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Cyber Monday 2018 might be a few months away yet, but if you’re wondering how to grab the best Cyber Monday deals for designers, illustrators and artists when the big day arrives, then we’re here to help. Whether you're based in the US or the UK, you'll find the biggest creative hardware and software bargains right here – so bookmark this page. We’ll be working around the clock to bring you the best Cyber Monday deals from the most reputable retailers, first. So what do you need to know now? When is Cyber Monday 2018? Cyber Monday falls on 26 November this year, three days after Black Friday on the 23 November. While Black Friday is a frenzied cacophony of high street and online deals, Cyber Monday was originally conceived by savvy marketers as a way to sell more of their wares online, back when online shopping wasn’t as prevalent as it is today. According to those in the know, Cyber Monday sees a wider range of deals across individual retailers. It's less about one-off discounts, and more about lower prices generally. Of course, if stores need to shift stock they’ll follow-up Black Friday discounts with further reductions on Cyber Monday – so expect one-off deals too. What we learned from Cyber Monday 2017 Last year, we saw some fantastic savings on creative hardware, software and resources. Here’s what we found: eBay and Amazon offered the best Cyber Monday deals on Apple products and Wacom drawing tablets Unsurprisingly, superseded products saw serious discounts. Amazon cut over $1,000 off its Surface Book stock, following the launch of the Surface Book 2 The Microsoft Store was ripe with large discounts across its Surface family Dell hosted some huge tech bargains directly on its website, too Adobe did Cyber Monday. It slashed its Creative Cloud software by 20% Other creative software also made competitive discounts, so it's worth waiting for Black November if you can Cyber Monday 2018: where to find the best deals As mentioned, we’ll be rounding up the best Cyber Monday deals for designers, illustrators and creatives right here on this page. However, if you want to browse retailer websites directly – and it’s worth having a look now to get a grasp of prices and specs, and to sign up for for early Cyber Monday deals alerts – here are the retailer links you need… Cyber Monday US: Adobe deals| Amazon Cyber Monday 2018 | Microsoft Store | Dell Store | Target Cyber Monday 2018 | Kohl's Cyber Monday 2018 | eBay Cyber Monday 2018 | Best Buy Cyber Monday 2018 | NewEgg Cyber Monday 2018 | Walmart Cyber Monday Cyber Monday UK: Adobe deals | Amazon Cyber Monday 2018 | Microsoft Store | Dell Store | John Lewis Cyber Monday 2018 | Very.co.uk Cyber Monday 2018 | Currys Cyber Monday 2018 | Argos Cyber Monday 2018 | Tesco Direct Cyber Monday 2018 | eBay Cyber Monday 2018 | Mobiles.co.uk Cyber Monday 2018 Cyber Monday 2018: tips for getting the best deals The brilliant Surface Book saw dramatic cuts on Cyber Monday 2017 Get the best Cyber Monday deals this year by following these pro tips... 01. Know what you want to buy Create a list of items you want to purchase over Black Friday. Knowing what you want to buy is the best way to avoid becoming swept up in the moment and purchasing something you don't want. 02. Do your research Avoid bad deals by doing your research ahead of the day. Swot up on the product you want, which specs you're after and what the price usually is. Read the reviews and find out who the best manufacturers are. 03. Compare prices To get a solid idea on product prices, try using price-comparison internet shopping sites like PriceGrabber.com. 04. Check the extras Always make sure you check the specs before buying a product – and look at the extras. Does it come with accessories? Are there any hidden postage and packaging charges? 05. Consider payment options We certainly don’t promote the idea of racking up huge credit cards bills with big interest rates – but do bear in mind that many credit cards offer benefits like free warranties, return protection and sale price protection. It's worth checking whether you're eligible for any such benefits and consider paying by credit card. 06. Invest in an Amazon Prime subscription Prime users – including anyone on a free trial – are offered an exclusive 30-minute early access period to all Amazon Lightning Deals. An Amazon Prime subscription will cost you £79/$99 per year. Today’s best deals on the best creative kit Don't worry if you can't wait until Cyber Monday to bag a bargain. There are plenty to be had on creative hardware, software and resources right now. We're tracking the month's best deals in the following articles, and you can scroll down for the day's hottest bargains on our favourite creative products... The best Macbook and Macbook Pro deals The best Microsoft Surface deals The best Dell XPS deals The best cheap laptop deals The best Wacom tablet deals The best Adobe deals 30 books every graphic designer should read Related articles: The best laptop deals for designers The best Macbook and MacBook Pro deals The best Wacom tablet deals View the full article

Intel will pay up to $250,000 to researchers who identify bugs more severe than 9.0 on the CVSS scale. View the full article

Avecto researchers say removing admin rights from users would mitigate many of the threats. View the full article

Malicious e-mail attachments used in this campaign don’t display any warnings when opened and silently install malware. View the full article

We all have a large store of memories taken as photos and it’s great to be able to reminisce. But what if you could go a step further and add a little life to those still images? Photo editors these days let us do just that. Photoshop allows us to add depth to photos, even animating the results, to truly breathe some fresh air into our old still albums. With that in mind I’m using a simple old photo from a holiday for this tutorial. Get Adobe Creative Cloud now 01. Choose the right photo Aim to use a photo with a distinct depth range I’ve chosen a photo that will make it more obvious as I proceed through the tutorial but many shots can work. I suggest aiming for one with a distinct depth range, like mine, that has some separation between foreground and background. You can use shots with more levels of depth as well, repeating the process for each. Click the layers lock icon, so that you can work with it. 02. Mask off the foreground The first step is to mask off your foreground subject The first step is to mask off your foreground subject. The means you use to do this are not important, what you need to focus on is a clean mask that doesn’t miss any details. I used the brush tool to manually paint mine, but the magnetic lasso tool is a good option. Don’t forget, depending on your subject matter, you might be able to select by colour range or use the magic wand tool. 03. Hide foreground element Copy your selection on to a new layer Copy this selection on to a new layer by simply hitting Ctrl+J, which will leave the fresh copy in the same location, before clicking the layers eye icon to hide it. The only thing to watch for here is whether the foreground or background gets copied. If needed, invert your selection by hitting Ctrl+Shift+I, before copying. Here you can see the pasted copy. 04. Fill in the background Make sure your background layer is active and then click CTRL_SHIFT+D to reselect your original mask With your copy hidden, make sure your background layer is active and then click Ctrl+Shift+D to reselect your original mask. Then click Shift+F5 to open the Fill dialogue. From the contents menu choose Content Aware. This will attempt to fill the selection based on surrounding areas of the image. 05. Tidy up background Use the clone stamp tool and/or the healing brush to tidy up any areas The results of the fill can vary and mine needs a little work. If you need to tidy areas of yours, I suggest using the clone stamp tool and/or the healing brush. This can handle selection artefacts easily. 85 brilliant Photoshop tutorials If you’re having trouble, then concentrate your efforts just inside your selection, as they are the areas that might be seen once you animate. 06. Create video timeline Now that we are prepared you can go to the window menu and check the Timeline option Now that we are prepared you can go to the window menu and check the Timeline option. A blank timeline will appear. In it, click the create video timeline button and your layers will each appear on their own separate section of the timeline. The default length is set to 5 seconds, which is fine for our purposes and is auto fitted to the available space. 07. Preview the image Concentrate on the Position to start with If you click the Right Arrow icon next to the layer preview on the timeline, it reveals the elements that you can animate. We will concentrate on the Position to start with. On frame 0 click the diamond icon, next to the word Position. This is the Add Keyframe button. Now go to the last frame, hit V and drag the layer to the left (I used the layer with me in it). A keyframe will be automatically added. Hit the play button to ensure your change in position was recorded. 08. Scale to fit Convert the layer to smart object for scaling options The background offers no options for scaling, which we need, so in the layer palette, right click it and convert to smart object. In the timeline you will now have a transform option. At Frame 0 add a keyframe as before. Then go to the last frame, scale the smart object up and add a new keyframe. Press play to see the results. 09. Finishing touches Select the appropriate keyframe to make adjustments If you aren’t happy with any aspect, go to the appropriate keyframe, change the scale or position, then click the stopwatch next to the track, to overwrite the keyframe. Another option you have is to introduce elements that weren’t in the original photo. Treat this as you would any other Photoshop task and insert the new content on its own layer and animate accordingly, using the same tools. 10. Save and export To save your video for use elsewhere, Click File/Export/Save as video To save your video for use elsewhere, Click File/Export/Save as video. In the dialogue that opens choose a suitable format. I opted for a Quicktime file, at full HD resolution, which happened to be much smaller than the original photo. Of course if you prefer you could paste your items into a 1920x1080 document to start with. Then all that’s left is to set a location for the video and hit the Render button... Related articles: How to take your vector logo from 2D to 3D The incredible Wacom tablet that's also a 3D scanner The digital artist's guide to switching from Mac to Windows View the full article

It's difficult to define exactly what 'creative coding' means. In broad terms, it refers to the production of something that is expressive in nature rather than having a purely practical use. It is a chance to learn and explore how various different technologies can come together to create impressive works of art. How to get started with creative coding What form that takes is entirely up to the creator. Anything from data visualisation to image manipulation could be considered 'creative coding'. The web is flexible enough to open up opportunities in different areas of art and design. Here we look at the different ways you can experiment with code and create stimulating visual results. 01. Head straight for the frameworks If you're comfortable with code and have a good idea of what you want to create, why wait? Here are the four best frameworks for creative coders; take your pick! p5.js p5.js gives you the power and ease of use of Processing, but on the web Processing is the holy grail for creative coders. It provides a language and an IDE to enable designers and non-technical people to create stunning visualisations without getting buried in the technicalities. The p5.js library takes the principles of Processing and applies them to the web. It delivers the same kinds of abstractions, which provide simplicity to the beginners and offer powerful control to experts. The bulk of the work happens within two functions – one controls the project setup, while the other draws to the page in a loop for the life of that project. The library supplies plenty of global methods and variables to update the page within these functions. For example, calling frameRate(60) lets p5.js do the hard work of maintaining a constant 60fps. sketch.js sketch.js is a lightweight but powerful way to get going with JavaScript Weighing in at under 5kb, sketch.js is a tiny framework that helps developers get up and running with creative JavaScript. It's light enough to embed in any website, but provides plenty of features along with it. It's possible to hook into methods that react to events within the projects. While this includes the usual callbacks, such as the animation loop, sketch.js also opens up events such as keyboard input and window resizing. Touch and mouse inputs are treated the same, which makes all projects touch-friendly by default. While it is possible to target either input type specifically, it takes the worry out of dealing with the small differences between the two event types. It can also calculate the deltas between these points automatically to make physics calculations easier. D3 There's more to D3 than charts and graphs While D3 has long been the go-to library for creating graphs and charts, that isn't all it's capable of. Its data-driven approach makes it great for creating attractive visualisations – either informative or abstract. When combined with a rich data source such as the Twitter API, it makes infographics easy to create. By manipulating DOM elements, such as SVG, D3 will work with any assets already a part of an application. It provides a structure around which they can be transformed to provide emphasis or to animate onscreen. There are plenty of ways to access D3 through other libraries and frameworks as well. Specially created components for React, directives for Angular, and plugins for most other front-end frameworks are readily available, for example. three.js With three.js you can easily create smooth 3D interactions using WebGL Working in 3D with WebGL can be complicated at the best of times. Working out how shaders and camera perspectives work in such a wide-reaching API can take away from the creative aspects of a project and slow everything down. With three.js it's possible to skim over these tricky aspects and focus on the visuals. It is a 3D JavaScript library, which works with WebGL to easily create beautifully smooth interactions with minimum effort. The library provides many built-in methods for creating objects in the scene. Everything can be altered just like any other JavaScript object and will update accordingly. Complicated techniques, such as texture mapping, are provided out of the box and are usually just a case of setting the appropriate option on the object. 02. Get smart with data sources and APIs There's plenty of publicly-accessible data out there for you to play with keep your project fresh; see what you can do with these sources. Twitter Twitter's developer platform is a treasure trove for creative coders With over 320 million active users in 2017, Twitter is a wealth of information. People are talking about every conceivable topic by posting pictures and video alongside their unfiltered reactions in real time. This makes it a goldmine for a creative coding project. The official API can bring back the tweets in the format needed along with other metadata that is open for analysis. This data can then be visualised in new and exciting ways. The Twitter API provides four defined 'objects' that can be retrieved – tweets, users, locations and entities. Entities include extra information linked to those objects including hashtags and media. Values on these objects are fixed and will only ever be extended upon, which means you will never lose access. Tweets themselves can be searched for with a query to a single endpoint. These searches can either be for a string or can be more descriptive, such as for images or tweets with a positive sentiment. Visualising Twitter data can make a great connected design piece. Combining multiple data points such as location and sentiment can create a project that is also informative, such as graphing live tweets about a topic from around the world. While there are plenty of opportunities to use the output from Twitter, the API also allows for applications to post messages to Twitter. These can come from any source provided that it's connected to the API. All endpoints in the API require some kind of authentication. For most projects that is only an application key, but authenticating can be tricky when done manually. Thankfully there are a few packages that make working with the Twitter API a little easier. The npm module 'twitter' is the catch-all client library when working through Node. It supports regular endpoints as well as streaming, which may be useful for real-time projects. Instagram and Flickr Social media APIs can provide a great source for data visualisations and mashups Creative coding projects are often visual, which makes image and video sharing APIs an attractive prospect for inspiration. Thankfully, sites such as Instagram and Flickr open up their data and allow developers access to that content, as well as the surrounding metadata. Instagram has become one of the web's most popular image-sharing platforms. As a result, it is a rich source of images to use in creative projects. The API is no different. It provides access to images, videos, comments and tags, as well as ways of searching through this information to find what is needed for the project. Access within the API will be initially limited to a small pool of accounts and images. To remove some of these restrictions, Instagram will need to review the project themselves, which can be time-consuming and fruitless for creative coding projects. Depending on the project, the initial sandbox mode may suffice. Flickr has a more readily accessible API. It is a resource of high quality images available at multiple resolutions. Many of the photo endpoints only require an application key to work, which makes set up and fetching much easier. The 'flickr.photos.search' endpoint is the most commonly used and gives access to most of Flickr's content. It can be filtered and sorted by date, location and even license as necessary. Other endpoints can get more detail on the photo, such as comments or EXIF data Getting the API to work exactly how the project needs it to can be difficult, particularly if writing information back to Flickr. Luckily, plenty of packages exist to help use it with JavaScript, including the company's own 'flickr-sdk' on npm. It's important to note that all images remain the property of their owners. For personal projects this will not be an issue, but if it's being shared be sure to either seek permission or credit the owner. Camera and microphone Emoji Wall by Kitasenju Design takes the image from a camera and redraws it using emoji within 3D space The web is usually limited to pointing and clicking with a mouse, but that is not the only way of providing input. Today's browsers are equipped with new APIs to pull in data from different external sources, including cameras and microphones. Making projects that are visually aware is a great way to get users involved. By using vision as an input over a traditional keyboard and mouse, users are able to interact in different ways, such as face tracking or image recognition. As most devices now come with a camera built in, it is no longer the barrier it once was and works out great for the web. Listening to the user is also a great alternative to manual input. Voice recognition could control navigation, or users could provide their own audio samples to use within their experience. It could also serve as an alternative to a button press. By extracting pitch and volume, these can then be mapped to what normally would be a button press, which could be used to control anything from colour to movement. Access to a camera and microphone is possible through the navigator object. The code has to specify exactly what is needed from the input devices. The call to getUserMedia() will trigger a permissions dialog that the user must accept before continuing. Once accepted, these features are available as streams, making them more memory efficient. All major browsers support this API, including mobile. If the browser cannot meet the exact requirements, the promise will reject and not work. It's important to supply an alternative experience, such as an image upload form, where access is not possible. 03. Mobile device sensors Brick Street View will show what your current surroundings would look like if they were made from LEGO The world of mobile presents a completely different set of opportunities when it comes to creative coding. The wide variety of form factors and sensors open for use within the browser can make for some distinctive experiences. Mobile devices are almost exclusively touch interfaces. Browsers have the ability to detect and track multiple touches at once. This means that projects do not have to be led by a single point and can be manipulated in a much more intuitive way. All touch events use a 'changedTouches' property on the event. This holds a reference to all the touch points that changed dependent on the type of event, rather than a separate event for each touch point. By tracking these, it's possible to map gestures or paint with touch. Accelerometers and gyroscopes are mostly used for changing from portrait to landscape mode, but these are also up for interpretation. Different methods of interaction can be created by using the device itself as a control mechanism – whether that in specific co-ordinate movements or more gesture-based, such as a shake. APIs provide access to this information, but the values returned will vary by browser as they do not all use the same coordinate system. Libraries such as p5.js provide special values and hooks like 'rotationX' or 'deviceShaken()' to help abstract away the differences. Mobile devices also have the ability to determine their exact position using geolocation. Being able to get the exact location of a device can open up new possibilities and make for a more streamlined experience. Access is provided through the navigator object. The value returned is the lat-long co-ordinates of the device, along with other data such as altitude or speed if the device supports it. Browsers will use the fastest method of detecting location, such as the IP address. However, this may not always be the most accurate. Combining these inputs in creative ways is the key to making something special. For example, using the device's location and orientation to create a virtual stargazing experience. 04. Multi-screen experiences Bubbles – a project made for Google I/O 2017 – enables users to pass bubbles between one another from across the world Desktop browsers provide reassuring familiarity when it comes to creative projects. But by experimenting with different displays, users can get a more personalised experience which works for them. The principles of responsive design still hold true for creative coding projects as well. Users should be able to enjoy them regardless of device, whether that's desktop, mobile, or projected on a giant screen. These differences can also be used to enhance the project further. By using media queries in CSS, mobile users could get an experience tailored to the smaller, handheld form factor. Since mobile users tend to be just one person, these visitors could be offered a more personalised view of a bigger platform, for example. Paper Planes, by company Active Theory, encouraged users to create virtual planes on their phones. These could then be 'thrown' and show up on the desktop version of the site. There, visitors could watch as planes flew around the world and see where they had come from. Interactions such as these can be made easier with WebSockets. Communication between a browser and the server is event based, avoiding the need to poll the server, which can often be wasteful and prone to delays. Projects such as Socket.io can make setting up WebSocket protocols easier. Direct communication between devices can also have a powerful effect when users are together in the same room. Seb Lee-Delisle's PixelPhones project, for example, turned a crowd of screens into a makeshift display. Once all were connected, everybody became part of the experience. WebRTC is a set of JavaScript APIs that makes real-time communication between browsers easier. It needs a server to set up a connection, media is sent directly between browsers, which makes interactions quick and simple to create. Now supported by all major browsers both on desktop and mobile. 05. Self-generative art Infinitown, by Little Workshop, generates a procedural city that is unique each time you visit Even the most creative of coding projects can become stale after a while. An element of randomness can keep things fresh each time a piece of code runs. While that can come from user input, it can be interesting to see what code is capable off when it's let off of the leash. Instead of defining what the output of a block of code would be, define a set of rules for it to follow. When a random starting position is defined, the end results will vary completely. Conway's Game of Life is a great place to start. In a defined grid, each square can either be 'on' or 'off' depending on the squares around it. By colouring the squares dependant on their state, it generates an image. Repeating the process multiple times shows how groups of squares mutate over time. Tweaking the rules on which they change can dramatically alter the outcome. Using JavaScript with a <canvas> element makes this visual process fairly simple. By using requestAnimationFrame(), JavaScript can re-evaluate its environment each frame. From there it is a case of using the output of the last frame as input for the next frame and let the program take care of itself. 06. WebVR and Bluetooth Creating VR experiences with a framework such as A-Frame is a lot less like hard work While browsers are getting more capable and powerful every day, there is only so much that one viewport can provide. Thankfully, browsers are also expanding out of the browser too. Virtual Reality has the ability to immerse the viewer in ways not possible before. WebVR is an open specification that allows access to these immersive worlds to the masses through the browser. It also helps bridge the gap between different device types, such as Google Cardboard and the HTC Vive. Frameworks, such as A-Frame, can help bypass any complications by providing ready-to-go building blocks for VR experiences. Since these are built for performance and reliability, they leaves the creator free to make a great user experience. Bluetooth is another option and an opportunity to forego a screen entirely. Chips are readily available and can be combined with different output devices to emit sound and light – all controlled by the browser through the Web Bluetooth API. The interface is promise based, which makes asynchronous communication somewhat easier. Browser support varies as these technologies evolve. WebVR is currently supported in various states by development builds of Edge, Firefox and Chrome. Web Bluetooth only has support from Chrome right now, but others are considering it. This article was originally published in issue 270 of Web Designer, the creative web design magazine – offering expert tutorials, cutting-edge trends and free resources. Buy issue 270 here or subscribe to Web Designer here. Related articles: 12 common JavaScript questions answered 20 amazing examples of WebGL in action How to code an augmented reality marker View the full article

We've hit that time of year when resolutions start to wobble. So we've got a stack of cool new art books to keep you ticking over creatively. One title looks at the big ideas every artist needs to know. Another focuses on how to draw with the humble coloured pencil. And we also have a book that introduces the 'painting party'. We're also getting stuck into watercolour techniques this month. Whether you've let your painting skills slip or you're just starting out, we've got a great new book on watercolour 'experiments' for you to get stuck into. We also look at the art of Star Wars, a smart new art journal, and some of the best art supplies around. 01. Drink Laugh Paint Just don't mix up your drinks and your paints Price: $29.99/£19.99 Ever heard a painting party? The authors of this book, Kerner Schon and Jackie Schon, run The Paint Bar in Boston (it's a 'paint-and-sip studio'). Here they tell you how to host your own boozy art party. It includes a list of the materials you'll need, theme suggestions, drinks ideas, and postcard invitations. It doesn't speculate on what time the drinking usurps the painting as the party's main activity. 02. Magisso ceramic shot glasses These ought to get your creative juices flowing If you're going to host a painting party, host it right. Soak these shot glasses in water for a minute, then, when the water has evaporated, the ceramic's natural cooling effect kicks in, keeping your drink of choice nice and cold. That's not all though – you can also draw on the chalkboard surface. So next time you shoot a few tequilas, you can do it in the name of art. 03. The Art of Star Wars Includes lots of cute Porg concept art Price: $40/£30 The Art of Star Wars: The Last Jedi gets stuck into the work of Lucasfilm's 'visualists' – costume sketches, storyboards, concept art – and offers a look behind the scenes at the development of the movie from the bottom up. It includes interviews with the key players, while the Lucasfilm team comment on the art. Not just one for the diehards, this is a proper insight into how artists help make a movie. 04. Watercolor Workshop Beginners and watercolour veterans will find something to enjoy in this book Price: $24.99/£21.99 Sasha Prood puts a new spin on the traditional how-to book. She teaches you how to paint contemporary art by following her watercolour tips. They take the form of 100 experiments – wet-on-dry, wet-on-wet, flat washes, and so on – as well as colour and texture lessons. There's something here for both beginners and more advanced watercolour artists. 05. Watercolour Workshop journal Start planning your next project with this journal Price: $16.97/£14.99 Prood has released a journal to accompanying her watercolour how-to guide. But this isn't just an add-on. It's a smart journal in its own right – the cover, especially, with foil-stamped accents on Prood’s watercolour swatches – and has stained edges, full-colour art by Prood, and lined paper, for journaling or noting down your next big watercolour project. 06. Winsor & Newton Cotman watercolours The set won't stay this neat and clean for long... Cotman is Winsor & Newton's entry-level range, aimed specifically at students and beginners. They're a good price, but come with the quality you'd expect from the brand. This sketchers pocket box is nice and portable, with 12 half pans and a brush, more than enough to get started or to paint on the go, and the lid doubles as a mixing palette. 07. Holbein watercolors: 24 colour set Take your watercolours to the next level with this set Once you've really got going in watercolours, you'll want to invest in some better materials. Holbein watercolours are "more finely ground than any other artist watercolour". That means you get smooth, non-bitty textures. The Japanese brand is also know for its big, lively, intense colours. This 24-piece sits right in the middles of a range that begins with a 12-piecer and goes up to 108. To complete your kit, take a look at guide to finding the right watercolour brush. 08. The Pocket Universal Principles of Art Learn all about art in an approachable way Price: $12.99/£8.99 A good one if you're just getting serious about art, or if you're after a handy reference book for your studio. The Pocket Universal Principles of Art tackles 100 big ideas to help you better make and analyse art. The author, the artist and art teacher John A. Parks, aims to write "a book that presents the whole world of art in a way that is simple, clear and accessible". 09. Love Colored Pencils Get awesome at drawing with this vibrant book Price: $19.99/£14.33 Vivian Wong shares her love of the humble coloured pencil in this book that promises to show you "how to get awesome at drawing". If you're already awesome, there's a ton of activities to work on within its pages, with each section demonstrating a particular technique before giving you space to practise it yourself. 10. Prismacolor Premier pencils Low cost and high quality - what's not to love? Prismacolour makes some of the best pencils around, and this Prismacolor Premier set is a top choice if you're after a great all-round set of coloured pencils. They're great for beginners (the price per pencil is low) but have the high-quality pigment more advanced artists look for. They blend well and are known for their buttery application. Really good for colouring books too. Read more: How to draw: 95 pro tutorials and tips 15 influential art and design movements you should know How to hold a pencil correctly View the full article

In 2016, Zimbabwean film director Sunu Gonera created a music video for musician Khuli Chana’s track, One Source. Sponsored by vodka brand Absolut, the video showed the world a different side of Africa, capturing the raw intensity of African creativity in a vivid celebration of collaborative storytelling. The film swept up at the 2017 Cannes Lions awards. Gonera, who’s speaking at Design Indaba 2018, took home a Gold, two Silvers and a Bronze Lion. The film was also nominated for best music video at the South African Music Awards and Metro FM Awards, and became the most awarded campaign at South Africa’s IAB Bookmarks. The 25 greatest animated music videos Here’s the really interesting part: according to statistics released by beverage firm Pernod Ricard, Absolut Blue went on to become South Africa’s leading vodka premium brand within six months. So how did a branded music video make such a powerful impact on both the advertising industry and consumers? 01. Authenticity Firstly, it channels what Gonera describes as the “realness and rawness of Africa”. One Source opens with the words “Africa is on fire”. Blue flames light up a stark grey rubbish dump, before a pounding beat and aggressive lyrics assert that “Africa is no longer riding shotgun”. 02. Collaboration It's a vivid and intense pan-African collaboration that places African excellence at the centre. To make the 'one source' of Absolut (an aquifer in Sweden) relevant in Africa, the video explores the idea that we all come from one source – Africa, the birthplace of humanity. It brings together the vibrant colours of Ghanian street artist Moh Awudu, as well as the skills of Kenyan digital artist and photographer Osborne Macharia, and sing-songwriter The Venus Bushfires. 03. Fresh thinking In addition, the team also turned away from the cliched orange and red colour palette typically used to represent Africa, and ditched the tired images of poverty used to represent unrest. The One Source campaign, which includes a music video and a series of web-based behind the scenes films, stands firmly in fresh new creative territory. One Source by Khuli Chana/Directed by Egg Films' Sunu Gonera/Produced by Native VML for Absolut “The consumer is not stupid,” explains Gonera. “I always say, trust the consumer. It was organic. It was about the collaboration. There was an authenticity.” Gonera describes himself as an 'afrocentric' artist. As international artists continue to move to the continent to create work, he says African artists are increasingly stepping up. But he says the industry is at a peak. “We’re having to, as filmmakers, change and adapt the way we think, especially with technology,” he says. “The other challenge is that there’s a massive saturation of filmmakers so the competition for every job has never been steeper.” Gonera’s solution? To stay fresh – especially when it comes to telling an authentic African story. “It’s usually outsiders telling our stories. Let us tell our stories. I want an inside-out perspective – raw, real, this is who we are.” Book your ticket to Design Indaba 2018 We’ll be bringing you more from Gonera at Cape Town's annual Design Indaba festival. The three-day creative event kicks off on 21 February, and we’ll be reporting live throughout. Related articles: Design Indaba 2018 headlines with Thomas Heatherwick How Beyoncé, Kanye and Miley's set designer is going global Design Indaba 2018: Building outspoken landscapes View the full article

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Trompe l'oeil ('trick of the eye') is the term used for the technique of using realistic imagery to create an optical illusion of depth. Artists have been practising it for centuries to create stunning illustrations and fool their audiences, while businesses have used it to create eye-catching billboard advertising and video campaigns. And these brilliant examples of trompe l'oeil are no exception. Prepare to be amazed! 01. Quetzalcoatl This is probably a great way of keeping marauding Aztecs out of your cable car station Artist John Pugh is famous for his intricate trompe l'oeil murals, located on various buildings around the world. "I have found that the 'language' of life-size illusions allow me to communicate with a very large audience," says Pugh. "It seems almost universal that people take delight in being visually tricked." This one, a terrifying imagining of South American feathered serpent deity Quetzalcoatl, can be found on a cable car station in Mexico City. 02. 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea The A.FRESCO workshop, led by artist Patrick Commecy, has made a name for itself and won awards in France by bringing otherwise drab walls to life with attention-grabbing trompe l'oeil murals. Its most recent work, in Cannes, has transformed a foot tunnel leading to the beach at La Bocca into an epic aquarium inspired by Jules Verne's '20,000 Leagues Under the Sea', complete with giant sea monsters and Captain Nemo's submarine, the Nautilus. 03. Luz Nas Vielas The Brazilian art collective Boa Mistura started its trompe l'oeil project, Luz Nas Vielas, in north São Paulo back in 2012. It consisted of five words – amor, beleza, orgulho, doçura and firmeza (love, pride, sweetness, beauty and strength) – painted in alleys throughout the favela. Five years later Boa Mistura has returned with two news words: Poesía and Magica (poetry and magic). 04. Des Anamorphoses There's a lot to get your head round, here French street art duo Ella & Pitr created this series of picture frame installations for an ad campaign for the National Dramatic Center of St. Etienne in France, featuring impossibly warped picture frames and other anamorphic treats. 05. Copenhagen Zoo This stunning bus wrap is a sure-fire attention grabber Bus wraps are a new – and mobile – way of sending trompe l'oeil artwork out into the world. This one, featuring a giant snake crushing a bus, will either put you off or encourage you to visit Copenhagen Zoo. Either way, it's a memorable design certain to stick in your head and generate word-of mouth enthusiasm. 06. Graffiti sculpture Peeta's graffiti transforms flat surfaces into solid-looking sculpture Italian street artist Peeta makes clever use of colour gradients and shadows to make his graffiti pop out of its surroundings. It's designed to look like sculpture rather than 2D art, and it's very convincing. Just to add to the confusion, he also creates actual graffiti-inspired sculptures. 07. Indoor wilderness Daniela Benedini creates indoor murals that transport you into the great outdoors Italian artist Daniela Benedini founded her own company in 1994, after graduating as Mastro Pittore at the Painting Academy of Brera in Milan. Specialising in interior decoration, she creates beautiful trompe l’oeil paintings, collaborating with some of the most prestigious interior designers in the world. 08. Carroll Street Bridge Symbols gathered from thousands of residents appear in the artwork Situated over Carroll Creek in Frederick, Maryland, this award-winning trompe l'oeil mural depicts the spirit of community. The large-scale mural project transformed a plain concrete bridge into the permanent illusion of an old, ivy-covered stone bridge. Artist William Cochran and his assistants used permanent silicate paints to create the highly detailed illusionist painting, complete with fake niches, fountains and statues, and 3,000 unique painted stones. 09. Portland's peeling blueprint Portland is a hub for the arts and features more than just one stunning trompe l'oeil mural Originally painted in 1986 by Chris Denison, C. Michael Lewis, Toni Wolf, Josephine Mussomeli, Steven Priestly and Bertelle Brookings, the peeling blueprint is perhaps one of the cleverer takes on trompe l'oeil, and has become a local landmark. The mural creates the illusion that there is a giant blueprint of the building peeling off of one side of it, revealing the actual building underneath. 10. Floating shapes Swiss-born artist Felice Varini creates mindblowing, geometric trompe l'oeil installations Felice Varini is a Switzerland-born artist based in Paris. For over 30 years now, he's been creating remarkable geometric trompe l'oeil installations around the world. Painting primarily on architectural spaces such as buildings and walls, each of his works has a single vantage point from which a precise geometric shape appears. Genius. 11. The Crevasse Don't. Look. Down German street painter Edgar Mueller is a master of fun trompe l'oeil work – this crevasse piece being a perfect example. Mueller's website is filled with awe-inspiring images of incredibly detailed and realistic street paintings, which include waterfalls, trees and caves. We know this trompe l'oeil artwork isn't real but that wouldn't stop us thinking twice before standing on it. 12. House party Ciaran Brennan got into the party spirit when he painted this trompe l'oeil on his house Artist Ciaran Brennan (aka. Yohan) went all-out for his house party by painting this trompe l'oeil illusion of balloons spilling out on the walls outside. He comments on his piece, "I didn't get to finish it completely, I wanted to paint the inside of the house through the hole in the wall but I ended up just making it dark." 13. Roundstone St This trompe l'oeil in Wiltshire is said to be the largest in the UK Located in Roundstone St in Trowbridge, UK, this trompe l'oeil is thought to be the biggest in the country. The realistic house design, created by artist Roger Smith and Wiltshire Steeplejacks, was installed on the blank wall in October 2003 to commemorate the 25th anniversary of Trowbridge Civic Society. 14. Dining table Ian Carnie's dining table features a realistic place mat, cutlery and jigsaw puzzle This dining table looks like it needs a good tidy. However, attempting that wouldn't get you very far, as the objects are in fact oil paintings. This brilliant piece was created by fine artist and interior decorator Ian Carnie, who specialises in decorative and landscape trompe l'oeil murals. 15. Great American Crossroad This Great American Crosroad is one of many trompe l'oeil pieces created by artist Eric Grohe Eric Grohe began his creative career as an illustrator and graphic designer back in 1961. Since then, his work has grown in scope and size, leading to the large-scale trompe l’oeil murals he creates today. He uses specialist German paint, which crystallises into mineral substrates and will not fade, peel or blister. Grohe has painted artwork all over the US, including this brilliant piece, titled Great American Crossroad, located in Ohio. Next page: 15 more amazing examples of trompe l'oeil 16. The Canebière Pierre Delavie recreated Marseille's historic high street on the facade of the Palais de la Bourse A specialist in urban illusion, visual artist, painter, videographer and musician Pierre Delavie is the man behind this giant trompe l'oeil located on the facade of the Palais de la Bourse in Marseille, France. The brilliant scene shows the Canebière – the historic high street in the old quarter of Marseille – passing right through the building. 17. Trompe l'oeil bench Upholstered or carved? Another sleek design from the team at Rüskasa Taiwanese company Rüskasa's hand-built RU-ST007 bench features a trompe l'oeil effect on the seat. It appears to have been upholstered, when it's actually carved to just look like that. Clever, eh? 18. Fresque du Petit-Champlain Quebec is home to this Fresque du Petit-Champlain piece Quebec is home to some amazing trompe l'oeil artwork. One such example is the Fresque du Petit-Champlain, which can be found in Old Quebec, at the foot of Escalier Casse-Cou (Breakneck Steps) and along one of the oldest streets in North America. The mindblowing piece depicts depicts milestones in the city's history, from the beginnings of New France until the present day. 19. Honda commercial Packed full of optical illusions and illustrations, this brilliant commercial for Honda was created by UK ad agency mcgarrybowen. By blending practical elements with cleverly painted imagery, this clip stays as fresh as it is mind-boggling. 20. Bookcase This amazing piece is one of many trompe l'oeil artworks by artist Paul Czainski Hard to believe, we know. But there's no way you'd be able to read this set of books for they are, in fact, a brilliant example of trompe l'oeil art. This is just one of many amazing pieces by professional trompe l'oeil painter, muralist and illustrator Paul Czainski. 21. René Magritte Museum This amazing trompe l'oeil art reimagines the building facade as theatre curtains Back in 2009, a new museum dedicated to the Belgian surrealist painter René Magritte opened in Brussels. The building that housed this famous painter's work had its facade updated in trompe l'oeil, featuring two side of theatre curtains pleated open to reveal a giant reproduction of iconic work of Magritte: The Empire of Light (1954). 22. 39 George V The facade of the 39 George V building looked like this throughout 2007 In 2007, the people of Paris were able to take in this view of the 39 George V building. While the structure was being renovated, artwork made entirely of photographs of the original building was manipulated, printed and hung on scaffolding to shelter the rehabilitation. Very cool. 23. Cafe Trompe L'oeil Can you tell where real life ends and the mural begins? This detailed piece, another by prolific artist John Pugh, is entitled Art Imitating Life Imitating Art Imitating Life. It can be found at the Cafe Trompe L'oeil, in San Jose, California. 24. Pepsi truck This design is so realistic, you're bound to do a double-take Trompe l'oeil art doesn't just work buildings. This Pepsi design, featuring several gravity-defying crates of cola, was one of seven semi-trailer trucks that were painted in the brain-scrambling trompe l'oeil style (others included a fish tank and mobile library design). 25. Balcony Did you notice the pencil drawing immediately? This mind-blowing trompe l'oeil image was created by photographer Helen G. We have to admit, it took us a few seconds to notice the pencil drawing at the top of the building and realise some of the balconies were not real. 26. LaSalle Towers Hard to believe, we know, but everything you see here is a painting on a flat wall This facade is part of the LaSalle Towers Apartments high-rise building on North LaSalle Street in Chicago, Illinois. This wall has no real door, steps or detailed engravings: everything you see here is a painting. This trompe l'oeil mural is based on Louis H Sullivan's Golden Door from the Transportation Building at the World's Columbian Exposition of 1892. 27. Derelict building Nina Camplin transformed a derelict building into a gorgeous piece of trompe l'oeil artwork This impressive mural, painted by artist Nina Camplin, transformed an old, derelict building in Swanage into an eye-catching piece of art. Specialising in trompe l'oeil, Camplin's website states she is "interested in challenging perceptions of space and creating illusions of faked realities." 28. Garage door library Don Grey painted this brilliant mural for former book reviewer It's not every day you come across an interesting garage door, so we had to include this one in our list. This particular library design graces the door of Lee Dembart, former writer and book reviewer for the LA Times, for whom books are a passion. Dembart had this trompe l'oeil mural painted in 2005 by artist Don Gray. 29. Arches Talented mural artist Janet Shearer has created many stunning trompe l'oeil pieces The career of mural artist Janet Shearer began back in 1983 when she was commissioned to decorate the walls of a swimming pool in Hyde Park. Since then she has created hundreds of paintings, ranging from portraits to landscapes. But Shearer has a particular passion for trompe l'oeil and constantly creates brilliant pieces, including this including this ultra-realistic 'Arches' mural. 30. Siete Punto Uno John Pugh paints incredibly realistic 3D scenes that delude the viewer Another piece by artist John Pugh, this Egyptian style mural adorns a wall in Los Gatos, California. His incredibly realistic 3D illustrations trick the viewer's eye into believing the scene is real. Even the woman peering into the ruin is a painting. Contributions: Jim McCauley This is an updated and extended version of an article that previously appeared on Creative Bloq. Let us know what we should add to future updates in the comments box below! Related articles: Street art: 45 incredible examples 21 incredibly cool design office murals 12 stunning examples of mosaic art View the full article

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There's not long to go until the release of Ready Player One, the cinematic adaptation of Ernest Cline's best-selling science fiction adventure book. In the run up to its theatrical debut, the official Ready Player One poster has been unveiled, and it's packed with Easter Eggs and knowing nods to poster designs from the '80s. Created by Paul Shipper, the poster has been specially designed with a vintage-style that calls back to legendary poster illustrator Drew Struzan - you might remember his work from such film series as Indiana Jones, Back to the Future and Star Wars. It's a clever move, given that the film's story is a retro pop culture jamboree. The poster even features elements from films Struzan illustrated, such as the time travelling DeLorean from Back the the Future. Check it out below. Click the magnifying glass icon in the top right to see the full size poster Topping off the design is the clever Ready Player One logo designed by Pentagram's Emily Oberman, which turns the title into a miniature maze with an Easter Egg at the end. A fitting concept considering that the story sees its protagonists hunting down clues in a digital reality. This latest is also a welcome change for artists, after the previous effort released late last year included a character with questionable body proportions and was considered a bit of a design fail. When posters like this are released, there's always a flurry of social media activity as artists and designers are quick to slam or praise the results. This design is no exception, with opinion split on whether or not it pulls off its intentions as both a good piece of design and an homage to Struzan. However, it's rare that the artist behind the work in question wades into the debate. But that's exactly what happened when one online commentator decided to break down the artistic shortcomings of Shipper's illustration. Let it be a cautionary tale to us all, be careful when you Tweet criticism because you never know who's listening. Ready Player One is out on 29 March 2018. Related articles: Solo movie posters are a typographic treat 10 best movie posters from the 1990s Are these vintage concept movie posters better than the originals? View the full article

Google has given mobile websites a new way to share content with the launch of AMP Stories. Described by the search engine as a "visually rich [form] of storytelling" the tool treads a similar path to Instagram Stories. For those not familiar with AMP (which stands for Accelerated Mobile Page), it's an open-source project that loads content on mobile websites extremely quickly. The system was developed around two years ago in response to Google noticing that users were spending more of their time in apps rather than on conventional websites. AMP Stories, on the other hand, is Google's answer to content-sharing platforms like those found on Snapchat, Instagram and Facebook. In short, AMP Stories, which has just been launched as a developer preview, will be a full-screen display of content for mobile users. The format will appear in Google searches, with readers able to tap or swipe their way through the content. AMP Stories has already been picked up by The Washington Post, CNN, Mic, Conde Nast, Wired, People and Mashable. It's still early days for AMP Stories, which are yet to be dotted with adverts. It's only a matter of time, though, until sponsored messages start popping up, with a Google spokesperson saying that ads and further details about the platform are due to appear in the coming weeks. Given that Google updates play into its rankings, it's no surprise to learn that adopting AMP Stories could give websites a real boost on search engine result pages. This is because Google looks favourably on sites that load their content as quickly as possible, and nothing gets much faster than AMP. "While some stories are told best through text, the AMP Project wanted to ensure publishers can invest in new ways of storytelling and engaging readers on the open web," said Google AMP Project engineering lead Malte Ubl, speaking in an AMP Wordpress post. Related articles: The secrets of Google's five-day design sprint 20 amazing free Google web fonts 5 principles of design illustrated with Google Fonts View the full article

You're reading Google Announces AMP for Email, originally posted on Designmodo. If you've enjoyed this post, be sure to follow on Twitter, Facebook, Google+! According to some, email was supposed to be obsolete a long time ago. Well, neither Facebook nor countless chat apps succeeded at dethroning email from our lives. More than 270 billion emails were sent each day in 2017. Today, with the launch of Google’s AMP for Email, the oldest method of digital communication gets another […] View the full article

In the year that Apple launched the first iPad, the old approach of coding one 'desktop' site and one 'mobile' site was becoming increasingly untenable. With more and more devices coming online, web design was crying out for a bold new strategy. It arrived in the form of an article by Ethan Marcotte on A List Apart. It drew inspiration from John Allsopp's article, A Dao of Web Design, and looked at architectural principles to explain how we could create layouts that adapt seamlessly to different screen environments, yet still retain the best principles of print design. 15 really useful responsive web design tutorials The rest is history. His essay, entitled Responsive Web Design, introduced a new approach that was so simple, elegant and effective that it was swiftly adopted by the industry as the standard way to design a site, and remains so today. Marcotte followed up with a book of the same title in 2011. Mashable called 2013 the 'Year of Responsive Web Design'. And today, from Bangkok to Boston, São Paulo to Sydney, whenever someone starts working on a web design, it's more than likely going to be responsive. Ethan Marcotte literally wrote the book on Responsive Web Design, as well as the original article So it's fair to say that Marcotte is entitled to feel somewhat pleased with himself. But he's breathtakingly modest about the whole thing. "It still surprises me that responsive design took off the way that it did  ," he reflects. "I say this with all sincerity: I met a publishing deadline. I wrote an article. And when I turned it in, I thought that was going to be the end of it. The way it exploded has been terrifying and humbling." He adds that, while he may have been the first one to put all the pieces together, responsive design was in some ways inevitable. "The way that the core idea resonated with people so much suggests that if I hadn't come up with it, someone else would have. Because our way of designing, it just wasn't sustainable." Still figuring it out While Marcotte continues today to curate the @rwd Twitter account, on which he shares links to useful articles and interesting redesigns, he certainly doesn't feel as though he 'owns' responsive design, or should be considered an arbiter of it. "Some years on, I think some people look to me as though I have answers for some of the challenges we have out there," he says. "But I'm very much part of a conversation that many, many people are having right now. So I don't see myself as being an owner of responsive design, in any way. I'm trying to figure out how to design responsively in my own practice on a daily basis." Ethan talking turkey with another web design legend, Jeffrey Zeldman He's still willing to share his views, of course. "Some folks have kindly asked me to contribute forewords to their books, because I've been talking about some of the topics they're interested in," he says. "And others have been kind enough to send me articles or redesigns that they think deserve a wider audience; I'm happy to help with that. But I definitely don't feel like I can control responsive design, or that it's my thing." And neither is he militant about the idea that responsive web design is always the 'right and truthful path' to creating the best digital experiences. "There's a tendency in our industry to pit ideas against each other," he says. "You can see this with responsive design versus device-specific experiences, responsive design versus adaptive design. Even something as broad as native versus web, or mobile versus desktop. We tend to think of things in these binary terms. Like it's either this, or it's this, until something better comes along." That's never been Marcotte's experience of the web, though. "In my work, there's never been one single best way to design, or to solve a problem. It's ultimately about what helps us solve problems for our clients and our stakeholders in the most effective way, given whatever constraints we're dealing with." That said, that way usually is responsive design. "I work with clients that do native work all the time," he says. "But when I'm talking to them about strategy, it's really a question of what's going to help them reach the widest audience possible. And invariably, that's the web, and creating a responsive experience for a web-based design. "That's not to say I'm not going to urge them to look for interesting native solutions if they have a problem," he says. "But generally speaking, investing yourself in a device-agnostic, beautiful responsive layout is going to be the best way to get started. And it might lead to some interesting approaches around the edges." New challenges But the world of the web is changing fast. Device-agnostic design might work when we're just talking about smartphones, tablets and desktop computers. But will responsive design survive the tsunami of new devices to come? "I feel like that's a conversation that's ongoing right now," replies Marcotte. "For instance, I worked with one client who launched a beautiful responsive redesign and then a few months later we started getting screenshots from Google Glass. This wasn't a device that hadn't even been invented when we started the site. And this wasn't maybe the best way to encounter the design or the content… but it was still accessible." Having written the book on RWD, Ethan later wrote the book on responsive design patterns And the moral is? "Thinking about the web first as a flexible design medium means that when those interesting edge cases pop up, because you've designed this as properly as possible, that frees you up in future to say: 'Okay, so here's a device that's getting some real traction with our audience, what sort of solution do we want to explore for that? Is it about refining our responsive approach, do we tune it for that context? Or maybe it's something that's more customised and discrete?'" For an example, he points to smartwatches. "What's going to happen to the web when it's on a screen that small?" he asks. "Who knows: again, it feels early, and Apple Watch isn't really a web-friendly experience right now." "But if you go on YouTube, you can find lots of great videos of people browsing through responsive designs on Android Wear devices. It may not be ideal, may not be popular. But by having that flexible device agnostic design in place, we've at least made something accessible to that audience." Staying grounded Throughout our conversation, Marcotte constantly brings everything back to client work. And it's clear that this is as important to him as speaking at conferences, writing articles for his blog, and books such as his latest work, Responsive Design: Patterns & Principles. "I've been travelling a lot, which is great, but it needs to be a mix between talking about work and doing work," he reflects. "Because I think one informs the other. There are things I've learned from speaking to people at conferences that I bring back into my practice, and things I'm designing for clients that I get really excited about and want to share with a larger audience." Balance is something he's always trying to figure out, though. "Travel takes a lot out of a person," he notes. "So this year, I've really focused on client work. I've ratcheted down a lot of speaking engagements and really tried to focus on some hands-on design and working with some good people." Interestingly, in a year dominated by 'fake news', these good people have included two innovative media organisations, Source's OpenNews project and the independent, non-profit newsroom ProPublica. Marcotte has been working with Source and ProPublica, a pair of innovative media organisations "Source is helping designers and developers who work in newsrooms across the planet to tell the stories about how they produce their work," Marcotte explains. "For example, they pulled together two years' worth of data and interactive visualisations from different news organisations on gun violence in the US." "It's a repository of all the work that's been done around this very difficult problem, but it's also helping promote any tools or frameworks or processes that might have come out of making those stories. To make them more accessible to people, so they can also produce that work, if need be." Marcotte got involved in a month-long design sprint for Source, working closely with the team to get a redesign up and running. "They'd been planning it for quite a while and had done mountains of research before I showed up for my sprint, so they did most of the heavy lifting," he recalls. "Deadlines were tight, but ultimately they were a wonderful client." As were ProPublica. "They really focus on some really tough, meaty issues, like corruption and consumer-focused stories  ," he says. "So it was nice to have an opportunity to help them out in some small way. They're a very fast-moving newsroom, so it was nice to just sit and watch them do their thing." And despite being so gifted at strategic-level thinking, Marcotte still likes to get hands-on with the code. "I generally find myself pretty involved in some aspect of the design and the front-end work," he says. "And even if I'm not directly involved in implementing a layout myself, I usually try to make sure we're adhering to some good principles. Ensuring that we're not making any decisions that are going to compromise accessibility, that will compromise building a fast, beautiful, responsive design." This article was originally published in issue 300 of net, the world's best-selling magazine for web designers and developers. Buy issue 300 or subscribe here. Related articles: 10 golden rules for responsive SVGs How to design responsive and device-agnostic forms Create responsive forms and tables View the full article

One of the most important ways to improve as an artist is by having your work critiqued. Sometimes you have no choice: as a student, you're critiqued by your tutor; as an employee, by your creative director. At other times, you'll seek out a critique. Either way, it's a great way to get insight into how to improve. There's just one problem. We're all human and no one likes to be criticised. "Working as an illustrator and concept artist, you always dread the moment where you show the work," admits Loïc Zimmermann, who's an art director at MPC and a teacher at Gnomon. "We all want the tap on the back." 7 biggest illustration trends of 2018 But hiding would be a big mistake. "Peer feedback for both personal and professional work is invaluable, because everyone loses perspective on their own work – both in general and on each piece as they work on it," says Drew Whitmore, a principal artist at Atomhawk. "Getting that outside context gives you a route to seeing your work with clearer eyes." Loïc agrees. "Learning to accept criticism will make you a better artist; you just have to learn not to take it personally," he stresses. "Nobody's going to hire someone who throws a tantrum each time points are raised, however talented they are." Roberto Pitturru's Laser Battle, as art directed by Sarah Robinson. She advises that, "being too aggressive when getting a crit may not get you more work" So what can you to do if critiques make you overemotional? In that case, you actually need to get critiqued more often, Drew suggests. "If you're too precious about your artwork and don't get a lot of feedback, that feedback is going to hurt if it's something you feel strongly about," he reasons. "You have to build up those calluses." See the crit for what it is It's also important to take a step back and empathise with the person giving the critique. "Getting a rough crit can feel like a personal attack, simply because you'd put so much of your time, energy, and emotion into creating the work," says US artist Daniel Warren. "But if someone cares enough to give you a well thought-out critique in the first place, then it means they're invested in your improvement and care enough to help you grow. So see this for what it is: help from a person who's probably dealing with the same things that you are." In short, while a critique can often feel like criticism, they're not the same thing. Criticism is often purely based on subjective, personal opinion – whether someone likes your work or not. In contrast, a critique should be purely objective and address one central question: does the piece achieve what the artist has set out to create? "Lots of artists tend to mix up criticism with an opinion on the quality of their work and their value as an artist," says French art director and freelancer Pascal Blanché. "But a critique isn't about you. It's a process that aims to improve the final version of your art. Once you recognise this, you can start to help and guide the person who is critiquing your work by discussing the issue and keeping an open mind." "Art director or freelancer, we all get exposed to critique," says Pascal Blanche. "It's about exposing your work to others' eyes and opinions." And note that 'discussing' doesn't mean 'arguing': this is not a zero-sum debate, but a process of constructive dialogue. That's the spirit in which Sarah Robinson, creative director for Paizo in Seattle, approaches receiving a critique. "I usually let them happen calmly," she says. "I may not agree with them, but in that case I'll just go ahead and make the requested changes to let them see how it would look, and explain to them why it wouldn't work." Above all, you should never feel singled out, because receiving a critique is something every artist has to go through. "All visual medium is open for criticism," Sarah stresses. "It's going to happen, so if you can't take it then maybe you're in the wrong business." And the pay-off is that you can use the feedback positively, to improve your art. Jumping board How you do that will vary in different situations, says Drew. "But generally, you can either implement the suggestions, or use their critique as a jumping board for being analytical about your image," he says. "Even if there are bits of a critique that I don't agree with, there's probably still something there to resolve. So I try to see if there are other routes to solving those issues, other than the suggested one, that will still retain what I liked previously." "Passion projects are where you can shine, and getting them critiqued is vital to making them better," says Loïc Zimmerman. Most importantly, never stop asking for critiques, because without them, your art is likely to stagnate, says Loïc. "I've done this job long enough that I have passionate people coming in, fresh out of school, who join and slowly fade over the years," he says. "It seems like there's a layer of dust on them, and the flame, the fire in the eyes, just fades. And this is why you need to keep a critical thinking on your own work, and show it to the people who'll help you get better." And there's no such thing as an artist who's too successful to ask for a critique. "Some of the best people I know ask for opinions," Loïc points out. "You wouldn't expect Jeremy Mann to tell you, 'Hey, what do you think of that painting?', but he does, because he's curious. The most established people, the strongest ones, still want to know." Giving something back As well as receiving critiques, as a professional artist you're often asked to critique other artists' work. But as we've already noted, no one likes hearing negative views of their art. So how do you go about it? While diplomacy is key, soft-soaping the truth is not an option, says Sarah Robinson, who regularly reviews other artists' work at conventions. "Hearing the truth is what helps," she points out. "We all want to get better, and if we're told that we're awesome all the time, then there's no chance of going to the next level." Image created by Dave Rapoza as part of a tutorial. "If the artist argues back, do listen, because they may change your perspective," says Dave Dave Rapoza, an artist for games and films who's just launched his own comic entitled Steve Lichman, agrees. "You don't do anyone a service by holding back," he says. "People are looking for someone to be honest. Remember, they're asking for critique. If they want compliments instead, they need to make that clear." Neither, though, should you simply spit out your own personal views of the work, says Loïc Zimmermann. "It's not about you and whether you like the art or not. That's not relevant," he explains. "It's about what is the artist trying to do, and how well they're working towards that goal." "A critique requires you to do more than just look at the art; it's about understanding the ambitions behind it," agrees American artist Daniel Warren, who's recently been working with Dave Rapoza on Steve Lichman. Daniel used to critique artists regularly online via Livestream and Twitch, and still does so for those who reach out via email. "I typically try to first identify what field they're trying to get into," he explains. "Concept art? Book illustration? Comics? And then I frame the crit around the needs and requirements of getting into that field." This way, there's a better chance of your critique hitting home, he adds. "It shows them that you actually took the time to observe their work and aren't just giving them the boilerplate responses you give to everyone who asks for help." Give yourself time to reply Drew Whitmore agrees that taking your time is key. "Don't immediately jump into critique," he advises. "Looking at their image a couple of times, with some time in between, gives you a better view of what the issues are," he advises. And try to be constructive rather than just narrowly critical. "Always try to have a proposed solution," Drew stresses. "Point out what you think is wrong and why, and then what you think they should do about it. If you don't have a solution off-hand, it's good to discuss it with the artist, and ask them a bunch of questions. Often, they'll think of a good solution themselves." Concept art for Injustice 2 by Drew Whitmore. "Peer feedback is invaluable as everyone loses perspective on their own work," says Drew To make sure you don't slide too far into negativity, Daniel recommends the 'crit sandwich'. "The formula is 'positive, negative, positive'," he explains. "It's very important to remember that critique is not just negatives. Identifying what works, and the strengths, is equally important. So, for every two areas of weakness, try to find an area of strength. For example: 'The anatomy could use some work; specifically the proportions in the arms. The costume design is really great, though – it's unique and makes the character pop. Maybe bump up the lighting so that it showcases the outfit more.'" Agreeing on crit limits Loïc adds that it's important from the outset to clarify with the artist exactly how open they are to criticism of their work. "So I usually ask: 'How far do you want me to go? Are you done with it and are asking politely, but ultimately you don't want to change a thing? Or this is something that you really want to improve?' I think that's a good place to start." Bear in mind that there's no 'right' answer here: yours is a second opinion, not the be-all and end-all. "Apart from the low-hanging fruit around fundamentals, such as perspective, anatomy and lighting, a lot of stuff is very subjective," points out Drew. "With client work it gets easier because, hopefully, there's a clear direction coming from the client. "With personal work, though, you need to consider where the artist is wanting to go. You can refer to other creatives who are successful at the thing this particular artist is trying to do as a jumping board for your feedback, so they know you're not trying to take them some place they don't want to go." Think big, not small It's important, too, to not get bogged down in details, says Daniel. "Stick to the three main problems you see in the work rather than overwhelm the person with every little thing you believe is wrong," he advises. "This serves to make the artist you're critiquing focus on the big, important issues and keeps them focused." "Be open to suggestions," says Daniel Warren. "But don't sacrifice your own style for someone else's just to get a thumbs up." Above all, remember you're talking to a human being, so address them in the same friendly manner you'd like to be addressed yourself. "It's not just about what you say, but how you say it," says Dave. "The important thing is to convey why something isn't working and how to improve it; you don't have to be nasty about it. It's basically balance between the two people; both need to be sensitive to each other." And Loïc is a great believer in a lightness of touch. "I think humour is something that works for everything in life," he says. "I start my class with anecdotes every time; it's like a way in. And you have to talk passionately about the good stuff. Then it's easier to say to them: 'So here, why did you screw it up? These parts are a very interesting direction, but you need to follow it the entire way through.'" This article was originally published in issues 155 and 156 of ImagineFX, the world's best-selling magazine for digital artists. Subscribe to ImagineFX here. Related articles: 10 hottest illustrators of 2017 Concept design tips for artists Why you should take an art class online View the full article

When web developers need to get their sites online with the assurance that all their designs will work as expected, they turn to Arch Hosting Web Hosting. This reliable web hosting service can get your site up and running in no time. You can get a lifetime subscription to this powerful service for just $24.99 (approx. £18). Arch Hosting Web Hosting has everything you need to get your website up and running at its peak performance. This performance-oriented web host understands the importance of having no downtime and quick load times and will optimise your site with its lightning-fast network. Get 2GB of storage space and 500GB of bandwidth for your domain, which you'll get free for a full year. You can get get a lifetime subscription to Arch Hosting Web Hosting plus one year of domain registry for just $24.99 (approx. £18). That's a savings of 95% off the retail price for a deal that will get your site up and running, so grab this deal today! About Creative Bloq deals This great deal comes courtesy of the Creative Bloq Deals store – a creative marketplace that's dedicated to ensuring you save money on the items that improve your design life. We all like a special offer or two, particularly with creative tools and design assets often being eye-wateringly expensive. That's why the Creative Bloq Deals store is committed to bringing you useful deals, freebies and giveaways on design assets (logos, templates, icons, fonts, vectors and more), tutorials, e-learning, inspirational items, hardware and more. Every day of the working week we feature a new offer, freebie or contest – if you miss one, you can easily find past deals posts on the Deals Staff author page or Offer tag page. Plus, you can get in touch with any feedback at:deals@creativebloq.com. Related articles: 12 best web hosting services 18 great web design podcasts 12 huge web design trends for 2018 View the full article

You might not know the name of the world’s most sought after set designer – but you’ll know her work. Es Devlin designed the London Olympic closing ceremony. The theatrical mastermind is also responsible for the mountainous landscape of Kanye West’s Yeezus tour, Beyoncé’s rotating cinema, and unique experiences for Adele and U2. She’s sent Miley Cyrus down a tongue-shaped slide, and created Benedict Cumberbatch’s crumbling mansion in the Barbican’s Hamlet. The list goes on. The London-based set designer, who will be speaking at Design Indaba 2018, specialises in blurring the boundary between stage design and art. She practices the ‘suspension of disbelief’ – but while redesigning traditional experiences in surprising ways is central to her craft, the theme of time is also becoming increasingly important. "I think now I'm really aware of time," she told CNN. "I have this sense of being halfway up a mountain." Es Devlin designed the London Olympics closing ceremony, which featured Damien Hirst’s huge spin painting One project where the theme of time really took shape was Devlin’s disorientating 2016 Mirror Maze installation in London (pictured below). The project used video projections and visceral sound design to explore how scent can trigger memories. As visitors wandered around the maze, which was filed with mirrors and dead-end staircases, their reflection was projected onto the walls around them. The project was inspired by an experience Devlin had while working on Adele’s Belfast arena tour. “Where we were working,” she told Creative Review,“I was staying in a hotel and I opened the cupboard door and smelled mothballs.” Mirror Maze was commissioned by ID and Chanel “I was so tired and I immediately felt like I was falling and plummeting through space into my five-year-old self smelling mothballs in my grandmother’s house in South Wales. I thought … ‘Could I make people feel that? Could I set up this kind of maze and involve people’s brain wandering around the maze, then suddenly plummet them, or remind them of what that plummeting sensation felt like?'” For Devlin, Mirror Maze also marked the start of a new line of enquiry: making the visitor part of the work. By experiencing her designs, people become the hero. In September, Devlin was awarded the prestigious Panerai London Design Medal. Previous recipients have included Zaha Hadid and Ron Arad, and a showcase of her work is planned for the V&A in celebration. She’s also been thinking about a retrospective exhibition. “I need to create some kind of thesis of my 20 years of work,’ she told Wallpaper. “I’d love to create an installation where you could travel through my stage sets. You could walk in through Kanye’s mountain, and then out through Wagner’s Parsifal tunnel and then slide down Miley’s tongue. Wouldn’t it be fun?” It gets our vote. We’ll be bringing you more from Devlin at Design Indaba 2018. The three-day creative event kicks off on 21 February, and we’ll be reporting live throughout. Related articles: Design Indaba 2018 headlines with Thomas Heatherwick 8 things you didn't know about design for film Design Indaba 2018: Building outspoken landscapes View the full article

We all know finding work in the design industry is an extremely competitive process, even if you do have a killer design portfolio. With so many talented people around, just getting noticed is a job in itself. Designers and illustrators around the world have long been coming up with unusual creative strategies to give their resumés an edge in the hunt for employment. If you're in need of inspiration for your own CV, here are some of the best creative resumés out there to help get the creative juices flowing. 01. Andy Morris Andy Morris thought small when it came to his new CV Art director, artist and designer Andy Morris caught the design industry's attention for all the right reasons with this fantastically creative resume. Rather than sticking with the traditional paper, Morris commissioned a LEGO minifigure in his own likeness, complete with a tiny laptop in one hand and a mini-CV in the other. To update prospective clients with the information they need, the packaging features a bitesized run-down of Morris' skills, plus contact details. 02. Pierre-Marie Postel Click the image to see the full CV Graphic designer and illustrator Pierre-Marie Postel – also known as Paiheme – decided to use his CV to show off exactly what he's best at. His creative resume displays his impressive illustration style, and mimics a Japanese print advert. It's not style at the expense of substance, however – this CV includes plenty of key information, plus some quirky additions such as character designs to show off Postel's personality. The monochrome colour palette ensures it doesn't become overwhelming. 03. Brennan Gleason Brennan Gleason decided to combine two passions Interaction designer Brennan Gleason was nearing the end of university and needed to get his name known by potential employers. To do so in style he brewed up a batch of blonde ale, packaged it up in a neat cardboard carrier, and printed his CV on the back. The idea being that prospective employers could sit down for a quick drink and peruse Gleason's design skills at the same time. 04. Curriculum 3D Benjamin Benhaim's 3D CV really stands out Inspired by this great-looking flat CV from Jimmy Raheriarisoa, Paris-based art director and motion designer Benjamin Benhaim set to work and made this stunning 3D rendered resumé. Created using Cinema 4D, Octane and After Effects, it covers all the bases and features plenty of playful touches, and each image took around seven minutes to render. Time well spent! 05. Tatiana Del Valle Gorodenskaia Click the image to see the full CV Design student Tatiana del Valle Gorodenskaia's colourful CV showcases her personal style perfectly. She splits her skills into those connected to her head and her heart, to give a rounded overview of what she offers. The design combines charming biro sketches, fun graphic patterns and neat typography effectively. 06. Robynne Redgrave You'd be all over this if it turned up in the post This portfolio mail package created by Robynne Redgrave, a Canadian graphic designer based in Helsinki, is a real attention-grabber. It contains not only her CV but a whole load of stuff including a hand-bound portfolio book, a letter of intent, application form and certificates. 07. Livia Natalie An animated CV is a bit of a risky proposition, but Livia Natalie's effort really pays off. It's beautifully animated, covers all the salient points that prospective employers need to know about her, and it's done and dusted in just over a minute, which makes it a lot more likely that people will sit through the whole thing. 08. Robby Leonardi Robby Leonardi's interactive CV caused a real stir when he launched it Robby Leonardi is a multidisciplinary designer based in New York City. Specialising in illustration, graphic design, animation, and front-end development, he has worked with the likes of Fox, Speed TV, FX Networks, myNetworkTV, and G4. His incredibly fun interactive design resumé will have you scrolling for hours! 09. Julia Miceli Julia Miceli's CV is testament that creativity can also be practical Julia Miceli – a graphic designer based in Buenos Aires, Argentina – managed to hit all the right notes with her creative resume. It's simple compared to many of the other in this list, but still oozes personality. The bold orange colour is unusual and eye-catching, and there isn't an element that hasn't been carefully art directed. Miceli has also considered practical aspects: the CV is a standard A4 size, but sits in a wallet that shows it off to its full potential, and there's a neat slot that holds a business card the viewer can pop out and keep. 10. Zhi Liang A simple and inventive approach to the résumé design Singapore-based student Chen Zhi Liang was set a task by his graphic design tutor to create an inventive résumé that would make him stand out from the crowd. The semester-end assignment was to create an infographic résumé and we think he's come up trumps with this design. Showcasing the all-important qualifications and skills, the résumé is eye-catching without being overwhelming. Liang's minimal approach is perfect for an overcrowded job market. We'd definitely hire him! 11. Ed Hamilton Ed Hamilton's Google Map resumé uses personalised placemarkers to highlight his skills When London-based copywriter Ed Hamilton was out of work, he decided to put his time to good use and develop a creative way to stand out to prospective employers. Using Google Maps' My Maps feature, Hamilton mapped his resumé, using different coloured pins to create personalised placemarkers, each accompanied by explanatory text. The brilliant design includes pins for where Hamilton lives, his interests and his previous employment. Related articles: The secrets of fulfilling a creative design brief How to be the designer every agency wants to hire Top tips for making design awards work for you View the full article

As an art director, commissioning illustration can be one of the most rewarding parts of the job. But it can also be one of the most frustrating. Illustration has no limits in terms of scope, or style, or subject matter. You can communicate ideas of all kinds, whether abstract or literal – and totally change the look, feel and mood of a piece of design. It takes experience to get the commissioning process spot-on, and sometimes you don't have the time, or the budget, to do so from scratch. That's where savvy use of stock imagery can come in, or a different solution entirely. But if you do have time to go down the commissioning route, here are our eight top tips to improve your illustration commissioning skills. 01. Choose the right style Illustration can give the same design template a very different look and feel Once you've decided that commissioned illustration is the right route to take for a project, the crucial first stage is to determine what style is the best fit for that particular job. You may already have a look and feel in mind, or even a specific person (see our hot list of the best new illustrators for inspiration). But it's worth compiling a moodboard of different potential illustrators before making an approach. Test some of their previous work in situ in your design if you can. If you have a rough concept in mind but aren't sure who to do it, illustration agencies can be helpful in bridging the gap and suggesting options. Design magazines such as our sister title Computer Arts, creative conference line-ups, or schemes such as the World Illustration Awards are also useful sources of inspiration. As a commissioner, it's always helpful to use an illustrator's previous work as a reference point. It proves they can execute the concept you have in mind if they've done something similar. But remember, many illustrators aren't keen on treading the same ground, so be prepared to work with them to push the idea in fresh directions. 02. Consider composition early For this 'clients from hell' cover, Mat Roff provided a thumbnail to show how his idea would work in the template It's vital to nail the composition of the piece at an early rough stage – particularly where hand-drawn or handmade illustration is involved – as it'll save a lot of potential hassle further down the line. Sometimes this can be as simple as a quick thumbnail sketch that demonstrates an understanding of how the illustration needs to function alongside other elements of a design. It's rarely shown in isolation, after all. Roff's final cover composition stays true to his original thumbnail sketch If you have a clear concept and composition in mind from the outset, it may be necessary for you to provide this sketch as part of the initial brief to avoid confusion and make sure you're on the same page as the illustrator. 03. Set a detailed brief Toby Triumph's commission requested a multi-armed, Hindu-style 'god' to symbolise a multi-tasking freelancer There are times when giving an illustrator the freedom to develop their own concepts can yield stunning results that go beyond your wildest expectations. It's a collaborative process, and two heads are usually better than one. However, sometimes a very tight brief is the best way to deliver the concept you need for the job. A totally blank sheet of paper can be a curse as well as a blessing for the illustrator, and it can be reassuring to know that their commissioner has a clear vision in mind. If there's a particular concept or visual metaphor at play, as well as discussing the composition of the piece consider particular elements that could be included, and suggest options. Just try not to be so restrictive and controlling that you end up cramping the illustrator's style. 04. Discuss references Visual references included intricate geometric patterns from India, and the vibrant colours of the Holi festival References and visual moodboards can provide an invaluable creative steer for the illustrator, whether at the initial commissioning stage alongside discussions about concept and composition, or further down the line while adding detail. Stock image libraries can be a treasure trove for this kind of material, whether or not you end up using the assets in the final design – as can visual platforms such as Pinterest, Behance or Instagram. Triumph's final cover design blended an unusual colour palette with intricate background patterns Remember, these are only references at this stage, and the final illustration could take a very different direction. Your moodboard may only inform the broad colour palette, help determine the shape and form of certain elements, or inspire a background pattern, for instance. If you're looking to ground your commissioned illustration in the look, feel and heritage of a particular culture, the more research the better. In the interests of authenticity, use someone with first-hand knowledge and experience if you can. 05. Brainstorm concepts Daniel Stolle was briefed to explore the idea of 'sharing his wisdom' as an illustrator If your brief is more open and conceptual, provide the illustrator with enough of a theme or direction for them to explore concepts at an early sketch stage, and then work with them to develop them further. Think of it like the process you go through when developing logo ideas for a client. There may be elements of different ideas that you can combine, refine or take in new directions. Stolle's final cover develops his idea of the illustrator's head being a roll of paper As a designer, you know what it's like to be on the other side of the table with a difficult, indecisive and inarticulate client. Don't be that person: help steer the illustrator towards the best solution, and work together to find it. 06. Collaborate on layouts Daniel Stolle worked closely with the CA team, sketching layout roughs for the feature inside When it comes to spot illustrations, often the brief demands very specific dimensions to fit into predetermined boxes. If the layout is fixed at the point of commission, or if there are certain design elements the illustrator must work around, be sure to specific this very clearly at the outset. If, however, there's more flexibility in the design – such as small, moveable elements that can fit around illustration – then consider collaborating with the illustrator on something more dynamic. 07. Give direction with annotations Inspired by an existing portfolio piece, CA provided illustrator Guillaume Kurkdjian with this rough biro sketch During the collaboration process between designer and illustrator, sometimes feedback is best provided in the form of notes and annotations to steer the design in a very specific direction. This is much quicker, more accurate, and ultimately less likely to be lost in translation than just trying to describe the changes in an email or over the phone, for instance. Kurkdjian's initial design (left), and handwritten notes provided by CA art editor Mark Wynne This type of sharply focused art direction is particularly helpful once a concept is locked down, and finer details are being tweaked and refined, although broader-brush notes are also useful at the compositional stage. 08. Reuse key elements Guillaume Kurkdjian's final CA cover illustration Due to time, budget or other constraints, sometimes a main 'hero' illustration needs to take priority over smaller spot illustrations in a design. One solution is to consider the re-use of certain elements from the outset. If you're commissioning a digital illustrator, if possible make sure they supply a layered file with key compositional elements kept separate. Vector files are even better, as there's more scope to manipulate scale and colour to keep things fresh. An example of layered elements from Kurkdjian's illustration being used as part of an internal layout This isn't always possible, of course, either because the illustration doesn't lend itself to this kind of reuse, or the usage rights you've negotiated as part of the commission don't permit it. Even if they do, it's good practice to explain to the illustrator how you intend to use it – they may have some suggestions of their own to bring to the table. It's a collaborative process, after all. Thanks to CA art editor Mark Wynne, and former art editor Jo Gulliver, for their help providing images (and for art directing these covers in the first place). Read more: 5 ways to use images more effectively in editorial design 7 biggest illustration trends of 2018 6 fantastic editorial designs and what we can learn from them View the full article

One of the bugs could allow a successful attack simply by a user viewing an email in Outlook's Preview pane. View the full article

It's just the latest reported vulnerability for the secure messaging application. View the full article

You're reading Postcards – Drag and Drop Email Template Builder, originally posted on Designmodo. If you've enjoyed this post, be sure to follow on Twitter, Facebook, Google+! Postcards is here and we want to show them to you! Using Postcards, you can create beautiful emails/newsletters in minutes with drag and drop features and ready-made modules. Generated and exported emails are optimized for most popular email service providers and email clients (desktop and browsers). View the full article

Barack and Michelle Obama returned to the limelight yesterday as their portraits were unveiled at the Smithsonian National Portrait Gallery. The event, which is usually seen as a perfunctory occasion, drew worldwide attention thanks to the portraits' striking painting techniques, which are a stark contrast to the traditionally formal depictions of American presidents. Political commentators have noticed that the distinctive portraits reflect an unorthodox presidency that saw Obama challenge and push expectations of what could be achieved in office. Painted by African-American artists of the former first couple's choosing, the two portraits were hotly anticipated by Democrats and art critics. Barack Obama chose Yale University alumni Kehinde Wiley to paint his portrait, while Michelle Obama selected Baltimore-based artist Amy Sherald. Both artists are known for signature stylistic flourishes which appear in these paintings. Click the icon in the top right to enlarge the image For his portrait of Barack Obama, which the man himself described as "pretty sharp", Wiley incorporated the vibrant and floral motifs that have made his name. But while the former president asked the artist to tone down some of the pomp and ceremony found in his other works, he couldn't stop the painter from staying true to life. "I tried to negotiate less grey hair, and Kehinde's artistic integrity would not allow him to do what I asked," Obama joked during the unveiling. "I tried to negotiate smaller ears; struck out on that as well." Wiley is the first African-American artist to paint an official presidential portrait for the National Portrait Gallery. "What I was always struck by when I saw his portraits was the degree to which they challenged our ideas of power and privilege," Obama said. Barack Obama's life is told through the many flowers in the background of the portrait. There's the chrysanthemum, which is the official flower of Chicago, where Obama's career began. There's also a jasmine for his birthplace of Hawaii, plus African blue lilies, which are symbolic of Obama's heritage. Click the icon in the top right to enlarge the image Meanwhile, Michelle Obama's portrait appeared more muted and understated. Depicted with a greyed-out skin tone and wearing a patterned dress with her chin resting on her hand, the former first lady claims that her portrait will herald a new era of presidential portraits. She went on to add that the portrait will give inspirations to girls and girls of colour as they will finally be able to see people like themselves in positions of authority. Given that the Obama presidency was seen as a boundary pushing and controversial era, it's no surprise that these portraits have provoked a similarly divisive reaction. Some were quick to attack the artists by pointing out that Wiley once painted black women decapitating white women, while others praised the breath of fresh air that these portraits represent. Given that Obama's successor has also taken a revolutionary approach to the presidency, all eyes will be on Donald Trump to see how his portraits compare. Related articles: 20 phenomenally realistic pencil drawings Create a self-portrait with just 4 colours Draw Faces in 15 Minutes View the full article