive red-and-green logo, complete with a little sprig of tea tips, has been in use for years, and had become weakened by the sort of evolutionary changes that any long-lasting brand has to put up with. A 2016 redesign by Jones Knowles Ritchie took it back to basics, with a new, minimal brand mark inspired by the notion of togetherness. Related articles: 5 steps to building a strong brand voice How to make a logo in Photoshop 10 iconic logos with hidden meanings View the full article

You're reading Best Practices for Halloween Email Newsletters with Examples, originally posted on Designmodo. If you've enjoyed this post, be sure to follow on Twitter, Facebook! Halloween is celebrated in different cultures around the globe and provides a big sales opportunity. While some people will put faces on pumpkins, adorn their halls with spooky decorations, and try on scary costumes, email marketers send email newsletters with … View the full article

Millions of iOS users could be vulnerable to man-in-the-middle attacks that trace back to flawed Twitter code used in popular iPhone apps. View the full article

CVE-2019-16920 allows remote unauthenticated attackers to execute code on a target device. View the full article

Angular 8 is the latest version of Google's Angular – one of the best JavaScript frameworks around. In this article, we'll run through what's special about Angular 8, and show you how to get started. First, a brief look back at what's happened with the framework so far. Angular's introduction led to a paradigm shift in web development: while most libraries limited themselves to providing support to developers with relatively limited architectural impact, Angular's developer team went in the other direction. Their product forces you to use a specific architecture, with deviations ranging from difficult to commercially pointless. In fact, most Angular code runs through a relatively complex transpilation toolchain before it ever hits the browser. Due to the immense success of Angular, both inside and outside of Google Inc, development has – by and large – stabilised. This means that breaking code changes are few, while the semi-annual upgrades are focused on adapting the framework to changes in the web browsing landscape. In the case of Angular 8, for example, a new JavaScript compiler is deployed (albeit still experimentally). It optimises generated compatibility code to be significantly smaller and faster at the expense of older browsers. Furthermore, Web Worker support is integrated to increase Angular's processing capability. In short, there is a lot to see – so let us dive right in. 01. Run a version check Angular's toolchain lives inside the NodeJS environment. As of this writing, Node.js 10.9 or better is needed – if you find yourself on an older version, visit the Node.js website and get an upgrade. The code below shows the version status on this machine. 02. Install Angular Angular's toolchain resides in a command line utility named ng. It can be installed via the well-known NPM. Be careful to answer the question shown in the image below. Click the icon in the top right to enlarge Getting version info out of the tool is quite difficult – not only is the syntax unique, but the output is also verbose (see image below). Click the icon in the top right to enlarge 03. Create a project skeleton ng generates the Angular scaffolding for us. In the following steps, we want to add routing, and use Sass for CSS transpilation. Should the deployment fail for some reason, empty the working directory, and restart ng with superuser rights. 04. Harness differential loading The new version of Angular optimises backward compatiblity code for reduced impact – a file called browserslist lets you decide which browsers are to be supported. Open browserslist and remove the word not in front of IE 9 to IE11. 05. ... and see the results Order a compile of the project, change into the distribution folder and purge unneeded map files. Invoke tree to see the results – ng creates multiple versions of various code files (see image below). Click the icon in the top right to enlarge 06. Spawn a web worker Web workers let JavaScript enter the last frontier of native applications: massively parallel processing of tasks. With Angular 8, a web worker can be created right from the comfort of the ng command line utility. 07. Explore the code ng's output is likely to look intimidating at first glance. Opening the file src/app/myworker.worker.ts in a code editor of choice reveals code which you should know well from the WebWorker specification. In principle, the worker receives messages and processes them as needed. 08. Set up scaffolding Angular applications consist of components. Firing off our web worker is best done inside the AppComponent, which is expanded to include a listener for the OnInit event. For now, it will emit status information only. 09. Don't worry about the lack of constructor Experienced TypeScript developers ask themselves why our code does not use the constructor provided by the programming language. The reason for that is that ngOnInit is a lifecycle event which gets fired whenever an initialisation event takes place – this does not need to be correlated to class invocation. 10. Execute a small compile run At this point in time, the program is ready to run. We will execute it from the server inside of ng, which can be invoked via the serve command. A neat aspect of this approach is that the program detects changes and recompiles the project on the fly. Take a look at the figure to see this in action in the image below. Hit the icon in the top right to enlarge the image 11. ...and find the output ng serve putputs the address of its local web server, which is usually http://localhost:4200/. Open the web page and open the developer tools to see the status output. Keep in mind that console.log outputs data to the browser console and leaves the console of the NodeJS instance untouched. 12. Get to work At this point in time, we create an instance of the worker and provide it with a message. Its results are then shown in the browser console. 13. Explore Ivy Future versions of Angular will use a more advanced compiler, leading to even smaller views. While the product is not finished yet, an ivy-enabled skeleton can be spawned via ng new ivy-project – enable-ivy. Alternatively, change the compiler settings as shown in the snippet. A word of warning: Ivy leads to amazing size reductions, but it is not free. The product has yet to stabilize, so using it in productive environments is not recommended. 14. Try modified ng processing Angular's ng command line tool used child scripts internally for some time. Angular 8 ups the ante in that you can now, also, use this facility to run your own tasks as your application is assembled and compiled. One neat application of ng scripts involves directly uploading applications to cloud services. The Git repository provides a useful script that uploads your work to a Firebase account. 15. Enjoy improved migration Developers migrating away from Angular 1.x, also known as AngularJS, have had a fair share of issues getting the navigator to work right in 'combined' applications. The new Unified Location Service aims to make this process smoother. 16. Explore workspace control Large projects benefit from the ability to change the workspace structure dynamically. This is done via the new Workspace API introduced in Angular 8.0 – the snippet accompanying this step provides a quick overview of the behaviour. 17. Accelerate the process Building large JavaScript code bases gets tedious. Future versions of AngularJS will use Google's Bazel build system to accelerate the process – sadly, at time of writing it wasn't ready for primetime. 18. Avoid the walking dead Even though Google takes extreme care not to break code, some features simply need to be removed as they are no longer needed. Check this depreciations list to learn more about features which should be avoided. 19. Look at the change log As always, one article can never do justice to an entire release. Fortunately, this change log provides a detailed list of all the changes – just in case you ever feel like checking the pulse of a feature especially dear to you. This article was originally published in creative web design magazine Web Designer. Read more: Add multi-language support to Angular The best JavaScript APIs How to code faster, lighter JavaScript View the full article

You're reading Make These Changes to Meet Web Design Accessibility Standards, originally posted on Designmodo. If you've enjoyed this post, be sure to follow on Twitter, Facebook! Accessibility is a key function of any web design or app strategy. New government accessibility regulations in the UK mean that all public sector websites created on or after Sept. 23, 2018, must be accessible. Mobile apps must be accessible … View the full article

Saturday was James Bond day and fans of the British spy were treated (we use the term loosely) to a look at the first poster for upcoming Bond film No Time to Die. The poster sees Daniel Craig doing his usual smouldering thing up against a faded turquoise background. It also shows that same font we saw in the killer typographic logo, released earlier in the year (read more about the No Time to Die logo here). The text, of course, reads No Time to Die. And the 007 is also present and correct. But to be honest, there's not a lot more to it. The poster has been met with a mixed reaction online. A lot of people are not happy with the look and feel of the poster. Some felt that there could've been a lot more to the poster design (see our favourite poster designs here). Others felt that the design team had had 'no time to create'. And some picked at the font, saying it was hard to read. One Reddit user, bobrformalin even said it was "worse than papyrus". Ouch. Although of course, there are plenty hardcore fans who are just excited about the film, glad to see the poster, and desperate for a glimpse of the trailer. Overall, we can see why the No Time to Die poster may be underwhelming for Bond fans. It doesn't exactly scream of slick action that'll set your pulse racing. Mainly, Daniel Craig just looks a bit like he's kind of wishing he hadn't signed up for another Bond film. It's not quite as bad as that Spider-Man poster though. No Time to Die will be out in the UK on 3 April 2020, with the US release following a few days later on 8 April 2020. Read more: Graphic design in film: the ultimate guide Check out these incredible movie posters for films that never happened The 12 best London Underground posters View the full article