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Cassidy Williams’ career path is a great example of the importance of learning how to network and the opportunities that can come your way if you put yourself out there and create a personal brand. It’s an especially inspiring story for young women wanting to get into the tech world, a community that Williams is very active in supporting. Read on to discover how Cassidy Williams came to work at both Amazon and CodePen, why she loves side projects, and how you can discover more about her CSS art. An enviable career path Straight after graduating from Iowa State University, Williams joined a New York startup as a software engineer and developer evangelist and was featured as one of ‘35 Women Under 35 Who Are Changing the Tech Industry’ in Glamour magazine. Two years later, she moved to the West Coast and, this February, Amazon approached her to head up its developer voice programs. “I’m basically the person between the third-party developers and the Amazon product teams,” she explains. “For example, I request feedback from the developers, give them surveys, show them demos, pass on their comments and suggest how the product teams should alter their roadmap.” Williams is also one of the first people to try new features as they’re being built at Amazon. She creates an application or Alexa skill with them and feeds back on her experience. “They refer to me as ‘developer zero’,” she laughs. “Once I’ve worked on those projects, I give them back to the product teams, they refine them and then we pass them to the developers.” The cutting edge of voice design Amazon’s user experience team establishes best practices for voice design and defines the rules for voice-first applications. Every Alexa skill, for example, should pass the one-breath test. If you can say the response out loud without taking a breath, the response is probably the right length. If you need to take a breath, the user might get overwhelmed, so think about how you could shorten your response or break it into chunks as the user progresses through the flow of your skill. “Designing and defining a conversation is very unique,” Williams admits. “Whenever I build a skill, I write out a script of how I expect it to go. So the user and Alexa are talking back and forth and it all makes sense when I type it, but when I actually build the skill, all of a sudden it’ll come off completely differently. I’ll have to rework it to sound more natural.” Love of side projects Williams co-hosted a video show, C+C Hacking Factory, with her sister Cami on Twitch and – over the course of eight episodes – they built an Alexa skill from the ground up. Although they loved doing the show, a second season is currently up in the air because, when we catch up with her, Williams has just decided to leave Amazon and move to front end developer playground CodePen. “One of the reasons I’m leaving is because I’ve really learned I like small companies,” she reveals. “I’m joining CodePen as a senior software engineer and will be their eighth employee. I’m really excited about going back to my web roots, building a lot of cool tools for developers and being able to work on some fun side projects on the site.” It also ties in with Williams’ upcoming Generate London talk on creating art with CSS. “A few years ago I decided I was going to practise my web skills by making cool things with HTML and CSS. I made as much as I could on CodePen and dabbled with new CSS features like Flexbox and Grid that stretch the imagination of what people realise you can do with these tools. Honestly, a lot of people just think that they’re easy and not real programming languages, but when you make very cool stuff with them, it blows their mind.” Williams has so many side projects on the go that it’s difficult to keep up. Apart from creating CSS art, she is in a couple of bands in Seattle, has put together a Udemy course on JavaScript and React for developers and designed, licensed and launched the official Scrabble mechanical keyboard Another side project is a to-do list with a progress bar called todometer. “I built that application purely because I needed more than just a calendar to make sure I get everything done and maintain my schedule,” she explains. “These projects are very time-consuming and can be exhausting at times but they keep me learning and excited about everything that I’m doing. All the projects flex different muscles in my brain that I wouldn’t usually get to play with. It expands my knowledge in different areas and helps me focus at work because I’m able to apply things that I’ve learned outside of work and bring them to the office.” This article was originally published in issue 311 of net, the world's best-selling magazine for web designers and developers. Buy issue 311 or subscribe to net. Want to learn more from Cassidy Williams on creating captivating CSS art? If you're interested in learning more about how you can make striking CSS art, make sure you've picked up your ticket for Generate London from 19-21 September 2018. Senior software engineer making the web work at CodePen, Cassidy Williams will be delivering her talk – Creating Art with CSS – in which she will explore how creating art with CSS can strengthen your CSS skills, speed up your workflow and help you understand how designs are structured. Generate London takes place from 19-21 September 2018. Get your ticket now. Related articles: 6 tips for better side projects How to start a side project: 21 pro tips Why you really do have time for creative side projects View the full article

You're reading Huge Changes at Uber: Logo and App Redesign, originally posted on Designmodo. If you've enjoyed this post, be sure to follow on Twitter, Facebook, Google+! This change was inevitable. As new CEO Dara Khosrowshahi became head of a company that was drowning, Uber was ready for a renaissance. They had to change their existing brand image to move in the right direction. The first step … View the full article

Affinity Photo for iPad is Apple's reigning iPad App of the Year, and it recently received an update (read on to find out more about the exciting improvements and new features). To celebrate, developer Serif is offering you the chance to pick up a copy of its top photo editing app with 30 per cent off the usual price. This flash sale will run until midday BST on Tuesday 18 September, and takes the price of this awesome photo editing tool down to £13.99 / $13.99 / 14,99€. US: Get 30% off Affinity Photo for iPad UK: Get 30% off Affinity Photo for iPad Affinity Photo for iPad received an enthusiastic response following its launch at Apple's WWDC last year. We gave it an almost-perfect four and a half stars in our Affinity Photo for iPad review, thanks to its ability to seamlessly switch between different drawing modes, extensive import and export options, and excellent all-round functionality. Version 1.6.9 builds on the success of the initial launch with some exciting improvements. There's hugely expanded support for touch gesture control, a refined interface, improved brush management and performance tweaks to help smooth out your workflow. It also introduces a new Export persona, which enables you to instantly export multiple slices and layers. Existing users can download the updated version of the tool free of charge at any time, but if you've been holding off buying a copy, now's the time to do so. Take a look at the video below to find out more about the updates. "We broke new ground in being the first to bring a desktop-class professional photo editing tool to iPad, and just this week we've reached a quarter of a million users," comments Serif MD Ashley Hewson. "As we've talked to our users, witnessed the inspirational work they create and understood more about their workflows, it's inspired us to keep pushing the boundaries of what's possible on a mobile device." It's been a busy month for Serif, with the long-awaited beta launch of Affinity Publisher generating plenty of excitement a couple of weeks ago. To find out more about Affinity Photo for iPad and Affinity Publisher, head to the Affinity website. Read more: Watch Affinity Designer for iPad in action The 5 best laptops for photo editing in 2018 How to draw with Affinity Photo for iPad View the full article

The second-most popular delivery method is CVE-2017-11882, a patched Microsoft vulnerability that allows the attacker to perform arbitrary code-execution. View the full article

There's a lot of opportunity on Instagram to market your business or brand. But first, you'll need to learn the tricks of the trade. That's where The Instagram Marketing Mastery Bundle comes into play. The five courses in this bundle will teach you all about building your Instagram marketing and strategising to create the most effective approach. You'll learn to use tools that will help you create and schedule content, you'll turn your page traffic into real profits, and you'll bring affiliate marketing to your page in no time at all. By not using Instagram properly, you could be missing out on a real money-making opportunity, so try out The Instagram Marketing Mastery Bundle to ensure success. Get yours for only $29. Related articles: Instagram developing ecommerce app How to make money on Instagram as a creative 20 illustrators to follow on Instagram View the full article

Google has announced a range of significant updates to its Analytics reporting platform, utilising its machine-learning capabilities to create a deeper understanding of individual users. This is music to marketers and website owner’s ears, since we are working hard to meet a resounding user demand for online experiences that are both relevant and personal. The more we know about our users’ behaviour, the better equipped we are to make smart choices about our website, mobile app and application development investments. 15 really useful responsive web design tutorials These critical updates comprise four new features: all of which will help us to measure customer journeys at a deeper level, while accurately understanding individual user experience and engagement across channels and devices. This tutorial highlights the latest four enhancements, which include: Lifetime Metrics and Dimensions; Audience Reporting; Conversion Probability; and User-focused Reporting. These are on top of existing Analytics tools, which should help in your search marketing analysis of website users and their behaviour. With Google continuing to improve the accuracy of user-level data and enabling more options for insights and targeting, the future is looking good for website owners. 01. User-focused reporting The standard reporting dashboard has been adapted, allowing user metrics to be at the forefront when reviewing users’ behaviour, as well as their journey to converting. This is a welcome shift from the historical focus on just sessions. Go to Admin > Property Settings > Enable Users in Reporting. 02. Audiences in reporting Click on the top-right corner of the image to enlarge We now have the option to create audiences within Google Analytics and publish them to our analytics reports. This enables you to set audiences as a primary and explore their behaviour and performance across different segments over time. Previously you were only able to activate audiences and publish them on Google platforms such as AdWords and DoubleClick. Being able to monitor the interactions of audience groups that matter to your business will provide insights and trends that you can actively take advantage of. Enable Demographics and Interests > Create Audiences > Publish. 03. Lifetime metrics and dimensions Click on the top-right corner of the image to enlarge Lifetime Metrics and Dimensions enables marketers to isolate user behaviour down to the session level. This allows you to view the lifetime metrics and dimensions at the individual user level (based on the lifetime of their cookie). This provides a detailed, holistic overview of individual user behaviour, giving valuable insights on: how many times they have visited; the total time spent on a site; what pages they are looking at; the total number of transactions made, and so on. We can effectively maximise the value of these insights, by delivering a better experience through tailored messaging and remarketing. 04. Demographics and interests As well as understanding your users’ journeys better, you can also understand more about them by enabling Demographics and Interests Reports. These provide valuable insights on age, gender and interest categories that will help to shape your ongoing marketing activities. Go to Audience > Demographics. 05. Behaviour flow See how users interact with your website via the Behaviour Flow report, by visualising the path they take from one page or event to the next. This helps you to discover which content keeps users engaged, as well as identifying potential usability issues. Go to Behaviour > Behaviour Flow. You can also use the Behaviour Flow report to investigate how engaged your users are with your site’s content: Is there an event that is always triggered first? Are there any patterns between desktop and mobile user pathways? 06. Frequency and recency Click on the top-right corner of the image to enlarge Gain insights on how many times users visit your website, and how many days there are between visits. This is particularly useful in planning your marketing campaigns when combined with a conversion segment, since it will reveal data on how many visits it takes a user to convert over a set amount of time. With these segments you can identify patterns to help you schedule remarketing campaigns, email marketing and other promotions. Go to Audience > Behavior > Frequency & Recency. 07. Real-time data Click on the top-right corner of the image to enlarge Real-Time is an invaluable resource within Analytics as you can review your user’s interactions and behaviour immediately, in real-time. This is particularly useful when launching a new website, design, or landing page. Go to Real-Time in your Analytics dashboard. 08. New vs. returning visitors Click on the top-right corner of the image to enlarge Understanding what content encourages users to return to your website is a primary insight in driving increased user engagement, dwell time and conversion. Returning visitors are more likely to convert into customers or brand followers. Go to Audience > Behavior > New vs Returning. 09. Google's mobile first index Click on the top-right corner of the image to enlarge The mobile version of your website will become the baseline for how Google ranks and indexes your website. It is therefore vital to understand your mobile traffic, in particular the impact of mobile devices on user journeys, as well as conversions across your website. Go to Audience > Mobile. 10. Conversion goals Understanding how visitor segments are performing (across micro and macro conversion goals) can be extremely powerful. If you don’t have the mechanisms in place to easily see how visitor segments perform, you won’t have an understanding in how your campaigns perform. Go to Conversions > Goals. 11. Multi-channel funnels Detail how your marketing channel traffic (direct, referral, organic, paid…) works together to create conversions. Understand what role prior website referrals, searches, and ads played in the final conversion. Without this, conversions are credited to the last touchpoint that referred the user. 12. Attribution models Click on the top-right corner of the image to enlarge Assign credit for sales and conversions to touchpoints in conversion paths with the Model Comparison Tool. Compare how different Attribution models impact the valuation of your marketing channels, and what’s the most effective use of your time. Go to Conversions > Attribution > Model Comparison Tool. 13. Conversion probability Click on the top-right corner of the image to enlarge This is perhaps the most exciting of the four major updates from Google, since it has the highest potential impact on conversion. An exciting opportunity to take advantage of predictive analytics, and machine learning to identify future customers. Go to Audience > Behaviour > Conversion Probability. 14. Site speed Click on the top-right corner of the image to enlarge The length of time your website takes to load not only affects your user experience, it also influences your website’s visibility in search. It is imperative to review your speed in Analytics and act upon the PageSpeed suggestions for each of your indexed pages. Go to Behaviour > Site Speed. 15. Utilise search console Click on the top-right corner of the image to enlarge By configuring Search Console within your Analytics, you will see a combination of user data that will help to optimise your website for the most profitable traffic. This unlocks data, such as identifying landing pages which have good click-through rates (CTR) but poor average positions in the search results – these could be pages that people want to see, but are having trouble finding. This is an opportunity to improve both the content and metas to encourage more visitors. Go to Acquisition > Search Console. 16. Benchmark against the competition Click on the top-right corner of the image to enlarge Set meaningful targets, gain insights into your industry trends and benchmark yourself against the competition. This report provides valuable context by comparing website performance (channel, location, device and user flow) to previous results and to industry averages. Go to Audience > Benchmarking. 17. Google optimise Click on the top-right corner of the image to enlarge A great way to understand user journeys better is to perform testing. Google Optimize is built on Analytics and enables you to discover the most engaging customer experiences by testing variations. You can then adapt your environment to deliver a personalised experience. This article was originally published in Web Designer magazine. Buy issue 276 or subscribe. Read more: Climb the Google rankings: How to master SEO 10 must-know tools for search success The 6 pillars of great UX View the full article

The infosec community say California's IoT security bill is "nice," but doesn't hit on the important issues. View the full article

As director of innovation and technology at marketing and advertising agency WCRS, it’s Dino Burbidge’s job to jump on new technologies well before they make it into public consciousness. He spends his days figuring out the boundaries of what’s theoretically possible even when no one else has thought of trying something. Last week, Burbidge spoke at Reasons.to, an award-winning festival of creativity held annually in Brighton, about the weird science of super-creativity. We caught up with him afterwards to find out what’s going on at the cutting edge of tech in advertising … and if we’re ready to handle it. Face-tracking billboards The latest game-changer in billboard advertising is face tracking. You may not realise it, but most billboards will now have a little camera on them for this very purpose. These discreet cameras are used to assess if more men or more women are seeing the display, and thus target which adverts should be shown there. There’s no personally identifiable information, but it’s a technology that nevertheless requires a responsible approach. In 2015, WCRS made waves with a campaign for Women's Aid. The billboard showed a woman with a cut and bruised face. The tech registered when people were looking at the ad, and as they did so the injuries began to fade. The result was a powerful statement about not turning a blind eye to domestic abuse. “It’s a really interesting new thing,” Burbidge acknowledges. “That was using face tracking, and nobody questioned it because it was the right use.” Now, however, Google is thinking of getting into billboards. “Google, they know where you are, what you're doing all the time. So they're using all that data to modify things. And I think we don’t possess the knowledge to even know that we need to question what's happening.” I think we don’t possess the knowledge to even know that we need to question what's happening Ethical dilemmas aside, the progression could potentially solve one of the biggest problems in the advertising industry: attribution. Let’s say someone buys a product on Amazon, Burbidge says. At the moment, that sale will be credited to the website that sent them directly to the Amazon. However, if you’re able to prove the same person walked past a billboard ad for that product 10 weeks beforehand, because they had their phone in their pocket at the time and you can trace their movements, you then know that the start of the journey was with the billboard, and the sale can be credited to that advertising effort. “That attribution has been very vague up until this point,” he says. “So you're starting to see technology coming to advertising that can – if done brilliantly – it can help.” Making it worthwhile The key is in the value you exchange. If all the benefit is with the ad agencies, no one’s going to want to put their tracking data on all the time for that. Half of ‘millenials’, he says, want a website to be able to predict what they want. If it doesn’t, they’ll use an adblocker. “Help me out; don't be creepy”, is what we’re aiming for, Burbidge says. “It's interesting; we're just on that cusp.” On the flip side, older generations push back against personalisation and instinctively don’t trust brands that do this. At the same time, they won’t ask questions of it in the same way that younger consumers typically will, making it much easier for ad agencies to hoodwink them, should they decide to. We're not following technology; we are now dictating what technology, for us, is good technology So while cutting-edge technology is opening exciting new doors, it’s how humans interact with this tech that really interests Burbidge. “We've gone the last 30 years going 'technology is brilliant', and I think with Cambridge Analytica and Facebook, Trump, Brexit... we're now saying, ‘Hang on a minute, technology needs to work with humans a bit more’,” he says. “So we're not following technology; we are now dictating what technology, for us, is good technology. It's not how will technology affect creativity, it's how can we make sure that people value it as a tool and the audience value the human input into it.” He uses the example of the Next Rembrandt project, sponsored by ING. In it, AI was fed all the other Rembrandt portraits, and it produced what would be the ‘next’ one based on that information. If both were valueless, and you gave someone the choice of between the two, Burbidge argues that most people would choose to own the AI-generated one, because of the interesting story behind it. “The technology should be the thing that helps us as a tool,” he adds, “and not the thing that drives us into smaller corners.” Read more: 5 timeless illustration styles (and what to use them for) 66 brilliant print adverts How to get a million followers on Instagram View the full article

If something's struck you as not quite right about your phone's home screen this morning, here's the reason: Uber has just launched its second new logo design in under three years, and it's making waves, if not for the best reasons. 10 commandments of logo design On first sight, the new Uber logo looks like it's doggedly following the recent trend for wordmarks in bespoke fonts. It's the work of the ever-controversial Wolff Olins – who you'll remember for the 2012 Olympics logo and the similarly provocative Met rebrand – along with the Uber Brand Experience Team. Of course, it includes a bespoke font, Uber Move – a sans serif by MCKL Type Foundry, which was inspired by typefaces usually associated with transportation, and designed to look friendlier than the previous, more aggressive typeface, Clan Pro. If you've just found the new logo on your phone, you might find it hard to be pumped about this new design; it's the word 'Uber' in white on a black background, a style we've seen just a little too much of over the past year. Uber Move is designed for motion and works in every local alphabet where Uber has a presence Thankfully, however, there's more to this rebrand than a disappointing wordmark. It is, you'll doubtless be astounded to learn, part of a larger design system that's built to embody a sense of mobility and to look good and be understood in any of 660-plus cities in the world that Uber operates. As Wolff Olins explains, "instead of pursuing a complex system to be localised through colours and patterns, we moved towards a universal 'beyond-simple' global brand that teams on the ground could localise with content relevant to their audiences." The new design system has been built with simplicity in mind Naturally, a rebrand like this is never going to please everyone, and reaction to the Uber redesign has been deliciously mixed, ranging from cautious approval through to traditional designer rage. You can take a closer look at the new Uber logo and design system over at Wolff Olins. Related articles: 11 places to find logo design inspiration 5 fascinating stories behind unusual logo designs 11 brilliant resources for logo designers View the full article

Eight long years ago, Anton & Irene's innovative NU:RO watch (then known as Ozo) prototype picked up a Red Dot award for Best Concept. Now, the watch is finally available to buy, in a limited edition of 500. The cool design features two dials; hours at the top and minutes at the bottom, with an hourglass icon in the centre. As the dials rotate, the time is displayed within the hourglass. See it in action below, in the coolest product launch video we've seen in a while. Anton & Irene is a Brooklyn-based design studio run by Anton Repponen and Irene Pereyra. The duo specialise in digital experiences, and have worked with everyone from The Met to Balenciaga, Spotify and Netflix. The NU:RO is the first analogue addition to their design portfolio, and the project has been a real labour of love. “We could have easily produced more watches, but we deliberately wanted to release a limited edition of 500 so that owning one would feel more special, almost like we’re all part of the same family,” says Repponen. The studio is releasing just 500 of these innovative watches You can pick one up now on the NU:RO Kickstarter page, where they will be available until 10 October (after which they'll be gone forever). There's a choice of white leather, black leather, or (vegan-friendly) stainless steel mesh straps, and all backers who pledge $100 or more will also receive a NU:RO poster. Super-fans can shell out extra for a limited edition hand sculpture from Shantell Martin or even some of the original product design sketches. Read more: 5 questions to ask yourself before designing a T-shirt Famous logos become practical everyday objects Classic Rubik's Cube gets a high-tech twist View the full article

The wait for the new iPhone XS is finally over. Under the watchful eyes of the world, Apple CEO Tim Cook has just unveiled the company's next-generation smartphone – named the iPhone XS, not the iPhone 11 as many predicted – calling it "the most advanced iPhone we've ever created". As many predicted, Apple pulled not one, but three models out the bag: the iPhone XS, iPhone XS Max and the iPhone XR. So when can we expect the new iPhones to ship? What new features do they have? Will they become one of the best smartphones for creatives? And how much do they cost? Here's everything we know about the new iPhone XS, iPhone XS Max and iPhone XR... iPhone XS and iPhone XR release date The iPhone XS and iPhone XR will be available for pre-order on 17 September. iPhone XS and iPhone XR price Ok, so what's the damage? This is Apple, so these new iPhones were never going to be cheap. That said, first impressions suggests the prices are a fair reflection of what's on offer here, however, only time will tell if the iPhone XS and iPhone XR are worth the price tag. The iPhone XR starts at $749, the iPhone XS at $999 and the iPhone XS Max at $1099. iPhone XS and iPhone XR designs Apple's Phil Schiller reveals the what's under the hood of the new iPhone XS The iPhone XS boasts a 5.8-inch OLED display, with Dolby Vision and HDR 10. It's made of stainless steel, has a new gold finish (on the front and glass) and Phil Schiller is calling it the most 'beautiful iPhone we've ever made'. It's also kitted out with more, new glass, which Schiller comments is 'the most durable ever in a smartphone'. Apple's iPhone XS is available in gold, silver and space grey, it's also IP68, so it's up there with the most water- and dust-resistant phones out there. The iPhone XS also introduces Face ID, meaning you can unlock your phone simply by picking it up and looking at it. It has "the most secure facial authentication ever in a smartphone," Schiller adds. Exciting developments have happened with the camera too, with Apple introducing bokeh adjustments, thanks to the new image processing capabilities of the A12 chip. Schiller shares stunning images, highlighting the capabilities of the iPhone XS' camera The iPhone XR is the one model out of the three with an LCD display, unlike the OLED on the iPhone Xs and XS Max. It's made from 7000 series aluminium, more durable glass, and comes in a variety of new colours - white, black and blue, coral, yellow and red. The IP is not quite up to it's siblings, coming in 67, rather than IP68. And there's no home button, inkeeping with the iPhone XS models, you unlock this model using Face ID. For more information on all the new iPhone XS and iPhone XR features, head over to the Apple website. Read more: Classic Apple designs become iPhone X cases The 28 best iPhone apps for designers 10 creative free iPhone apps for designers View the full article

A flaw in Safari - that allows an attacker to spoof websites and trick victims into handing over their credentials - has yet to be patched. View the full article

Osiris’ fundamental makeup positions it in the fore of malware trends, despite being based on old source code that’s been knocking around for years. View the full article

You can do anything with Photoshop filters. Need some fog or rain in the horizon of your photo? There's a filter for that. Need to refocus your composition? There's a filter for that, too. There are even filters for making the sky look painted, your trompe l'oeil compositions look realistic, and the elephant in your photo look like he's having a great time splashing around. The 40 best Photoshop plugins The beauty of filters is that they enable you to start from scratch and create an effect tailor-made for the composition you're creating. Stock art imagery can only be so useful when it comes to creating compositions, and while it might take you an hour or so to find the perfect water texture, for example, it will only take a fraction of the time to complete the effect with the Plastic Wrap filter. It's the same with so much of the Filter menu; it can give you final adjustments, sure, but more often than not, it can provide you with something to work with, such as clouds or a lens flare, so that you can blend it into your work. Don't believe us that you can do anything with filters? Just read this Photoshop tutorial to discover what's possible… 01. Motion Blur Motion Blur, unsurprisingly, creates impressive realistic motion effects. Define the area first, and then apply the filter. Controlling the angle and the distance is essential to achieving the best results. 02. Plastic Wrap The Plastic Wrap filter is perfect for creating liquid effects. To give you much more control over the effect, select small areas on the image, and then adjust the settings. 03. Displacement Map When you're working with textures, the Displacement Map is very handy for creating subtle distortions. But you can also create beautiful water reflections using only this filter. 04. Render Flame Rendering flames in Photoshop is very easy. First, create a simple path using the Pen tool, then go to Filter> Render > Flame. Select the Flame Type and adjust the Advanced settings. 05. Liquify Liquify requires some practice. Vary the brush size continually, keeping the pressure low, then gently stroke to apply the filter. Use the Smooth tool (E) to refine the effect. 06. Render Clouds Create a blank layer and use a Motion Blur filter to add movement. Mask away areas with a soft brush to reveal details from the background. Adapt the Blend If blending option, pulling half of the black slider inward (holding opt/alt) under This Layer. 07. Surface Blur Surface Blur can be a great alternative to Gaussian Blur because it retains edge detail. This makes it suitable for smoothing out facial skin. Mask out areas to restore detail. 08. Reduce Noise When you start enlarging, filtering, or sharpening rasters, you might accumulate some noise. To reduce, use Reduce Noise on individual layers, or apply to a merged layer to affect overall. 09. High Pass Use High Pass for a different take on sharpening. Merge layers, convert to a Smart Object (Photoshop/CC), set to Overlay or Soft Light, then apply High Pass (try Radius: 6). 10. Field Blur Build up your own blur mix! With Field Blur, you can easily add multiple blur points, each with its own blur strength. The final result factors in all the points. 11. Radial Blur When you've placed the image of the stars in the background, duplicate (cmd/ctrl+J), set to Screen and go to Filter > Blur > Radial Blur for this cool effect. 12. Oil Paint The Oil Paint filter (Filter > Stylize > Oil Paint) is a great way to give a cartoonesque finish to the background. 13. Displace Save your work as a PSD, insert a stock image of a crack over the statue and go to Filter > Distort> Displace. Choose 10x10 for the Scale, check Stretch To Fit and Wrap Around and choose the PSD you've just saved. 14. Render Tree Stick to one or two tree types and apply to individual layers. Change Branch Height and Arrangement sliders for each, resize using Free Transform, and adapt each one using clipped Curves adjustments. 15. Gaussian Blur Apply the Gaussian Blur filter as a Smart Filter and add just enough to soften the large background trees (6-8 Radius). Lower the blur for the closer trees. Apply the blur to the background layer as well, and mask out the midground details for depth of field. 16. Add Noise Fill a new layer in white. Go to Filter > Noise> Add Noise to create some noise on this layer and use Levels (cmd/ctrl+L) to alter the contrast of it. 17. Dry Brush Go to Filter > Filter Gallery > Dry Brush. This will convert your noise more into splodges; go to Filter > Blur > Motion Blur to make it look like rain. Set to Screen. 18. Glowing Edges Once you've created your neon text, using layer styles such as Outer Glow and a Pen-drawn cable behind the letters, merge all into a stamp layer and go to Filter > Filter Gallery > Stylize > Glowing Edges. 19. Spherize Use the Spherize filter to wrap images and text around a sphere. Grab the Elliptical Marquee Tool, hold Shift and create a selection. Apply the filter to create the distortion. 20. Lens Flare Fill a new layer with black, changing the blend to Screen. Apply the Lens Flare. Add a Gradient Map adjustment layer (clip the layers). Change the gradient colours to quickly create a beautiful sunset. This article originally appeared in Photoshop Creative. Buy back issues here. Related articles: 10 best VSCO filters to stand out on Instagram 14 Photoshop adjustment tools to retouch your images 45 best photo apps and photo editing software View the full article

Visitors to the third-annual Us By Night festival will be in for a real treat. Taking place within Antwerp’s prestigious Parkloods on 22-24 November, Us By Night will see creative professionals the world over come together for a fun-filled three nights of design inspiration. One of the speakers is freelance 3D character artist Jaime Alvarez, who will share how his cute and classy 3D art communicates tenderness, playfulness and happiness. Alvarez brings his lovable creations to life using a combination of resin, wood and fibreglass – and this effect is best seen in his character-driven world Mr. Kat & Friends. We chatted to Alvarez ahead of the event, to see just what we should expect from his talk, and discover why he thinks creative events are brimming with positivity. Mr. Kat & Friends is a collection of fun characters What started your fascination with animals and skulls? I’ve been drawing animals since I was a child, feeling more comfortable drawing elephants, pandas and birds than I did actual humans or objects. When I started working on personal projects, it just felt natural to follow this path and eventually feed it into commercial projects. As for the skull, this interest grew while I was living in Peru, where I got acquainted with the pre-Columbian cultures. These skulls appeal to me as the representation of life through the legacy of our ancestors. The cuteness gives these skulls a certain brightness to an icon that is generally looked upon as sinister and dark. It’s like seeing death in a friendly and warm way. When did you first hear about Us By Night? Well, it’s no secret that Us By Night has been very loud since its inception! The speakers invited, the novelty of doing the talks at night, the atmosphere... It roared its way into the design festival scene pretty fast. Many of my friends have been there in the two past editions and I just had to make it there this time around. What makes Us By Night different to other design festivals? Artists and designers from around the world are set to attend the event between 22-24 November Creativity, friends, beer, nightlife, community – all in one place! It’ll be great to relax during three days and enjoy the talks, meet new people, hang around, and take a break from our routine while still being connected to everything that we feel so passionate about. Us By Night is creating a space where many disciplines coexist. Because the selected speakers have been curated by open minded creatives like Rizon Parein (Us By Night’s curator), we're going to see those pushing borders and mixing medias, such as Erik Kessels, Jonas Lindstroem and Mirko Borsche. What can we expect from your talk? Mr. Kat’s world is populated by various charming characters, like this cosmic panda I will briefly share a little bit about my journey, before going on to discuss how I approach character design, some work processes, and how this year has been a huge step in terms of character development and expanding my work worldwide. Just in case you can’t tell from my work, expect a lot of classy cuteness! I think it's safe to say that most creatives today tend to explore within different fields. Personally, I mix cute character design with classy high gloss 3D shapes and a sculptural feel, and I thought it was worth adding this to an already eclectic slate of covered styles. What other talks are you looking forward to? As the name implies, Us By Night is a nocturnal experience This is a tough question, all the creatives announced are top-notch. I'm really looking forward to experiencing the vibe Rizon and his team look to be orchestrating. I feel Us By Night is more like listening to a whole album rather than a single song. This said, I will give it a go! There is one speaker from last year I would have loved to watch because I followed him during my teenage years: Mode 2. He's a living legend and I think I may have recognised his work in a recent Us By Night 'start guessing' clip for this year. Fingers crossed he’ll make an appearance this year again. Has going to a talk ever positively impacted your career? Speaking at festivals has definitely impacted my career as well as my personal growth. In a broad sense, it’s great to meet the people behind the work and build new bonds. Professionally, I’ve been able to create wonderful collaborations with new friends and catch the attention of potential clients. I believe festivals are a friendly way to promote your work while having fun, share, and be inspired by others. What’s more positive than that? Us By Night takes place in Antwerp on 22-24 November. The speaker lineup is comprised of artists, designers, and creatives from around the world. Don't miss out: buy your tickets here. Read more: Nail the art of networking: how to get more from events Why Us By Night is turning design events into festivals 5 key trends in character design View the full article

It wasn’t that long ago that the best mouse for Mac would be the one that it came with. After all, it’s just a mouse, right? Well, not quite. For designers, who can spend hours at a time using a mouse, characteristics such as ergonomics and performance are vital. And with most mice now featuring wireless support, issues such as latency and battery-life also come into play. The best cheap Apple laptop deals of 2018 Apple hasn’t helped, either. Because despite the Magic Mouse looking beautiful – or as beautiful as a mouse can – it continues to push some idiosyncratic design choices on to the masses, so there’s a decent chance that Mac owners will be looking for an alternative. (Seriously, Apple. Who thought putting the Lightning port *under* the mouse was a good idea?! Enquiring minds want to know.) Which is the best mouse for Mac right now? If you’re looking for the best mouse for Mac, and budget and gaming aren’t really an issue, then there’s only one place you need to look right now, and that’s the Logitech MX Master 2S; it’s a joy to use, and has so many configurable options that you’ll wonder how you ever worked without it. However, if you’re looking for a mouse that supports Apple’s gesture features, and fits in with the overall design aesthetic of your MacBook or desktop, then the Magic Mouse 2 – despite its flaws – is still the best option. How to choose the best mouse for Mac? Choosing the best mouse for Mac really does depend on how you plan to use it. If you spend most of your time using a stylus and tablet, and only turn to your mouse for occasional browsing and non-core tasks, then choosing something that mirrors the design of your Mac might be the deciding factor. However, if you spend any prolonged time with a mouse in your hand, you’ll want it to feel perfect, and have a little more than just two buttons and a scroll-wheel. Then there are factors such as grip style (fingertip, palm or claw), surface texture, button layout, and whether you use your left or right hand to control your mouse –all things that need consideration. So whether your priority is price, looks, ergonomics or performance, here's five products that ensure you'll get your hand on the best mouse for Mac, whatever your needs. The best mouse for Mac overall Starting with grip, the Logitech MX Master 2S supports all three styles, but you’ll likely default to a palm grip, as the product is designed to offer your right hand the snuggest fit of any mouse out there. And it does. Using this mouse is a joy, and it has been engineered for prolonged use, which will suit almost any design task. However, one thing we wouldn’t recommend it for is gaming. At 145g it weighs a little too much, and – despite the ease of DPi switching – once you stop using it with a palm grip (as is the case for most gamers), it starts to get a little fiddly. Gaming aside, though, the performance of the Logitech MX Master 2S is unsurpassed. You get 70 hours of battery on a single charge, it works perfectly on almost any surface, and it comes with *deep breath* left and right buttons, a middle scroll wheel, an additional wheel next to the thumb grip for horizontal scrolling, and five more buttons for, well, whatever you want (as they can all be configured using Logitech’s Control app). Best budget mouse for Mac Taking a single AA battery, VicTsing claims that the VicTsing MM057 mouse can last a staggering 15 months on a single charge. And, whilst we weren’t able to test this, we have been using one for a good six months, and have never switched out the battery. Using a dedicated button on the top of the mouse, you can easily switch Dpi between 800, 1200, 1600, 2000, and 2400. And as well as left and right buttons, you also get the obligatory scroll wheel, and two side buttons for forward/back browsing. Connecting the mouse is a cinch, too, as it’s plug-and-play, so simply pop the nano adapter into an available USB port and you’re up and running in seconds. After eight minutes of inactivity, the mouse will put itself to sleep, and you simply click any button to wake it. Due to its diminutive size (5.08 x 10.16 x 7.62cm) only children or adults with small hands can use it with a palm grip. And for everyone else, you’ll need to use a claw or fingertip grip; but this is fine, as a rubberised coating provides extra grip and comfort. For most designers, then, this isn’t going to be a primary mouse, but it’s the perfect choice if you’re looking for a budget option that you can chuck in your kit bag when you’re on the go. Best integrated mouse for Mac It’s hard to know where to start with Apple’s Magic Mouse 2. Over the last few decades, designers have scratched their heads as Mac mice either underperformed, or introduced bizarre design features. We’ve seen perfectly symmetrical mice that meant you couldn’t tell which way up they were supposed to go, and in its most recent iteration you’ll find the Lightning port underneath the device, meaning that it’s unusable whilst being recharged. However, amongst the bad and the ugly, there’s also a huge amount of good. The Magic Mouse 2 eschews buttons for a touch-sensitive surface, which supports a decent range of gesture controls; so in addition to left and right buttons you can scroll sideways or horizontally, and also two-finger tap, extending Apple’s multi-touch functionality to its mouse. (And this functionality can be extended via the third-party app BetterTouchTool.) Beyond this functionality, the Magic Mouse 2 also looks incredible, and now comes with a rechargeable battery (though the low profile of the Magic Mouse doesn’t lend itself to a palm grip). And although we’ve flagged up the odd placement of the Lightning port, it does only takes a few minutes of ‘quick charge’ to get 9 hours of use – just hope that you’re not doing anything important when the battery does eventually run out. Best trackball mouse for Mac There are three words that strike crippling fear into any designer: ‘carpal tunnel syndrome’. We all know that poor posture and prolonged mouse/computer use can lead to terrible and debilitating pain, sometimes resulting in the need for surgery, and if there’s any way it can be avoided then it’s worth considering. For decades now, a small band of proselytisers have preached that using a trackball mouse has staved off the dreaded CTS, and that includes a good number of designers. So, are they onto something? Firstly, we should point out that making the shift from a traditional mouse to a trackball takes time and patience. But after spending some time with one, you will start to feel the benefit. There’s no denying that ergonomically, a trackball is superior to a standard mouse design. Logitech is a brand with plenty of experience in the trackball market, and with the Logitech MX Ergo Wireless mouse it continues to excel. This wireless upgrade boasts left and right buttons, a scroll wheel, a quick sensitivity switcher, and – of course – the trackball. The trackball itself is easy to spin, doesn’t slip, and can be completely removed from the mouse for cleaning (they can tend to get a little grubby). If you’re an existing trackball user looking for an upgrade, or want to make the switch, then this is the mouse for you. Best gaming mouse for Mac With so many gaming mice on the market, and Windows being the prevailing platform for PC gamers, we’ve chosen a mouse that will cater to a specific genre of gaming here, which is equally as popular across all platforms: the MMO (massively multi-player online game). In this category of gaming, the Razer Naga has become the mouse of choice, thanks to its staggering 12-button layout. And with the upgraded Razer Naga Trinity, you now get a selection of three removable game plates, which support its traditional 12-button layout, as well as a circular hex layout, and a simple two-button layout geared towards first-person shooters (the plates are magnetic, making them incredibly easy to switch out). Put simply, you get three gaming mice in one. Gamers can be a fussy bunch, and one downside of the Naga Trinity is that you can’t switch weights in and out to get the right balance, but beyond that we struggled to find any weaknesses. Read more: The best laptop for graphic designers 20 tools that make freelancing easier The best iPad stylus in 2018 View the full article

Seb Lester has designed logos and typographic illustrations for some of the world’s biggest companies – from Nike and Intel to NASA. However, despite the fact that millions of people had seen his work, he remained relatively unknown as a designer. That was until he began sharing sped-up videos of his hand-lettering work on his Instagram feed, and suddenly everyone knew his name. Follower numbers shot up (he’s now racked up some 1.1 million), and he became the first visual artist to be offered a one-year contract by Apple. Top typography tutorials Last week, Lester wowed the audience with his work at Reasons.to, an award-winning festival of design and code held annually in Brighton, UK. We caught up with him after his talk to hear his tips for mastering social media. 01. Instagram isn’t just for digital art Although Lester now often posts digital design work, it was his traditional calligraphy that sent his profile soaring. “It’s amazing how well calligraphy translates to the internet,” he says. “You’ve got this ancient artform but it really does translate very well.” Lester muses over whether the widespread popularity of his videos is due to the fact that they fit into the 'strangely satisfying' category of online content, of which people just can’t seem to get enough. “There’s something satisfying about seeing something from beginning to end,” he explains. “A blank piece of paper and then something appearing.” 02. Don’t just talk to other designers The great thing about apps like Instagram – as opposed to design-specific platforms such as Behance – is that you can reach a whole audience of people who don’t have anything to do with the creative industries. “I love the fact that a lot of my followers are people who are hairdressers or bakers or just don’t work in the visual arts or study the visual arts. I consider that a really lovely thing,” says Lester. “People who never really thought about calligraphy and then suddenly they’re seeing something they find compelling.” 03. Find something relatable Lester’s latest thing is his Logo Doodles: short, time-lapse videos in which he recreates well-known logos on an iPad Pro. He points out that the thing with logos is that they’re immediately relatable, which makes them a great way to catch people’s attention. He recognises that this widespread appeal is what makes his logo work more universal than his other love: heraldry. “I can get incredibly nerdy talking about 7th century Pictish knotwork. People might think its weird or beautiful looking but it's not really part of their world. Whereas a logo for, say, Netflix is completely, immediately,” he smiles. 04. Keep it fun There’s nothing too complex about these films: Lester captures them using a tripod and DSLR, but acknowledges that he could now probably use his phone camera instead. He thinks the low-fi look is all part of the charm. “It’s like a little magic trick. That's really what those little short-form things are; little stunts,” he says. “They're just fun. It's not high art or anything. Just fun, pop arty stuff.” He continues: "You can do amazing illustration with literally a biro and a piece of notepaper and create something incredibly viral from that, and I have done in the past. It's good to be open." 05. Take advantage of new tools Although Lester can indeed create masterpieces with traditional pens, he's also happy to embrace the latest digital tools. “I'm not going to be a luddite and ignore technology. The best artists and calligraphers in history have always sought out the best tools,” he points out. “I'm absolutely positive Dürer would have been blown away by digital technology. He'd be entranced. Da Vinci. I'm sure they'd love it.” The most powerful thing about the new digital tools, he says, is their ability to automate parts of the drawing process, including mirroring, and rotational and reflective symmetry. These features can take the pain out of drawing incredibly complex forms, such as Lester’s heraldry work. 06. Don’t underestimate social media... When he first joined Instagram, Lester didn’t realise quite the potential it would have to open doors in his career. Now he acknowledges the importance of such platforms for artists and designers. “You need a social presence those days, whether you want it or not,” he comments. “I don't think people look at people's websites as much as they look at their social media these days.” With that comes a little more responsibility. “You've got to be really careful what you say. It's publishing in a sense,” he adds. 07. … but don’t overthink it While being aware that you’re not just talking to your immediate friends is important, getting caught up in how far your posts could reach is a risky business. Lester prefers to approach social media as a kind of computer game. “If I start thinking there are actual people behind these avatars, who are watching what I'm doing, I’d find it very debilitating," he explains. "It's actually quite surprising when people come up to me and say they follow me on Instagram and it's actually a real, physical person." To avoid total paralysis, he takes his cues from friend and YouTube sensation Casey Neistat, whose show he appeared on in 2015 (above). “Casey says you just have to get on with it, just do it. He's right when it comes to this sort of thing. Think a little bit but not too much.” Read more: 10 best VSCO filters to stand out on Instagram How to make money on Instagram as a creative 6 Instagram hacks to transform your feed View the full article

Want to become the next Steven Spielberg? Looking to create the next top viral video? You'll want The Complete Filmmaker Guide under your belt. This course will teach you how to shoot and edit some truly professional-looking footage. You'll learn the tricks of the trade, from planning the shoot, to executing it properly, to editing a gorgeous video. With 109 lectures and five hours of content available at your fingertips 24/7, you can learn at your own pace under the tutelage of Julian Melanson, an experienced filmmaker with well-established clients. He'll teach you the principles and techniques that launched him into a successful filmmaking career. Get The Complete Filmmaker Guide today for just $14.99. Related articles: 8 things you didn't know about design for film 10 movies that pushed VFX to a new level 8 tips for getting through a film shoot View the full article

When it comes to logo design, let's not beat around the bush: the vast majority of professionals will be using Illustrator CC. Its powerful, precise tools are well-equipped for the task, plus if you have a Creative Cloud subscription, it's something of a no-brainer. There are plenty of other pro logo design tools on the market, however – Affinity Designer, for instance, packs a powerful punch with an intuitive interface and a cheaper, one-off fee compared to Illustrator's monthly subscription. If your budget still won't stretch, free graphic design software such as Gravit Designer or Inkscape provide many of Illustrator's key features. In short, you're spoilt for choice when it comes to full-service logo design software packages. But you might not need so much functionality at your fingertips. Perhaps you're a relative beginner, and want to ease your way in gently. You might not be a designer by trade, but need a simple logo design tool to brand your fledgling business before you can afford the services of a professional. So if you're on the hunt for a way to take the hassle out of the logo design process, but still yield a decent result, read on to discover five tools that make logo design more accessible to all... 01. Canva Available as an iPad app, Canva is a versatile graphic design tool that comes with plenty of useful logo templates An intuitive drag-and-drop interface, simple but effective design functionality, and an extensive range of high-quality templates make browser-based tool Canva a leading choice for non-designers and time-poor professionals alike. While Canva is not exclusively geared up for logo design – in fact, it's a particularly useful tool for creating social graphics – there are over a hundred logo design templates to get you started. If your budget is tight, you can make use of Canva's free elements, or upgrade to its higher-quality options. If you prefer, you can import your own straight into the tool, or use premium assets from your favourite stock library. 02. Squarespace logo maker Squarespace's logo design tool is clean, simple and graphic, combining basic icons and text If you're designing and hosting your portfolio through Squarespace, it could be worth checking out its accompanying logo creation tool if you need a personal brand to adorn it. This tool's extremely basic functionality could be ideal if your time, logo design skills, or both are limited – or you just want to take advantage of the latest design trends and create something very minimal and graphic. Using a simple drag-and-drop editor, Squarespace's logo maker enables you to arrange text and icons in various configurations, and customise their colour, shape and style. Low-res, watermarked versions are free to download, or high-res versions cost $10 – although they're free if you're already a Squarespace user. 03. Logojoy Feed it your aesthetic preferences, and LogoJoy will auto-generate logo designs for your consideration Whether you choose to be terrified that Artificial Intelligence will ultimately swallow up all our jobs, or prefer to embrace it as an invaluable supplementary tool for designers, is entirely up to you. The people behind LogoJoy clearly advocate the latter, as the logo design tool uses AI to aid your creative process. By providing information about your business, as well as the types of logos, colours and other design features you admire, LogoJoy will auto-generate design ideas for your consideration. While it's very unlikely that professional designers will ever dabble in, or endorse, such dark arts, there seems to be a market there for non-designers with minimal budgets. It costs just $130 for high-res, downloadable files that have never been touched by human hands, or for a bit extra, LogoJoy's in-house designer will spend an hour giving it a polish. There's another suggested use, though: for $20 you get a low-resolution logo file, which could be used as a reference point for a moodboard, for instance. 04. Hatchful Mobile-based tool Hatchful enables you to design quick, simple logos on the move From the makers of Shopify, Hatchful is another logo design tool that dabbles in some basic AI – it uses machine learning to suggest appropriate brand assets for your business, drawing on hundreds of icons and colour combinations as a starting point. There are various free templates on offer, or you can upgrade to premium templates for up to $8.99 each. Optimised for mobile devices, this completely free tool is a great way to sketch ideas and play with different graphic combinations while you're on the move – and it could also be ideal for quick, last-minute, relatively low-profile logo design projects, such as temporary graphics for social activity. 05. TailorBrands Subscription-based tool TailorBrands designs a logo based on your questionnaire responses Another AI-based tool, TailorBrands promises to design you a unique, customised logo based on a series of questionnaire responses. Unlike LogoJoy's pay-per-project approach, however, it is available on a subscription basis – ranging from $2.99 to $10.99 per month (on an annual basis). Besides the hi-res logo assets themselves, the top-end premium package includes everything from social analytics to supplementary tools to create business cards, presentations, social ads and more. It's an interesting model that controversially takes much of the creative process out of the hands of professional designers, offering a range of services to cater to those with no design skills. Businesses considering a tool such as TailorBrands are unlikely to be making a direct comparison with hiring an agency, but as AI becomes increasingly sophisticated, it may well keep the industry on its toes. Related articles: The best logos of all time Essential guide to tools for designers 9 tools to make graphic design easier in 2018 View the full article

Microsoft's September Patch Tuesday release tackles three vulnerabilities actively being exploited in the wild. View the full article

Exposed data included names, emails addresses and IP addresses. View the full article

SEO: it's a dirty job but someone has to do it, and if you want anyone to see your design portfolio other than by word of mouth then you're going to have to bake a bit of SEO into your workflow. Sign up to the Computer Arts newsletter Getting to grips with SEO from a standing start can feel utterly daunting, especially as the rules seem to change on a regular basis. However, if you follow these tips from SEO experts, you'll soon find yourself starting to climb the Google rankings. 01. Learn by doing "All designers need to understand how SEO works and second-guess how Google and other search engines, are moving the goalposts," says James Huckle, head of technology at digital agency Mirum UK. "In the short term, the best way to do this is to get your own website that you can control, add some content, social links and analytics, then do some tests and see what happens." 02. Keep experimenting "Don't be afraid to get out of the sandbox!" says Evan Fraser of GraphicSprings.com. "Try on-site optimisation techniques on your live site, to see how search engines respond. There are tons of resources online, but you won't know what works for you until you try." 03. Use free resources "Rand Fishkin and his Whiteboard Fridays are an absolute must for anybody learning SEO," says Fraser. "SearchEngineJournal and the GSQi Blog are also very informative. And in general, the MOZ community has been my go-to for many years." 04. Build backlinks Backlinks from other sites to yours will boost a site's SEO considerably. "So my tip would be: Find out where relevant online conversations are happening, and join them," recommends John Atkin, head of PR at Affinity. "But make sure you stick to the spirit of the community: don't go wading in with blatant commercial plugging. Nudge conversations, don't ram them. In time, you'll build relationships which will result in links and mentions," he continues. 05. Focus on security "Search engines will continue to prioritise security and mobile compliance and will reward websites that conform to these standards with improved rankings," says Anthony Miroballi, front-end developer at Chicago-based 50,000feet. "Google is already giving large bumps to sites that utilise its AMP platform, and a stripped-down mobile version of your site with enhanced mobile UX will pay dividends." This article was originally published in issue 280 of Computer Arts, the world's best-selling design magazine. Buy issue 280 here or subscribe to Computer Arts here. Related articles: 27 top-class website templates 10 must-know SEO tools for search success 5 top tools to master SEO View the full article

Adobe issued fixes for versions of its ColdFusion web development platform - including six critical flaws. View the full article

If you've mastered how to draw a dog, you'd be forgiven for thinking you'd easily be able to draw a wolf too. While depicting man's best friend will stand you in good stead when approaching how to draw a wolf, there are more differences between these canine breeds than you might think, all of which will make a huge difference to the accuracy of your drawing. The best pencils for sketching This how to draw a wolf tutorial is a step-by-step guide to drawing a side view of a standing wolf. The lesson begins with sketching out the overall shape of the wolf as an under drawing to help figure out where all the parts of the body will go. Next comes carving out the mass and structure of the wolf in perspective to solidify the drawing before the real fun - fur, facial features etc - begins. Once have nailed the basic drawing of the wolf, stay tuned to discover how to draw its winter coat. Note: having a photo reference of a real wolf right by your side during this tutorial is highly recommended. How to draw a wolf: a step-by-step guide 01. Sketch the basic shape of the head The head starts with a simple oval, with a muzzle and ear attached Start off by drawing the head as an oval tilted to the left about 45 degrees. Connect the muzzle pointing down in the same direction, almost as long as the oval. The bottom of the muzzle goes flat across, half way to the oval just below it. Block in the shape of the ear by drawing a line as the base of the ear on the head, forming a triangle above that's slanted forward and curved in the back. 02. Find the length of the neck and body Measure using existing shapes to help you find the length and width Locate the base of the neck by measuring the length of the oval head two times sideways. Relative to the body, wolves' head stand lower than a dog's head, so make sure to draw the neck angled lower. The length of the back is three times the length of the oval and neck. From the neck, connect a straight line across to indicate the back. 03. Complete the shape of the neck and body Shaped like big tubes, the neck and body is attached The neck will be thick and full of fur, so draw the shape of the neck getting thicker as it goes down to the base of the body. From where the neck is left off, complete the body with a straight line for the stomach, all the way to the back and closing it off. 04. Divide the body into three parts Sectioning off the body helps indicate where the limbs go The body is sectioned off into three parts; the shoulders, stomach and hind legs. The line that divides the shoulder section comes straight down, sectioning off a narrow shape. The line for the hind legs is like a forward slash, separating the section from the long stomach. 05. Sketch the basic shape of the legs and tail Adding the limbs completes basic shapes of the wolf The height of the wolf is about two times the height of the body, plus an extra one sixth. Draw the front leg with a curved front and straight back. For the hind legs, draw a long S shape in the front, and tapered at the back stopping half way down. From there drop a straight line down to indicate the heel. The triangular shaped toes should look long and big. Draw the rest of the legs that are hiding behind the other front legs, slightly staggered to look more interesting and three dimensional. The tail shape is thick and long, dropping down to the heel. 06. Carve out the mass structure of the head Draw over the first sketch to block out the head and features Draw the top of the head and muzzle flat, and block in the shape of the nose and chin following the base drawing. The chin has a subtle curve as it reaches the neck and mane. The ear is almost like a cone shape with a line in the middle to indicate the front plane. Indicate the cheeks connecting from the ear, down the head and across to the chin. Add the eye as a thin slanted diamond shape, right above the muzzle closer to the front of the oval. 07. Structure the front section of the body Describe the forms of the front leg into more sections Follow the under drawing to structure the neck, and add a small hump on top of the shoulder section. Draw a line that comes down to the elbow with a curl at the bottom. Mirroring the curl, draw the shoulder and section it off from where the legs starts. The leg tapers down to the wrist, connecting to the tube shaped hand jutting forward. Then attach the paw formed like the shape of a puck. Draw out the chest located behind the arm, right under the shoulders. Repeat the same thing for the leg behind. 08. Form the middle section of the body Connect the body to the hind legs Where the middle and hind leg section of the body meets is where the hip is located. Draw a line that runs along the shoulder to the back, dipping down to the tail as it passes the hip. From the chest, draw the stomach with tucking up as it reaches the hind legs. 09. Shape the back section of the body Finish the second drawing by adding the back limbs From the hip, draw a line down to the knee located where the stomach meets. The upper section of the hind legs is curve to the back of the knee, and tapers down to the heels. The heel should be located higher than the wrists. The back paws are just like the front, only smaller in size. Draw in the tail. 10. Draw the details of the head Getting the sharp features in the face can really make the drawing more realistic The top of the muzzle has a small bump right before it reaches the nose. The nose is big but make sure it's not too pointy. As the mouth runs across the muzzle, it tucks up a bit and straight across back to the eyes. Wolves' lips don't hang over that much, so draw the chin thin. The eyeball is shaped like one quarter of a pie, filled with a black diamond right behind. Add some lines to the face to add structure and make it more wolf-like. 11. Draw the ear and mane Add the details of the ear and a lot of fur around the neck Draw the ears big and rounded at the top. The ear is very furry in the inside, and short in the back. Make the mane and neck look full by adding plenty of fur along the under drawing, adding some variety to the fur going in different directions. Be careful not to go too overboard on the fur, or it will get too confusing and break the structure. The best areas to place the fur is along the edges where the plane of the neck is turning away. 12. Draw the fur and details around the shoulder section The long leg and big paws are important in a wolf drawing At the top of the shoulder section, the fur covers the bump at the top, shoulder and elbow. The front side of the leg has a subtle curve coming down, while the back has a bunch of smaller fur in the back. At the wrist joint, there is a small pad in the back that sticking out. The fingers of the paws are shaped almost like big long triangles. The front paw has a fifth toe on the inside and two long toes in middle. 13. Draw the fur and detail around the mid section Adding subtle curves and structure lines makes the wolf look more structured The back dips down to the hip and comes right back up, and back down again to the tail. The fur in the stomach area goes in the opposite direction as it gets to the middle area. Draw some thin lines to define the visible muscle in the back. 14. Draw the fur and detail around the back section The top of the leg is much furrier than the bottom There is more fur in the top section of the leg than the bottom, so draw the furry detail on the top and smooth lines in the bottom. Just like the front paw, draw the hind similar but smaller and with only four toes. And finish off the body by drawing the furry tail! The final drawing of the wolf 15. Bonus: add a winter coat The areas where the fur grows much thicker in the winter time When drawing the winter coat, you can go over top of the final drawing of the wolf with more fur around the majority of the body. When you add the thick fur coat, draw a variety of lines and shapes to make the wolf look fuller. Draw the fur in different sizes of chunks, lengths, and a variety of lines and shapes. The wolf with its full winter coat Read more: How to draw a cat How to draw a rose How to draw a horse View the full article

Steve Jobs only had one word to describe styluses in relation to his pioneering products: "Yuck". His idea was that no one would ever need them so long as they had fingers to use, and it was a mantra that persevered at the company he founded for a little while after he died. The best cheap iPad deals in 2018 When Apple finally did release an accompanying Pencil to use with its iPad, the world referred back to Jobs' now infamous put-down of the pen. But perhaps not even Jobs could have foreseen how touch screens would evolve into the new decade. The new iPad 9.7 for 2018 promises to deliver the power of Apple's most ambitious products, with the price of some of its most popular. It's good news for digital artists. For a start, the Apple Pencil is fully compatible, so you needn't fork out for the top iPad model. New features The new chip makes it quicker and split-screening makes it easier for multi-tasking, but the first impressions of the new iPad aren't exactly breathtaking: same resolution, same old design, same rigid iOS that you can't completely customise to your tastes. The Pencil certainly makes it a bit more interesting, but then you have to pay separately for that ($99/£89). Despite these irks, which admittedly come from most customers on new Apple releases, this is the most solid effort from the company yet when it comes to its tablet. It's got a decent 10-hour battery life and the camera, although barely improved from previous models, still boasts eight megapixels. That's more than enough for an artist or designer to take reference photographs with. iPad 9.7 and Apple Pencil: a powerful combination Apple Pencil: no longer reserved for iPad Pro users The power is phenomenal in comparison to previous models, especially when combined with the best drawing apps for iPad. It handles sketching, for example, with absolutely no trouble whatsoever, and switching between apps is faultless. The Apple Pencil is simply light years ahead of most styluses in the market too, with details easy to create with the tip, and shading possible by drawing at an angle. The pressure sensitivity is superb, too; this is good enough to rival many graphics tablets. This is the elite combination for digital drawing on the go, and at a fairly reasonable price, it's a serious option for the beginner or a professional. This is still the best tablet on the market. With the rate that touch screens are evolving, it's becoming ever more essential for digital artists to own an iPad to use on the go, and all things considered, this latest iPad is the best fit for the job. It's quicker and stronger and will last far longer than any iPad before; the Pencil too is superb in quality and well worth the money. If Steve Jobs were here today, even he would be impressed. This article was originally published in issue 162 of ImagineFX, the world's best-selling magazine for digital artists. Buy issue 162 here or subscribe to ImagineFX here. View the full article