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Working in the creative industries is undeniably inspiring. However that doesn't mean designers are exempt from creative block or not subject to the daily grind of life. When it comes to keeping your creative mojo, life experiences can provide huge amounts of inspiration, and so just imagine the impact upping sticks and moving to a different country to study could have on your creativity. This may seem like a wild idea, which could potentially take you massively out of your comfort zone. But what if we told you the opportunity to do short-term study in some of the most creative cities in the world was not only possible, but easy and affordable. Shillington offers three month (full time) and nine month (part time) graphic design courses in London, Manchester, Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane and New York. Fast-paced and industry-focussed, the short-term study on offer will arm you with a polished portfolio and all the skills to hit the design industry running. And it's a cinch to apply. There are lots of visa options that allow you to study design abroad. Research your options – it’s probably easier and more affordable than you think. "I studied on the Working Holiday Visa (Subclass 417), which allows you to enrol in a program for up to three months and work up to a year – it made perfect sense for the full time course, " says Lenny Kai Yang who left his home in Toronto to study at Shillington in Brisbane. Design student Lenny Kai Yang struggling with his decision to study in Brisbane A once-in-a-lifetime opportunity So it's super-easy to do and affordable, so what's holding you back? If it's taking that leap off faith and heading off to a destination unknown, we get it. It's a scary and daunting prospect. But so much more than that it's hugely exciting and a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to help you become a professional, world-savvy creative. “Jump in and go for it. I believe anyone will benefit from studying abroad. It is a great experience to step out of your comfort zone and be surrounded by new people and new adventures. You will learn so much about yourself and it is a real opportunity to rethink your priorities and where you want to go in life!” says Henriette van Baren, a former student who left Amsterdam for a three-month course at Shillington New York. Speaking of New York, Chrystal Christie is another student who decided to leave sunny Sydney and get a student visa to study design for three months full-time at Shillington's Big Apple campus. Here's a snapshot of her adventure and how the city's vibrancy inspired her as a student of design. If all of this isn't enough to give you itchy feet (are you a robot?), these interviews with past students who have studied abroad will have you planning your own epic adventure in no time. Shillington student Robyn Hunt was initially apprehensive when she took the decision to move from Cape Town to study in Sydney. "If I think of my Shillington class, we were a super weird mixture of people, so much so that on the first day I panicked a little bit to be honest," she says. "But after a week we’d all become such great friends and it was truly the most supportive and encouraging class you could ever wish for.” Babeth Olde Hanter, who moved from the Netherlands to study in Manchester had a similarly positive experience. "At Shillington I could combine living abroad with an intensive three-month course that would prepare me for a job in the creative industry. I have fantastic memories of my time in Manchester, and it changed my career!" To find out more about studying abroad, head over to the Shillington website, it could be the best creative career decision you ever make. View the full article

Wouldn’t you like to earn more money in your freelance career, without working harder, and preferably even doing less work? Well, who wouldn’t? And so if a world-class business coach offered you free sessions to help get you there, you’d jump at the chance… right? Well that probably isn’t going to happen, but you know what? There are so many podcasts out there right now that offer pretty much the same thing, in the comfort of your own home, and they’re all free to download. So why aren’t you taking advantage? One reason may be because there’s just so many to choose from, you don’t really know where to start. In which case, let us help you out. Get started with these five brilliant podcasts for freelancers, and you’ll soon be more inspired, informed and motivated to make changes in your approach to freelance work, that will boost your income, well-being and happiness levels to new heights. 01. The Accidental Creative The Accidental Creative podcast helps you build your freelance practice in short and snappy chunks Most freelancer designers and illustrators will immediately identify with the title of this podcast. You didn’t originally set out to be a business person, you just wanted to make cool stuff. Freelance turned out to be the best way of doing so and pay the bills, so you basically became an entrepreneur by accident. And you often feel like you don’t know what you’re doing, when it comes to setting fees, billing clients, and so on. The huge audience for the Accidental Creative podcast stands testament to the fact that you’re not alone. And so around once a day, host Todd Henry shares his insights on how to build your freelance practice, to help you become successful both in terms of income and work-life balance. Most episodes come in the form of a monologue from Henry. These typically address a single topic (such as how to keep your passion burning, or the gap between ambition and ability) or answer a question set by a listener (such as “How can I stay creative in the midst of a plateau in my work career, instead of always daydreaming of switching jobs?”). There are also occasional interviews with authors and speakers, such as Austin Kleon and Laura Gassner Otting. Best of all, episodes are generally short, some coming in at just three or four minutes, but are still packed with useful information, as not a second is wasted. The tone is calm and measured, so if you’re looking for someone hyper to get you fired up, you’ll need to go elsewhere (we might suggest Gary Vaynerchuk). But if you just want practical advice that you can act on to improve your freelance operation, there’s none finer. Head over to the website, and there’s a huge amount of episodes to choose from, with archives on the website going back to 2007. 02. Clients from Hell The Clients from Hell podcast is laser-focused on helping you improve your client relationships Clients from Hell is a popular website that delivers what it says on the label: a cathartic collection of anonymously contributed client horror stories from designers. If you've never checked it out, we'd urged you to do so when you've got a few minutes to spare; it really is a lot of fun. You might expect the Clients from Hell podcast to be more of the same, but actually that would get a bit wearing. So its good news that Clients From Hell editor Bryce Bladon has taken a slightly different direction with this show, and one that works brilliantly. In each of the episodes, which appear roughly every two weeks, Bladon and a rotating panel of guests address the current landscape for creative professionals, providing insights into survival and exploring the future of the self-employed. That's something that a lot of other podcasts do, of course. But the secret sauce here is the laser-focus on clients (who are, after all, the people who pay our wages), combined with the mix of humour and helpfulness that's in the DNA of the original Clients from Hell website. Recent episodes, for example, have included Annabelle King's tips for pitching to clients, Alison Knott on recognising your ideal client, Ami Sanyal on how to get clients on board with value-based pricing... you get the idea. If you feel underpaid or undervalued by your freelance clients, or simply want to find better ones, then this is the podcast that can help. 03. The Freelance Podcast The Freelance Podcast looks at how when and how to leap into freelancing Launched in 2014, episodes of The Freelance Podcast appear infrequently, and there hasn't actually been an episode since last October. So why is it on this list? Quite simply, because rather than focusing on experienced and successful freelancers, this show addresses the specific question of how and when to leap into freelancing, and how to survive your first months. Its casual and likeable host RJ McCollam started it because, when he was starting out: "I found [that] some of the advice was a little beyond where I was at in my journey to make the jump to a full time freelancer. That is where The Freelance Podcast jumps in and tries to bridge the gap." And it does so brilliantly, with each episode examining in a friendly, approachable way the nuts and bolts of topics like how to put together a portfolio, the benefits of working in a niche, and the importance of establishing a freelance routine. Some episodes feature guests; in others McCollam answers listeners' questions. He's recorded a total of 42 episodes to date, between 2014 and 2018, but you don't need to listen to each of these in order. Instead, we'd suggest scrolling through the list on the website and picking the ones that are most relevant to you. 04. Being Boss The Being Boss hosts will inspire you to be more entrepreneurial in your freelance career When you go freelance, you automatically become an entrepreneur. Yet many freelancers don't feel comfortable with this. If that applies to you, you need a regular dose of inspiration and advice from two successful independent creatives. In short, you need to listen to the Being Boss podcast. Episodes appear around one a week, and last about an hour. This gives presenters Emily Thompson and Kathleen Shannon ample opportunity to dig into the habits, routines, marketing tactics, strategies and processes that can help you make money as a creative freelancer, entrepreneur or side hustler. The pair interview bosses such as Brené Brown, Brooke Castillo, Marie Forleo, Ramit Sethi, Danielle LaPorte, Chalene Johnson, Mike Michalowicz of Profit First and Melissa Hartwig of Whole30, to get insights that can be shared with creatives across the board. They also discuss topics between themselves, such as the importance of rest for productivity, how to overcome your self-limiting beliefs, and the best ways to collaborate with others. The tone is light, upbeat and positive throughout, and you're sure to leave every episode feeling re-energised and full of ideas to boost your own freelance business. 05. The Six Figure Freelancer Audio Course Want to earn a six figure income as a freelancer? Here's how Part of the charm of your typical podcast lies in being casual, chatty and frequently meandering off topic. But if you're truly pumped to develop your freelance career, particularly if money is a great motivator, then you might like to try a different kind of show. This Six Figure Freelancer audio course, created in collaboration with AND CO from Fiverr, is squarely aimed at explaining "exact formulas for success in starting growing, and maintaining a six-figure freelance career". With a total absence of waffle or idle chat, each of the 12 episodes packs as much practical, actionable advice as possible into around 20 minutes. In each one, host Juan Felipe chats to experts like Ryrob, Kaleigh Moore, Paul Jarvis, Justin Gignac and Dane Sanders, about topics including "How to Charge 10 Times More Than Your Competition", "How to Get High-Paying Clients No Matter Where You’re Based", and "How to Get Big Clients to Trust You Enough to Pay You". These goals may all sound ambitious, and of course they are. But the experts all explain in simple terms how they did it, and how you can do it too. And think of it this way: if you learn just one tip that helps you increase your earnings as a result, can you afford not to listen to this podcast? Read more: How to be a thrifty freelancer 9 things you need to sort before going freelance How to manage your freelance cashflow View the full article

Whether you’re new to Photoshop or a seasoned professional, Adobe Stock proves a welcome addition to anybody’s creative arsenal. Integrated directly into Creative Cloud platforms, Adobe Stock offers much more than your average stock library, allowing you to search, test, license and apply images without ever having to leave the app window. As well as offering millions of royalty-free images, Adobe Stock has expanded their library to include other media types such as 3D models, vectors and video. And all this can speed up your workflow considerably. In this tutorial we will be taking advantage of their artist-designed templates to create a striking poster in a fraction of the time it would take to design one from scratch. And note that many of these excellent templates are free, so there's no reason not to start giving it a try yourself! 01. Choose a template When choosing a template it’s important to consider what style will complement your own content Begin by opening Photoshop CC and creating a new document. The New Document window displays a small selection of the templates available, but you will have to visit the Adobe Stock website to access their full range. You can do this easily by typing a search term into the bar at the bottom and pressing enter, which opens the results in a new browser window. When choosing a template it’s important to consider what style will complement your own content, the type of images required and how much copy will need to fit in. You should aim to have a poster that will stand out, while presenting your information in a clear and readable format. Once you’re happy with your choice, click on the template and license it. You will now be able to access this template in Photoshop’s New Document window. I chose a basic but versatile template that could be applied to a range of different projects, in this case an ‘urban fitness’ campaign. 02. Get to grips with the template All elements of the template are fully customisable and should be altered to suit your own content. Open the template in Photoshop and save your document as a .psd file, assigning it a new name. If your computer is missing any of the document fonts then a window will appear allowing you to activate them with Adobe Typekit (available to any Creative Cloud subscription). With all the layers named and grouped, it should be a simple task to work out which layer controls which object on the canvas. You will notice a layer at the top called ‘bleed’. This is a print term used to describe the area around the page that will be trimmed off by printing, allowing space for printing errors. You should turn this off when outputting the final image or it could show up in the final print. Although the template is a good starting point, you should not view it as the finished article. Like any normal Photoshop document all elements are fully customizable and should be altered to suit your own content. 03. Add your own text You can adjust the size, leading and kerning of type, and even change the font if you wish Start to populate the document with your own copy, using the Type tool to click into the text boxes. Although the typefaces are specifically chosen for the template you may have others you wish to try, especially if you have brand guidelines to follow. All the text in my template was set to ‘Alternate Gothic No3 D’ and I had no reason to change it. However I did adjust the size, leading and kerning where necessary to fit my new copy into the space. Kerning tends to be less of a problem when using an all-caps, condensed font like Alternate Gothic. I removed hyphenation from the text in the hexagons and edited the text down to fill the space, making sure it was vertically centered in the shape. If you’re worried about making changes and losing anything then you can always duplicate a layer and make it invisible, by clicking the eye icon to the left. This leaves you with an identical layer to edit, while retaining the original as a back-up. Alternatively you can rely on the undo option or history panel to retrace your steps. 04. Choosing images Finding the right image is a simple task with Adobe’s integrated library This is where Adobe Stock really comes into its own. Finding the right image is a simple task with Adobe’s integrated library, which allows you to browse and access a huge number of images in a matter of seconds. With Adobe Stock there’s no need to switch back and fourth, from app to website, when you can test multiple images directly on your design with low-res samples, before making any final decisions on purchasing. In this template the large hexagonal hero image is a Smart Object, which can be accessed by double-clicking on the layer thumbnail. I searched for words like ‘exercise’, ‘fitness’ and ‘workout’ in the Library, dragging different test images onto my canvas before deciding on one I liked. I licensed the image and placed the high-res version into the Smart Layer file. Once this is saved and closed, the Smart Layer should automatically update in the main document, but you can also right-click on the layer and select ‘Update Modified Content’. 05. Final changes I add a splash of colour to the background, changing it from white to purple Once your images and text are placed it’s time for some fine tuning. Try to balance the structure, giving each element enough space to breathe as well as respecting vertical and horizontal alignments. You can then think about adding the personal touch and unleashing your creative side. My first change was to add a splash of colour to the background, changing it from white to purple. This meant that the main headline was getting lost so I changed it to white, adding a hard Drop Shadow and switching its blending mode from Multiply to Normal. Adding an inner shadow to the main hexagon brought it away from the headline and added depth to the design. The colour of the girl’s shirt complemented the purple nicely so I used the eyedropper to select it and apply to some of the smaller hexagons. With this complete it was just a matter of saving a high-res jpg and sending to the printers, since the document was already set up for print (300dpi and CMYK). View the full article

As we head into day two of Amazon Prime 2019, it's fair to say we've seen some incredible Prime Day deals so far. From big savings on Wacom tablets and sought-after marker pens, to huge discounts on the iPad Pro and Surface Pro 6, now's the perfect time to bag a creative bargain. If you missed any deals yesterday, never fear, we've listed all the best ones for you right here, and will keep adding them as they appear so make sure to bookmark this page. The Amazon Prime Day event ends tonight (16 July) but there's still plenty of time to get a great Prime Day deal. In order to get all the best Prime Day deals, you need to be an Amazon Prime subscriber. If you're not a member, sign up for a 30-day free trial now, and you can always cancel if it's not for you. There are already lots of incredible Prime Day deals for designers and artists in this year's event, with more rolling out over the next few hours. If you have been waiting for the moment to shell out for a new laptop or graphics tablet, there's likely to be an Amazon Prime deal that will make the investment a little easier on the wallet. In past years we've also seen discounts on creative software (including Adobe Creative Cloud) and nifty gadgets to make your design life easier. You'll find all the best Prime Day deals in our roundup below. Excitingly, we're seeing other retailers getting involved with the event this year, with people like Walmart and John Lewis offering some top deals too. Jump to the category relevant for you now using the boxout opposite, or scroll down to browse all the best deals. Get a free 30-day trial of Amazon Prime: US | UK | Canada | Australia | India US: Computer accessory deals UK: Computer accessory deals Back to the top US: The best computer, laptop and tablet deals UK: The best computer, laptop and tablet deals Back to the top Amazon Prime Day 2019: software and apps Back to the top Graphics tablet deals Back to the top Amazon Prime Day 2019: cameras Back to the top Prime Day deals: Audio and headphones Amazon Prime Day deals: The best of the rest Back to the top How to get the best Amazon Prime Day 2019 deals Sticking with us is a good strategy: we’ll spend the days up to and including Prime Day scouring Amazon for the best genuine deals for creatives. We’d also recommend doing your homework before the day itself, deciding on what you want and what you want to pay for it, and ignoring any deals that aren’t on your shopping list: a deal is hardly a bargain if it ends up gathering dust in a corner of your studio. Beware stunt pricing, too. To see if a deal is really a good deal, we’d recommend using CamelCamelCamel.com to check its Amazon price history and PriceSpy.co.uk to see what other retailers are selling it for: while many deals are genuine, some sellers increase their prices just before big events so that the discounts appear to be much bigger than they actually are. When is Amazon Prime Day 2019? Prime Day 2019 is due to run for 48 hours, from Monday 15 to Tuesday 16 July. Prime Day deals started rolling in at a minute past midnight on Monday 15 and will end at 11:59pm on Tuesday 16, wherever you are in the world. In the US, deals start at midnight Pacific time, and 3am on the East coast. Is there an Amazon Prime Day 2019 in Australia? Yes there is. Amazon.com.au has a holding page prepped and ready to go. We'd expect Prime Day Australia to be a bigger event in 2019 than its 2018 debut. Last year Australian shoppers were only offered 340 deals, compared to 2,800 in the US, and the focus was on smart home and gaming devices. In 2019 we’re expecting a wider range of products and many more offers. View the full article

Amazon Prime day is well underway now, as our post on the best Prime Day deals shows. Not ones to miss out on all the action, today Adobe has revealed an incredible deal of its own, reducing its annual Creative Cloud subscription to users in the US and Canada by a whopping 43%. That means instead of costing $52.99 per month, you'll pay just $29.99! The price reduction applies to the entire Adobe Creative Cloud suite, which encompasses Adobe's 20+ applications, including photo editing favourite Photoshop and digital artists' go-to Illustrator. You'll also find video editing software Premiere Pro, web prototyping tool Adobe XD and motion effects creator After Effects among the impressive toolset. Not in the US or Canada? Take a look at our guide to the best Adobe deals, which we update with all the best offers when they go live. > Get Adobe Creative Cloud All Apps with 43% off As if that wasn't enough, when you buy Adobe's full package you're also getting 100GB of cloud storage (with the option to upgrade to 10TB) and premium features like Adobe Portfolio, Adobe Fonts, and Adobe Spark. And if you'd like to include Adobe Stock too, then you can get Adobe All Apps + Adobe Stock for just $59.98 – reduced from $82.98. The programmes are fully integrated, so you can switch between them (and jump from one device to another) seamlessly – whether you’re out and about or in the studio. Built-in templates help you jump-start your designs, while step-by-step tutorials will help you sharpen your skills and get up to speed quickly. This deal will be available until 19 July 2019, so if you're in the US and Canada and want to save big on Adobe's entire suite of creative software, grab it before it's gone. Related articles: 60 top-class Photoshop tutorials The best 4K monitors for designers The best web hosting services for designers View the full article

Here at Creative Bloq, we're always on the lookout for Apple Pencil deals. But it probably won't surprise you to know we almost never find any. Apple products are notoriously difficult to find discounts on, but none more so than its two sought-after styluses. But that all changed today with Amazon Prime now in full swing. Wait for it, guys, these deals are going to blow your socks off. As of right now, you can save a whole £5 on the price of a 1st Apple Pencil. Yes, you read that right. Five. Pounds. Okay, okay so we're being sarcastic. It's hardly one to write home (or a blog post some might argue) about. But now priced at £84 (as opposed to £89 on the Apple website) this discount make this the cheapest we have ever seen this model Apple Pencil. And that's not the end of the excitement. With double the discount of the first, the 2nd gen Apple Pencil is currently discounted by £10, again making this the lowest cost we've ever come across for this model. Once you've taken advantage of this, ahem, little deal, be sure to check out the incredible iPad Pro discounts available right now too. We may scoff at these discounts, but considering these items are almost never reduced, anything is better than nothing, right? Here are full details on how to get your hands on these super savings. Don't all rush at once... Not in the UK? Here are the best Apple Pencil deals in your area: Read more: The best tablets with a stylus for drawing and note-taking The best drawing tablet Rare Copic Marker deal is unmissable View the full article

An independent researcher earned a $30,000 bug bounty after discovering a weakness in the mobile recovery process. View the full article

It's Amazon Prime day and we've spotted some of the best Prime Day deals there have ever been. This Dyson Pure Cool Air Purifier and Fan has 27% off, down from $449 to just $329.99. This is an awesome deal, saving loads on the RRP and the cheapest deal on this fan around at the moment. It's guaranteed to keep you cool when working on those last-minute deadlines during the summer months. You do have to be an Amazon Prime member to take advantage of this deal so sign up here if you need to. Dyson is a tech giant that often comes with giant prices. But this deal takes the sting out so you know you're getting a quality piece of kit at an amazing price. This fan is as high-tech as they get. Wi-Fi enabled so it can be controlled by Alexa, it senses pollutants in the air and reports on air quality on its LCD screen – in fact it's the only fan that's been designed and tested to improve the air quality in your room. It oscillates at 350 degrees and even has a night time mode that includes quiet settings (great if you like to work in total silence). You need to be an Amazon Prime member to qualify for the deals available this Prime Day. It's super easy to sign up, with no strings attached, and the 30-day free trial is the ideal way to take advantage of the offer. You can cancel at any time during your subscription without charge. Get a free 30-day trial of Amazon Prime: US | UK | Canada | Australia | India . Not in the US? Don't worry, there are some brilliant Dyson fan deals around the world, details of which you can find here: Read more: The best Amazon device deals on Prime Day 2019 Today could be the best day ever to buy an iPad Pro This standing desk deal is here to save your posture View the full article

There's no better time than Amazon Prime Day to give your desktop setup a bit of an overhaul. While it's natural to go hunting for a bargain monitor or maybe a new laptop, don't overlook your mouse when you're checking out the best Prime Day deals. A good-quality mouse can make a world of difference to your workflow, giving you greater precision and comfort, and you'd be hard pushed to find a better desktop mouse than Logitech's MX Master 2S wireless model. It came top of our list of the best mice for designers, and in this stunning Prime Day spotlight deal you can get it with 60 per cent knocked off the asking price. Even at full price, the MX Master 2S is a hell of an attractive proposition. It features a 4000 DPI precision sensor that tracks on almost any surface, including glass, so you're not shackled to a mouse mat, and thanks to a pair of scroll wheels you can navigate huge image files in any direction you like. The best mouse for Mac in 2019 Got more than one computer in your workflow? Control them all with one mouse! It features an advanced hand-sculpted ergonomic design that supports your hand and wrist in a comfortable and natural position, and if you use more than one computer to work with then you'll love its cross-computer control option. With this you can use the MX Master 2S across up to three computers, and even copy text, images and files between them, using Logitech's FLOW technology. The Logitech MX Master 2S connects to your computer wirelessly, using either Logitech's Unifying receiver or Bluetooth, and its rechargeable battery will keep going for up to 70 days on a single charge. Get a free 30-day Amazon Prime trial: US | UK | Canada | Australia | India Remember that you need to be a Prime member to take advantage of this deal. If you're not sure it's for you in the long term, sign up for a no-strings 30-day free trial, and you can always cancel after Prime Day. Related articles: The best graphics cards in 2019 This standing desk deal is here to save your posture The best ultrawide monitor in 2019 View the full article

We've already seen plenty of amazing offers on creative gear courtesy of the best Prime Day deals. And now Amazon's enhancing our lives even further with this discount on FlexiSpot's standing desks, which have been more than halved in price. So if your current workspace or studio desk is giving you backache, now's the time to upgrade as they've been reduced from $329.99 to just $159.60. Have you signed up to Amazon Prime yet? You need to be a member if you want to claim this 52% discount on the FlexiSpot desk (sign up for a free trial here.). There are lots of different types of standing desks out there, but FlexiSpot's are a cut above most models thanks to a gas spring hovering system. This impressive mechanism allows the user to switch between the sitting and standing positions easily with just a light squeeze of the handles. Not the right model for you? Don't worry, there are a few other similar offers this Prime Day. Take a look at all the FlexiSpot standing desk deals here. Considering that we spend most of our lives at work, it makes sense that you want to get down to business comfortably. And with the FlexiSpot desk, you get to do exactly that. Boasting 12 different height levels. this FlexiSpot desk offers degrees of customisation that cheaper models simply don't. You don't even need to make drastic changes to your workspace to start using this standing desk converter. With straight up and down movement, the FlexiSpot workstation rises and folds vertically, and doesn't go beyond the bounds of its own footprint. What's more, this 35" model comes with a larger keyboard tray. So if you're working with a larger ergonomic keyboard to keep your wrists in good shape, it'll fit in comfortably on this workstation. If you're want to make your workspace even more productive, head over to our guide to the best office stationery for working from home. As is the case with all Amazon Prime Day deals, you need to be signed up to Amazon Prime to claim them. Signing up is free and easy, and you can stay a subscriber for as long as you want. So if you just want to sign up for these desks, then unsubscribe before the first fee arrives, you're free to do so. Get a free 30-day trial of Amazon Prime: US | UK | Canada | Australia | India Fore more deals on adjustable standing desks, take a look at how all of the day's offers compare with our links below. Related articles: Ergotron Workfit-TL desk review The best office chair of 2019 The best desks in 2019 for your home office or studio View the full article

Creating a WebGL 3D landing page is one way to make a great first impression with your audience. With WebGL, you can deliver high quality visual content right in the browser. You can do it without plugins or any special requirements. All modern browsers support WebGL, along with mobile devices and tablets. WebGL enables you to create incredible 3D scenes. It can power webVR experiences, manipulate video, render graphics shaders and much more. In this tutorial, you’ll be making a landing page for the fictional film studio, Relative Studios. The concept is dramatic and visually engaging, as a mysterious object reflects and rotates in response to mouse interaction. Particles whiz around it, changing colour as they move. You’ll work through each of the steps to create this interactive page, allowing you to generate your own for your projects (for further inspiration, see our post on the best landing pages). You’ll use only the included features of Three.js, the powerful 3D rendering library for the web. You can use your own images as textures to make it unique. You’ll also learn about utilising meshes, lighting and textures to enhance surface detail, how to use environmental maps, and how to add layers for depth and interest. There should be more than enough to get started, and plenty to fuel your next projects. Before you start, download the files for this tutorial. 01. Basic HTML setup To begin, you need somewhere to see your 3D scene. Set up a basic HTML file and include a link to three.js. This can either be hosted externally or added from the three.js repository here:. Add some simple CSS to make the page full screen and remove any scroll bars. Save your file to your local webserver, so you can serve up the HTML when ready to test. Add the following code to get started. 02. Add global variants You’ll need some variables for references throughout the rest of the code. Set those up now. This will include an array to hold particles, a 't' variable for your Tetrahedron, mouse, raycaster and lights. Inside your script tags, start by adding the following code. 03. Add a scene, camera and render We need to first add a scene which will contain all our objects. Then we add a camera that can move around within it, panning, tilting and moving as we need. The first attribute is the field of view. The second is the aspect ratio. You can also define the near and far clipping planes in the third and fourth attributes. Last, add the renderer, which handles drawing the scene to the canvas. In the script tag add the following code. 04. Add a spotlight Next, you need to add a light to the scene. Three.js comes with a variety of lights including point, directional, ambient and spotlights. Use a spotlight for this. It will give you position and directional properties, and allow you to cast shadows if you wish later. Add the following code next to add the spotlight. 05. Add an animation loop An animation loop, sometimes called a 'render loop', is called ideally 60 times per second. Film runs at 24 frames per second (FPS) and this is fast enough to trick the eye into seeing constant motion without interruption. In computer animation, we aim for at least 30 FPS, but ideally 60FPS. This ensures very smooth visual performance even if frames are dropped periodically. We bind this animation loop to the requestAnimationFrame function, which does two things. First, it ensures the browser is ready to render the next frame. It also means animations can pause rendering when the user is no longer viewing that browser tab, Add this code to render the scene in an animation loop: 06. Load a ground texture You can find a variety of free textures online Next, you’ll create a ground for the scene. To start, you need to load an image to use. Textures for things like ground and wall surfaces can be created by taking your own photos and carefully cropping adjusting edges in Photoshop CC. Just be sure they can tile nicely. To get started quickly, there are great libraries online as well, see our best on free textures. You can pick anything that will tile. This means the edges would blend together seamlessly if you laid them side by side. You can select something like tiles or stone for this. Notice that you use the texture wrap options to repeat the wrapping for this. This example uses 12x12 repeating. Adjust this to suit your image once you test the scene. 07. Create a ground material Three.js includes a variety of material types for you to use. Materials are thought of as the skin that covers a 3D object. You can use basic materials that do not react to light or phong or lambert shader materials that do. You can use your own custom shader materials as well. For this ground, use a Physical material. It has a very realistic look, reacting to light very well. Use the texture you loaded as the diffuse map, and also as a bumpMap if you don’t have a specific texture for that. 08. Create a ground mesh Free textures can be used to create meshes like this When we combine the material (skin) with the geometry that defines the shape of the 3D object, we create a mesh. For the ground, you need a simple plan. The material shader and texture will create the illusion of complex surface detail. Add the following code to create your ground mesh, rotate to a nice angle and position it to below the camera. Be sure to run your code after this to see how it looks. Adjust any code you need to dial it in. 09. Load an objective Next, you’ll add a central 3D object for focal interest. This is the star of your scene, so choose a texture you like to cover it. Note: You will make this object highly reflective, so the texture you load here is a more subtle look than the ground was. 10. Create an environment map Map out what's happening in your scene using a cube map Next, create an environment around your object that will be reflected on its surface. You could also add this to the scene as the scene.background property if you wish. To load an environment, you use a CubeTextureLoader. The images you use should be six images that skin the inside of your cube to form a seamless image, called cube maps. 11. Add tetrahedon This tetrahedron is one of three.js' default geometries Three.js comes with many default geometries you can use for your scenes. One of the cooler ones is the Tetrahedron. It takes a radius and a 'detail' parameter to define the number of faces of the object. Add one to your scene, with the following code. 12. Add rotation and camera target To make sure the camera is always looking at your main object, you use the camera.lookAt function. You can also add some ambient rotation to your object as well. Update your animate function code to look like this. 13. Add particles loop Next, add some ambient particles to the scene. These will blend nicely with the foreground video loop you’ll add later, as well as being interactive. Add a simple 'for' loop to hold the code you’ll use to create multiple particles. 14. Create particle mesh The first thing to do is create the particle object. You could do this with spheres, sprites, or any object you wish. For now, try making them simple spheres. Inside your for loop add the following code. 15. Set random position and distance The particles will orbit the central object and should be randomly positioned so they fill the space nicely and have an organic look. Add the following code to set an irregular position and then assign a constant distance for each particle. 16. Set up angles for orbits To make animating the orbits faster, add the angle constants for the orbits, and store them as a property of the particle. Add the following code to define these random content angles. 17. Add particle to scene and collection Add your particles to your scene Lastly, add the particle to the scene and to the objects array you defined earlier. This will make iterating all the particles easy later on. 18. Add animation to particles Next, you need to update the position and rotation of your particle objects. These orbit at a constant distance from the scene centre. Add the following code to your animate function. 19. Add a title Next, add a title in the centre of the screen – a name to introduce your brand. Letter-spacing for titles gives a great cinematic look. Use any font/style you like, but look at film title references for inspiration. See our list of free fonts for a list of our favourite downloadable fonts. First add the DOM element for your title. Add this after the script tags before the closing body tag. Add the following styles for your title to your style tags at the top of your file. 20. Add a video loop Don't forget to set your video to 'muted' A nice trick to create depth to your landing is to add a small video loop. You can use smoke, dust or particles. These are widely available online, or part of a wide number of video and filmmaking packages. Add the following video tag after your H1 tag. Note that you want to set it to 'muted' and autoplay. This will also allow the video to play on mobile devices as well online. To style up the video, add the following CSS to your styles at the head of your page. 21. Add letter-boxing Letter-boxing restricts the width of your interface To really give your landing page a cinematic style, add some letter boxes to the page. Start by adding the div elements for this. Then update your styles to add styles for these two black bars. You can adjust these styles to your taste and needs as well. This article originally appeared in issue 287 of Web Designer. Buy issue 287 or subscribe here. Read more: Web components: the ultimate guide How to create a layered parallax effect How to add animation to SVG via CSS View the full article

Making artwork digitally is all well and good, but sometimes you need that unmistakable feel of actually creating something physical. A fantastic way to do this is with a set of top-quality markers, and they don't come much better than Copic's. Copic Markers are the go-to marker for top Manga artists and other pro creatives, and among today's great Prime Day deals you can save over £200 on a Copic Marker 72 piece set. Refillable with replaceable nibs, they're high quality and reliable illustrating tools built to provide a lifetime of use. With a chisel tip at one end and a brush tip at the other – with plenty of other tip size available to purchase separately – plus the option to use them as part of an airbrushing system, they're insanely versatile. Create a character using Copic markers Copic Markers are refillable and built to last a lifetime What they're not, though, is particularly cheap, which is why this Amazon Prime Day lightning deal is one you won't want to miss. A set of 72 Copic Markers would normally set you back £439, but for the next few hours you can pick one up for just £237.88. Not an Amazon Prime member? No problem – simply sign up here for a free 30-day trial. If colour precision matters to you then a set of Copic markers is a must. Copic uses computerised colour matching and strict manufacturing standards to ensure colour consistency across every batch, so you can be sure that when you refill your Copic markers they'll deliver exactly the same hues as they did when you bought them. Copic ink is quick-drying, non-toxic and permanent, and each bottle will refill your marker up to nine times, so there's little danger of running out of colour when you're halfway through your latest work. Whether you're looking to expand your marker collection or just getting started and want to hit the ground running, this set is a must-have bargain that you won't want to miss. Get a free 30-day trial of Amazon Prime: US | UK | Canada | Australia | India. Related articles: The best pens for artists in 2019 How to draw a character in pen and ink The best pencils for colouring, drawing and sketching View the full article

Amazon Prime Day 2019 is well underway, and this means that you can pick up massive bargains thanks to the best Prime Day deals. And when it comes to big discounts on tablets, this deal on the Samsung Galaxy Tab S3 won't be beat. That's because Amazon has knocked down the price of the tablet to just $369.99. That's a mega saving of $180! Don't forget, if you want to grab this amazing discount, you need to be an Amazon Prime member (sign up here). We've been keeping our eyes peeled for the biggest discounts on certain products, and this Samsung Galaxy Tab S3 offer is the best we've seen. By trimming 33% off its regular price of$547.99, Amazon has made this device more affordable than ever. If you've been interested in picking up this tablet before, you'll likely know that it comes with a S-pen stylus at no extra cost and that it boasts an HDR ready screen. It might not come with a keyboard, but with the amount you're saving with this Amazon deal, your extra pennies could easily go towards one. With its elegant glass design, 32GB of internal storage (which can easily be given a boost thanks to the microSD card slot), and intuitive display, the Samsung Galaxy Tab S3 is thought of as Android's first worthy competitor to the iPad Pro 9.7. And while it's been criticised for being as expensive as an iPad Pro, this isn't a problem for the next couple of days thanks to the massive Amazon Prime Day price-cut. If this isn't quite the tablet deal for you, you might find what you're looking for in our guide to the best Android tablets in 2019. Have you signed up to Amazon Prime yet? It's the only way you can claim the amazing Amazon Prime Day discounts. Luckily, signing up is really easy and it won't cost you a penny when you join for a free trial. Once you've placed your order you can leave at any time in order to avoid those subscription fees. Of course, if you decide to stay signed up, you get get to enjoy Prime service month after month. Get a free 30-day trial of Amazon Prime: US | UK | Canada | Australia | India After some more Samsung Galaxy Tab S3 deals in your region? Scroll down to the links below and check out all the current offers. Read more: The best laptops for graphic design View the full article

Brand new web design tools and resources can help us to work smarter and faster, so its vital that we stay on top of the hottest new releases and updates. This month, we've got a varied list that is sure to serve up something to improve your workflow or get you learning something new. Inspect elements with a pop-up box that appears on hover, use CSS Grid features without learning how to code it, edit Sketch files in Windows, browse hundreds of webapps without signing up... the means to do all of this and more are below. If you'd like even more options than those found here, check out our bumper piece on the best web design tools of 2019 so far. 01. Your Undivided Attention Learn why we need to move away from manipulative design patterns Your Undivided Attention is a fascinating podcast. This episode scrutinizes the use of design patterns that manipulate human psychological vulnerabilities to hijack your attention. The hosts consider how technology is used to manipulate our choices, and upcoming episodes will have experts on election hacking and the dynamics of cults. There’s currently an episode with a former CIA officer and White House advisor who, noticing the increasingly polarised nature of US politics, joined Facebook to see if she could help improve public discourse. “Things didn’t go as planned.” 02. Lunacy 4.0 Edit Sketch files in Windows Lunacy 4.0 is a free, native Windows graphic design application that works offline and supports .sketch files – it’s billed by the creators as "Sketch for Windows with design assets”. Assets include thousands of icons in 22 different styles, illustrations from top Dribbble artists and a huge library of photographs. If you need to work on Sketch files but don’t use a Mac, this could be for you. 03. SVG Colorizer Recolour a set of icons using any palette you like SVG Colorizer is a really useful tool that enables you to recolour icon sets with another palette so that they match your interface. You can upload your own icons and create your own palettes, or you can use icons and palettes that are already built in to the tool. If a colour within the icons needs to stay, you can lock it using the palette running along the bottom. The tool recolours your icons by matching the lightness and darkness in the original colouration so that your new colour scheme makes sense. 04. CSS Scan 2.0 Inspect elements on any site on the fly with this browser extension Instead of opening Dev Tools to inspect an element, you can use CSS Scan to view the CSS of any element you hover over – it appears in a pop-up view and you can copy all its rules with one click. CSS Scan is a browser extension that works on any website you visit in Chrome or Firefox (Safari support coming soon) and it’s great for finding out how your favourite sites are styled. You can use it to copy particular elements from themes or templates to adapt for your own use, and it’s great for debugging your own code. 05. Sizzy Instantly see how your design looks on multiple devices Sizzy is a browser for web designers and developers working on responsive designs – it simulates lots of different devices so your code edits will appear instantly across lots of screens. The interface is highly customisable so you can choose which devices are displayed and rearrange them as you like. You can search for a particular selector and all the screens will immediately scroll to it, and you can make full-site screenshots from all devices, or just particular ones. Another useful feature is the sync setting which lets you scroll through all the devices at once. 06. CSS Grid Generator Use powerful CSS Grid features without learning the code If you’re not using CSS Grid because you think it’s complicated to learn, CSS Grid Generator is a great way to dip your toe in the water. It allows you to use Grid features without having to learn how it all works. Set the numbers and units of your columns and rows, drag in the boxes to add your divs and this tool will generate the code for you. Your basic grid will be up and running quickly, and if you choose to explore the more advanced features of CSS Grid you can do so at your own pace. Click 'What does this project do?' on the bottom right to see some resource recommendations from the creator. 07. Webframe Browse inside hundreds of apps and compare their design and features For many people the first stage of building a web app is browsing around similar tools to see how things have already been done, which can be time-consuming as you often need to sign up before you can start exploring. Webframe gives you a faster way to do this. It’s a repository of screenshots from over 800 webapps that are organised into categories such as Landing, Pricing, Onboarding, Dashboards and so on, so you can see at a glance how other apps are handling these common features. Much of the material is usually only accessible after a sign-up, so it’s a big time-saver. 08. FYI product management resources Tune your marketing machine with these good templates If you’re a product maker, at some point you’re going to end up doing some kind of marketing to get what you’ve made in front of an audience. The creators of FYI product management resources have explored document apps such as Trello, Coda and Miro and selected the best templates and other resources to help you tune your marketing machine to perfection. Whatever software you’re using, there will be something for you, and they’re organised into categories so you can find just the right thing for the process you need to work on. 09. A11y_styled_form_controls Style your form controls and stay accessible Styling form controls such as radio buttons, checkboxes, range sliders etc. can be tricky, and the task is made even trickier if you want to keep things accessible for users of assistive technologies (you do). This repository of styled form controls can be used as a base for making things more stylish without messing up how your site is announced by screen readers or creating extra problems for any of your users. Each piece of code comes with a demo page and documentation that explains its use. 10. iro.js Slick colour picker made with SVG Iro.js is a HSV colour picker widget for JavaScript that the creator put together after becoming frustrated with existing widgets being bloated, overly dependent on other things and generally not up to scratch. Iro.js is beautifully designed and built with SVG so it looks great on any screen size. It works on all modern browsers and devices, including touchscreens, and has a small footprint with no extra detritus attached to it. It also supports hex, hsl and rgb colour formats. Read more: The hottest web design trends of 2019 The best web design jobs right now The future of web design View the full article

Amazon Prime Day has launched and there are some incredible Prime Day deals to be had. If you're a creative in the market for a shiny new graphics drawing tablet, then this Huion H610 Pro graphics tablet has 30% off right now. We rated this bit of kit the best Huion drawing tablet of 2019, too. It'll usually set you back $79, but the lightning deal cuts the full price down for Amazon Prime members to an attractive $55.59. Not an Amazon Prime member? Sign up for a free trial to claim this discount. This graphic drawing tablet is highly regarded by professionals who praise the size and the authentic paper-like feel of the drawing surface. Compatible with Windows 7 or later, Illustrator and Photoshop (and many other programs), the tablet is easy to use and could transform your digital art. And the fact it comes equipped with a pressure-sensitive pen, carrying bag and glove means you'll be fully kitted out. This deal is the cheapest around, especially given the accessories haul, so take advantage if you can. If you want to check out some alternatives, have a look at our roundup of the best drawing tablets of 2019. To qualify for the Prime Day deals, you have to be an Amazon Prime member. The free 30-day trial is the perfect way to get involved without spending a penny, as long as you remember to cancel the trial (without charge) at any time. Get a free 30-day trial of Amazon Prime: US | UK | Canada | Australia | India. Outside the US? Don't worry, see below where we've found some awesome Huion Graphic Drawing tablets for you wherever you are. Read more: The best drawing tablet for kids in 2019 The best laptops for graphic designers in 2019 The best graphics cards in 2019 View the full article

Amazon Prime is in full swing now and we've already found some of the best Prime Day deals we've ever seen. And if you're after an iPad Pro then this is your lucky day as there are some fantastic deals available, and not just at Amazon either. Walmart is offering this 10.5-inch iPad Pro model (512GB, WiFi) for just $699, and Amazon is offering the same deal, as well as a range of other models at bargain prices, including this 11-inch iPad Pro (256GB, WiFi) for $899. For the Amazon deals, you'll need to be a prime member (sign up here) but not so for the Walmart bargains. We've listed all the best iPad Pro deals below (see our general best iPad Pro deals roundup for more deals). And if you're in the US and don't have access to the Walmart deals, never fear as we've listed the best Prime Day bargains for you too. 11-inch iPad Pro deals on Amazon Prime Day (US) 11-inch iPad Pro deals on Amazon Prime Day (UK) 12.9-inch iPad Pro deals on Amazon Prime Day (US) 12.9-inch iPad Pro deals on Amazon Prime Day (UK) After a slightly older model? There are discounts on the 10.5-inch 2017 model available too: 10.5-inch iPad Pro deals on Amazon Prime Day (US) 10.5-inch iPad Pro deals on Amazon Prime Day (UK) Not signed up to Amazon Prime yet? Get a free 30-day trial of Amazon Prime: US | UK | Canada | Australia | India See more great iPad deals below: Read more: 19 best drawing apps for iPad The best stylus in 2019 The best ultrawide monitor in 2019 View the full article

It's Amazon Prime Day today, but that doesn't mean that all the best Prime Day deals are to be found on Amazon. And we've unearthed an absolutely cracking deal from Walmart that can net you an iPhone for half price. Let's get real for a bit, though. While Walmart can be the best place to go for good prices on the best smartphones, it's not about to knock 50 per cent off the price of a brand new model. Rather, this is a deal on a prepaid 32GB iPhone 6S – a bit long in the tooth, but still a decent little smartphone, especially if you're the sort of person who tends to end up dropping their phone down the toilet at some point or another. And while the iPhone 6S is ancient in smartphone years, at this price it's hard to say no. Walmart usually sells these for $299 on its own Straight Talk network, but today you can grab one for just $149 – an especially sweet deal, we're sure you'll agree. This 32GB iPhone 6S comes in Space Gray or Rose Gold, and features a 4.7-inch Retina display, a 12MP camera that'll do 4K video at 30fps, plus a 5MP FaceTime HD camera with Retina Flash for selfies and video chats. It uses TouchID for extra security, and it'll even work with Apple Pay – that's a lot of phone for your money, even if it's a little past its prime. And there's no need to worry about getting set up on a network - this prepaid iPhone 6S is good to go on Walmart's Straight Talk service, which enables you to get all the talking and data you need without a contract. Of course, if this bargain iPhone 6S simply isn't powerful enough for you, that's no problem; check out our our roundup of the best Walmart smartphones and you might find some other great savings online. Related articles: The best smartphone in 2019 5 top tips to improve your smartphone photos The 29 best iPhone apps for designers View the full article

Amazon Prime Day 2019 is here! The Creative Bloq team will be bringing you all the best Prime Day deals as soon as they go live, wherever you are in the world. This year's event runs for 48 hours (15-16 July). In order to get all the best Prime Day deals, you need to be an Amazon Prime subscriber. If you're not a member, sign up for a 30-day free trial now, and you can always cancel if it's not for you. There are already lots of incredible Prime Day deals for designers and artists in this year's event, with more rolling out over the next few hours. If you have been waiting for the moment to shell out for a new laptop or graphics tablet, there's likely to be an Amazon Prime deal that will make the investment a little easier on the wallet. In past years we've also seen discounts on creative software (including Adobe Creative Cloud) and nifty gadgets to make your design life easier. You'll find all the best Prime Day deals in our roundup below. Excitingly, we're seeing other retailers getting involved with the event this year, with people like Walmart and John Lewis offering some top deals too. Jump to the category relevant for you now using the boxout opposite, or scroll down to browse all the best deals. Get a free 30-day trial of Amazon Prime: US | UK | Canada | Australia | India Amazon Prime Day 2019: stuff for your studio Laptops: The best Prime Day deals Tablets: The best Prime Day deals Amazon Prime Day 2019: software and apps Last year we saw 20% discounts on Adobe Creative Cloud subscriptions: the Creative Cloud Photography Plan, which includes Lightroom CC, Photoshop CC, Spark Premium, Adobe Portfolio and 20GB of cloud storage, was down to $95.95 / £79.99 for a year’s subscription. This year, we're expecting more discounts. Keep your eyes peeled for more deals on our Adobe deals page. In the meantime, here's a top early deal from Walmart. Graphics tablet deals Amazon Prime Day 2019: cameras Prime Day deals: Audio and headphones Best Amazon Prime Day phone deals Prime Day art deals How to get the best Amazon Prime Day 2019 deals Sticking with us is a good strategy: we’ll spend the days up to and including Prime Day scouring Amazon for the best genuine deals for creatives. We’d also recommend doing your homework before the day itself, deciding on what you want and what you want to pay for it, and ignoring any deals that aren’t on your shopping list: a deal is hardly a bargain if it ends up gathering dust in a corner of your studio. Beware stunt pricing, too. To see if a deal is really a good deal, we’d recommend using CamelCamelCamel.com to check its Amazon price history and PriceSpy.co.uk to see what other retailers are selling it for: while many deals are genuine, some sellers increase their prices just before big events so that the discounts appear to be much bigger than they actually are. When is Amazon Prime Day 2019? Prime Day 2019 is due to run for 48 hours, from Monday 15 to Tuesday 16 July. Prime Day deals started rolling in at a minute past midnight on Monday 15 and will end at 11:59pm on Tuesday 16, wherever you are in the world. In the US, deals start at midnight Pacific time, and 3am on the East coast. Is there an Amazon Prime Day 2019 in Australia? Yes there is. Amazon.com.au has a holding page prepped and ready to go. We'd expect Prime Day Australia to be a bigger event in 2019 than its 2018 debut. Last year Australian shoppers were only offered 340 deals, compared to 2,800 in the US, and the focus was on smart home and gaming devices. In 2019 we’re expecting a wider range of products and many more offers. Also read: The best laptops for video editing The best drawing tablet 8 best external hard drives and SSDs for Mac and PC View the full article

It's Amazon Prime Day 2019 and the best Prime Day deals are ready to be snapped up. If you're after a monitor, you've come to the right place. This Samsung LC49HG90DMUXEN 49" Curved 1ms Ultra Wide is on sale for an incredible £809, a saving of almost £200! And if you're looking for a lower-spec model at a bargain price, there are plenty of other monitor deals around. Scroll down for our pick of the best bargains. To qualify for the awesome deals on Prime Day, you need to be an Amazon Prime member (sign up here). The Samsung LC49HG90DMUXEN 49" Curved 1ms Ultra Wide gaming monitor will usually set you back £999.99, but this incredible Prime Day deal slashes the price tag to just £809.19. That's a saving of 19%, or £190.80, by far the best deal around for this epic gaming monitor. The LC49HG90DMUXEN's 3840 x 1080 resolution is designed for gamers, which means it has a lot of features that make it ideal for designers to view their creations, too. The 49-inch curved display has an innovative 32:9 aspect ratio and is equivalent to standing two 27-inch 16:9 monitors side by side, with the screen curving around your line of vision. Its 144Hz refresh rate and 1ms response time also mean transitions are super-smooth, ensuring you can multi-task to your heart's content. To find out more about what ultra-wide monitors are all about, see our guide to the best ultra-wide monitors, or for more monitor options, see our best monitors post. If you're not quite ready to go ultra-wide, there are plenty of other fantastic Prime Day monitor deals on offer: Not a Prime member yet? You can sign up easily for a 30-day trial and can cancel at any time, so you're not tied into anything as long as you remember to cancel at the end of the 30 days. Get a free 30-day trial of Amazon Prime: US | UK | Canada | Australia | India You can also check out more monitor deals below: Read more: The best monitors for programming The best monitors for photo editing The best monitor calibrators View the full article

Anyone who works in a team knows that having the right tools is essential. There’s nothing more irritating than getting lost in an email chain full of different people, or trying to juggle an enormous to-do list with no way to assign or prioritise tasks. That’s where collaboration and productivity tools come in. But with so many different options out there, which one should you choose? monday.com is an intuitive and powerful collaboration tool for designers and creatives all over the world. Why’s it so good? It allows you to do the following: 01. Create a customised space monday.com is completely customisable and can be adjusted to meet your team’s needs. You can decide what tasks you want to focus on, and pick the template that best suits you, whether that’s Task Management, Project Roadmap, Content Calendar or Invoice Tracker. Have lots of different tasks and need lots of different templates? No problem. Use as many as you like. monday is also incredibly intuitive to use, so much so that once you start using it, you'll be hooked. It's easy to drag and drop elements within your template, and simple dropdown menus make selection easy. 02. See what's happening You can customise your dashboard to show you the information you need With so many different templates, things could get confusing, but monday has been built with the end user in mind. It offers big-picture control to allow you to see exactly what’s going on across multiple boards. Customisable dashboards can provide as much or as little info as you need, and give a quick and easy overview of projects. You can also view each template in a number of different ways, allowing you to visualise your progress in a way that makes sense to you, for example using Timeline, Chart or Kanban view. All these tools mean that collaborating, project planning and tracking are easier than ever. 03. Streamline your workflow monday’s integration with third party apps such as Dropbox, Google Drive, Slack and Excel allows you to manage your entire workflow in one place. File sharing is easy, and you can improve your efficiency by setting up automations and notifications – freeing you up to focus on the important stuff. Communicating with your team or clients within monday is also a breeze, as you can simply @mention a team or individual to get their attention. 04. Share your work easily All your project files can live in monday, ready to be shared with clients when needed Once your work is ready to show your client, you can share your board with them, even if they don’t have monday, using shareable boards. That means you can wave goodbye to having to reformat your work before you share it. 05. Access support, fast If you do get stuck, there’s no waiting around on the end of a phone for hours. monday’s email and phone support is available 24/7 and the response time is just 10 minutes – much faster than the industry norm. So even if you have a panicked question at 3am the night before your deadline, monday’s support team are on hand to help. To see how monday can help you and your team, try a free trial of monday today. View the full article

Amazon Prime Day 2019 is upon us and we have already found some incredible Prime Day deals that are not to be passed up. If the sound in your ears is in need of an upgrade, these Beats Solo3 Wireless On-Ear Headphone – Satin Gold, on offer with 44% off might be just what you're looking for. They've been discounted for Amazon Prime members for today only, from £249.99 to just £139.99 and Amazon reviews have awarded them a whopping four-and-a-half stars. Not an Amazon Prime member? Sign up for a free trial to claim this discount. These Beats headphones provide beautifully balanced and clear audio with longevity, as the wireless battery lasts an impressive 40 hours. The on-ear controls are great for busy creatives mid-flow on a project as you can control your music, take calls and activate Siri without using your hands. Want something slightly different? Check out our guide to the best wireless headphones in 2019. To qualify for the Amazon Prime Day deals, you need to sign up to become an Amazon Prime member, but there is a free 30-day trial period available – perfect for you to take advantage of Prime Day with no strings attached. You can cancel the subscription at any time without charge. Get a free 30-day trial of Amazon Prime: US | UK | Canada | Australia | India. If you'd like to see some other deals on Beats Solo3 Wireless Over-Ear Headphones, check out the ones listed below: Read more: The best noise-cancelling headphones for 2019 iPad Air 2019 review The best cheap iPad deals in 2019 View the full article

Amazon Prime Day has begun in the UK, and there's some amazing Prime Day deals to be had for artists and designers. One of the best we've seen so far is this incredible Sony A7 III deal, which sees a whopping £360 knocked off the price, taking the camera and 28-70mm lens kit down to £1,039. The Sony A7 II is a great all-rounder. The tech behind it includes a 24.3 megapixel, 35 mm full-frame Exmor CMOS sensor and BIONZ X image processing engine, which basically translates to super-powerful. The A7 II has been superseeded now by its younger sibling the A7 III, currently voted one of the best cameras in our round-up, however, the fact Sony is still producing this older model speaks volumes. The A7 II represents a fantastic option for photographers wanting to step their skills up to the next level. If the Sony A7 II doesn't quite suit, good news is there are lots more incredible Prime Day deals for photographers. Here are the best offers currently available: View the full article

Amazon Prime Day is now in full swing and we've already seen some amazing Prime Day deals. And this cracking XP-Pen Artist 16 Pro offer is no exception. Usually priced at £369.99, for a limited time you can now get your hands on it for just £220 – that's a whopping 41% discount! If you're not familiar with XP-Pen, the Japanese graphics tablet company has been developing pro drawing products since 2005, offering a very decent, budget alternative to high-end Wacom tablets. The Artist 16 Pro features a beautiful 15.6-inch screen, comes with two rechargeable pens, a HDMI adapter for Mac and cleaning cloth and a 12-month warranty. It's a fantastic option if you're starting to seriously think about digital art and want a quality but affordable device. But remember: the deal listed below is only available for Prime member and is only available for a limited time. So you might want to hurry, currently almost half the retail price, we don't expect stocks to last long. Don't want to miss out? Sign up for a free 30-day Amazon Prime trial and get every deal as soon as it's available. (You can cancel your trial afterwards with no strings attached.) If you're on the hunt for something slightly bigger, Amazon has also discounted the size up XP-Pen tablet too: Related articles: Review: XP-Pen Artist 15.6 graphics tablet The best drawing tablet: our pick of the best graphics tablets The best tablets with a stylus for drawing and note-taking in 2019 View the full article

Right now Prime members can get a massive £110 off a Wacom Intuos Pro pen tablet (Medium). And when we say right now, we do mean right now – this is one of Amazon's Lightning deals, so it's only going to stick around for a matter of hours (and at this price, we're not expecting stocks to last that long). The professional graphics tablet comes with a Wacom Pro Pen 2 stylus (and replacement tips) included, and is compatible with Windows and Apple. Not a Prime member? Sign up for a free trial now We're calling it: this is the best Prime Day offer we're going to see this year, especially for creatives. For more great prices on creative kit (all over the world), take a look at our guide to the best Prime Day deals. As you'll no doubt know, Wacom rules the roost when it comes to graphics tablets. This model is suitable for left- and right-handers, comes with Pro Pen 2 stylus included, and offers 8192 pen pressure levels and 60 levels of tilt recognition in every direction, to give an impressively natural drawing experience. The tablet itself includes eight adjustable express keys, a customisable touch ring that you can personalise to streamline your workflow. The multi-touch surface is also intuitive to use. For more on this impressive bit of kit, read our Wacom Intuos Pro review. This Lightning deal is only around for a limited time, and only while stocks last, so if you want one, get it in your basket now. Of course, to take advantage of this deal (and all the other bargains at Amazon right now) you need to be a Prime subscriber. It's simple and free to sign up, with no strings attached, so you can grab all the Prime Day deals you want and cancel your subscription at any time without charge. Get a free 30-day trial of Amazon Prime: US | UK | Canada | Australia | India Not in the UK, or missed the deal? These are the best prices on a Wacom Intuos Pro Pen Tablet (Medium) where you are: View the full article

We think the Microsoft Surface Pro 6 is the best 2-in-1 around, and right now Prime members can pick up a 12.3-inch Surface Pro 6 with £159 off the usual price. It's one of many awesome Prime Day deals that will be rolled out by Amazon over the next 48 hours as part of its annual bargain bonanza. Not a Prime member? Sign up for a 30-day Amazon Prime trial here to take advantage of this deal. This powerful 2-in-1 offers impressive versatility. You can use it as a tablet, a laptop, or, if you're at your desk, dock a keyboard and monitor and turn it into a fully-powered Windows machine. Designers will appreciate the high-resolution PixelSense Display, and while on-the-go freelancers will be pleased to find it's also super-slim and light, weighing in at just 771g. Specs-wise, this platinum machine includes Intel Core i5, 8 GB RAM and 128 GB SSD, and runs Windows 10 Home. Get a free 30-day Amazon Prime trial: US | UK | Canada | Australia | India You need to be a Prime member to take advantage of this deal. If you're not sure it's for you in the long term, sign up for a no-strings 30-day free trial (links above), and you can always cancel after Prime Day. Not in the UK? Check out the best prices on the Surface Pro 6 wherever you are in the world: Read more: The best laptops for graphic design View the full article