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Web designers know the importance of using great images alongside strong layouts and design elements to engage users, but how can you make sure you choose the right images for each project, and where should these gorgeous images go? While the backend developers get to grips with making websites and apps work, the frontend designers are crafting the UI, testing the UX and developing the overall colour scheme, look and feel. So when it comes to images, why settle for one of those hideous placeholders of two grinning businessmen shaking hands, or threadbare visual metaphors to represent 'focus' or 'success'? Think outside of the (wireframe) box, and read on to discover five top tips for choosing the perfect images for your next web design project... 01. Source the perfect hero image When an image takes up most of the browser space, it needs to look incredible As monitor displays get sharper and more high-res and broadband accelerates, the impact of a stunning large-format hero image at the heart of a landing page can't be underestimated. Selection of this all-important asset is absolutely crucial, as it can make or break a user's emotional connection with the brand. Make sure it bears strong relevance to the actual subject matter wherever possible. If you don't have the time or budget to art direct something bespoke, fear not – provided the brief is suitable, quality stock imagery can actually be ideal for this purpose. Avoid clichés like the plague, however. You need to build an association with the individual brand in question, and an image that feels too generic or 'bought in' will detach users from the experience and undermine the site's authenticity. Consider the example we've shown here: Molly & Me Pecans. The hero image fills the homepage with a mouth-watering extreme close-up of the nuts in question. Sure, it looks like a commissioned shoot, but a carefully sourced, quality stock image could be just as effective for a similar purpose. 02. Consider different crop sizes and ratios When you crop for different screen sizes and shapes, focus in on the subject of the image Once you've selected the right images, cropping them is a design skill in itself. Care should be taken to draw the user's attention to the main focus of the image, without leaving too much unnecessary dead space. It's a careful balancing act, however. Fully-responsive websites can play havoc with images if they're not properly planned to cater to different screen formats and aspect ratios, shifting that focus in unexpected ways when viewed on mobile or tablet, for instance. A great example of a responsive website that nails its image selection is the World Wildlife Fund (WWF), which takes care to allow sufficient background scenery around the main animal subject so it can crop in on smaller screens, without leaving so much dead space that the subject is dwarfed and impact is lost. 03. Curate assets to populate an online shop Ecommerce sites should feature consistently shot product images While the first two examples could easily make use of stock imagery, when it comes to ecommerce sites, assets will often need to be bespoke – and usually supplied by the client, although any chance you can get to input into the art direction is worthwhile. The very best storefronts feature studio-shot photography, where lighting, size and angle can be kept consistent, and products can be shown from multiple angles, as well as zoomed-in with macro detail shots where appropriate. Avoid inflated file-sizes for each image, however, to keep the page's load-time down. Wallet brand Bellroy is a great example, using a selection of eight shots of the product from different angles, showing off particular details, with a final 'hero' shot demonstrating at a glance what you can fit inside it. All of this presumes the website you're building is selling the client's own range, of course. If the online shop you're building is populated with third-party items, you'll need to source the best imagery you can with the above criteria in mind. 04. Choose images for UI elements and icons For icons, it's fine to use stock vector art Stock vector graphics can make excellent sources of UI elements and icons for app and website design, especially if you tweak and customise them in Adobe Illustrator to suit the look and feel of the individual site. While using stock photography is all about striving for originality and unique relevance to the brand you're designing for – avoiding cliches – icons are to some extent the polar opposite. In order to keep the user experience smooth, inbuilt visual associations with particular symbols can be used to your advantage. If the function communicated by the icon is immediately clear, you can keep the UI clean and simple without the need for text labels. These are known as universal icons and include, for instance, a house for the 'home' button, a magnifying glass to search, and a shopping cart. Relatively few universal icons exist, unfortunately. Some familiar images have different meanings depending on the context, such as a the widely-used heart and star symbols – and are therefore known as conflicting icons. Choose carefully, and add text labels where necessary for smoother UX. 05. Find contextual editorial images for pages Stock images in a similar style help guide users around editorial content Depending on the website you're creating, images may be required to illustrate particular sub-pages, or stories, or blog posts – although the latter will likely be the client's responsibility once you've handed them the keys to the CMS. Again, selecting the right visuals for the job is all about context. Bespoke imagery, when you have it in the right quantity and quality, is ideal – but again stock images may be necessary. As with your hero image, however, always consider their appropriateness for the subject matter. A classic example where shooting bespoke imagery would be prohibitively expensive and time-consuming is a website that uses travel images of particular locations, such as social travel platform Tripoto. Popular travel destinations will have been captured countless times in stock image libraries, but if you need a whole batch of them, take the time to research a selection with a similar mood or style of art direction to ensure as much consistency as possible in the design. Related articles: 10 iconic examples of Memphis design 8 free apps for picking a colour scheme 8 ways to make more money in 2018 View the full article

You're reading Website Performance Guide for Beginners: Tips to Optimize Your Load Time, originally posted on Designmodo. If you've enjoyed this post, be sure to follow on Twitter, Facebook, Google+! A fast website is the quickest way to increase user engagement. Your total page load time affects your site’s UX and your position in Google too. So what can you do to improve page speed and reduce lengthy load times? Well, a lot! And in this post I’ll share a few of the hardest-hitting tweaks you can […] View the full article

If you want to add vector art skills to your creative resume, you've come to the right place. A technique rather than a style, vector art is based on geometric shapes and created using vector image software such as Adobe Illustrator and Photoshop. If you're a fan of vector art and want to start creating your own, these brilliant tutorials will help you on your way. On this page, you'll find beginner tutorials that will help you master the basics of vector illustration=. For intermediate tips and tricks, head to page two, and for advanced techniques jump straight to page three. Once you've motored through these, you may find our other collections of tutorials useful – there are Illustrator tutorials, Photoshop tutorials, and InDesign tutorials for you to discover. 01. Learn vector illustration in 10 easy steps Follow this tutorial to get a solid understanding of the basic toolsBen the Illustrator explains how to create vector illustrations using Adobe Illustrator, explaining the key tools and offering expert tips. He walks you through the key tools, and gets you started on the road to translating your creative vision into incredible vector illustrations. 02. Beginner's guide to vector drawing in Illustrator In this PluralSight tutorial, you'll learn essential workflows, terms, and techniques to help you get started with vector drawing. The course teaches you the key differences between pixel-based and vector art, as well as the important components in the latter. 03. A guide to the Pen tool To create vector art, you must first master the Pen tool. This comprehensive guide aims to introduce you to features, shortcuts, and methods for working with what is arguably Adobe's most essential tool. (And here's a bonus faster way to vectorise hand lettering with the Pen tool...) 04. Illustrator for beginners: 11 top tips Master the tools you need in Adobe's vector illustration software with this quickfire guideFrom using Bézier points and curves to strokes, fills and adding a more natural look to your vector artwork, here are some Illustrator secrets for those new to the application. 05. Create colourful vector character art This Illustrator tutorial from Digital Arts walks you through how to turn a hand-drawn sketch into a coloured digital vector file, taking in colour adjustments, depth and composition. The basic skills you'll learn here will help you to create scalable character vectors again and again. 06. A faster way to create a vector eye Bert Musketon shows how to quickly sketch an eye in Illustrator In this short video walkthrough, illustrator Bert Musketon shows how to draw an eye in Illustrator. He covers the process from how to make the initial eye shape, to how to quickly draw eyelashes and eyebrows, using just some basic shapes and a few vector sketching tricks. The good news? You can apply the time-saving techniques covered here to speed up the creative process on any vector illustration… 07. Vector Silhouettes for Beginners This video course from Envato tuts+ is aimed squarely at vector art beginners, with no use of the pen tool. By making two silhouette vector artworks, you'll learn to use essential tools and processes. 08. Vector portraits for beginners This free in-depth video course will help kickstart your journey into creating vector portraits from photographs. Sharon Milne shows you two ways for creating basic portraits; one a chunky line art style and the other in a basic shading style. 09. Vector drawing with a graphic tablet Astute Graphics has an excellent vector art tutorial for designers and illustrators keen to ditch the mouse in favour of a graphics tablet and stylus. It's aimed at beginners, even walking you through how to set up your drawing tablet and calibrating your stylus to work beautifully with Adobe Illustrator's brush tools. 10. Create a fun vector monster face in Illustrator Chris Spooner of the Spoon Graphics blog brings you this fun vector tutorial that combines simple shapes with gradients to create a cartoonish monster face. The simple approach makes it ideal for beginners, producing fresh stylised results. 11. Create a self-portrait in a geometric style In this tutorial, you're going to learn how to create an illustrated self-portrait in a geometric style. You'll be using a photograph of yourself as the base of the illustration, drawing a sketch from that, and then creating the final piece. Next page: Intermediate vector art tutorials Now you've nailed the basics, scroll through our carefully curated collection of the best tutorials for creating a range of different characters. When you've finished your characters, you can give your creations an environment to live in with our pro tutorials for creating landscapes. 12. Create profession avatars in Illustrator Discover new tips and tricks using Illustratro's Pathfinder panel, Clipping Masks and moreIllustrator and designer Yulia Sokolova walks through how to create a set of flat-style portraits – perfect for social media avatars or to denote different categories on your website, for example 13. Easy ways to add texture to vector graphics If you like your artworks a bit grungy rather than squeaky-clean, then our tutorial on adding textures and grains to your vector artworks is for you. Luke O'Neill guides you through adding textures to the overall art as well as to individual elements. 14. Make a vector sugar skull Another great video tutorial from Chris Spooner takes you through creating a Day of the Dead-inspired skull vector artwork in Illustrator using basic shapes – making it much easier than it looks. Coco movie art team move over, you'll soon be out-creating them with your Mexican designs. 15. The easy way to build quirky characters Poked Studio founder Jonathan Ball explains how to transform basic geometric shapes into unique, colourful creatures with Illustrator's tools. 16. Create a vector anime character in Photoshop This tutorial explains the process of creating a simple anime character from start to finish. 17. Create a vector Yeti character Check out this simple tutorial, which uses as many basic shapes as possible to achieve a quirky style of illustration, then bring the yeti character to life with a palette of cold colours. 18. Vector a set of character poses Here, you'll look at how to design a character for a video game, in this case a "beat 'em up". You'll work from the very first sketch to the final artwork. 19. How to create a vector art cartoon character Want to bring your cartoon characters to life? This easy-to-follow vector art tutorial shows you just how to do it. As the Spoon Graphics site warns, it is an old tutorial (written in 2008), but it's a popular one, and much of the workflow and tips are still relevant to newer versions of Illustrator. 20. Create a vector map infographic Learn how to create a simple map design in Illustrator with this handy tutorial from self-taught vector artist Andrei Marius. 21. Craft a vector landscape environment This vector art tutorial shows the intermediate Adobe Illustrator artist how to make a dramatic vector landscape environment. 22. Create simple flowers with gradient mesh in Illustrator In this easy-to-follow tutorial from Diana Toma, you'll learn how to create beautiful flowers with the help of the gradient mesh function in Illustrator. Next page: More advanced vector art tutorials From creating dramatic text effects to texturing, collage, halftone effects and more, read on for our collection of the best tutorials for creating special effects in your vector artwork. 23. Draw vector portraits Spanish artist Daniel Caballero is behind this tutorial from Digital Arts, which shows you how to create vector portraits in Photoshop from photo references. Caballero shows you how to use Photoshop's Pen tool and tricks to stylise lines to give a hand-drawn look. 24. Create an electric text effect Create attention-grabbing text with this vector tutorialIn this step-by-step guide, you'll learn how to create an electricity text effect in Illustrator. From setting up a simple grid through to basic blending techniques, this tutorial is full of pro advice to help take your vector artwork further. 25. Layer up vectors for unique effects Tom Mac reveals how to create a drip-effect portrait using Illustrator's Pen tool and some clever object layering techniques in this vector art tutorial. 26. Draw realistic liquid vector art Speaking of drips, this tutorial from Digital Arts shows you how to create splashes of realistic liquid. Artist Jing Zhang shows you how to use Illustrator's Mesh tool, Warp tool and layer blending to create 3D effects in your vector art. 27. Create vintage vector textures Vintage and retro-style illustrations have made a big comeback over recent years. Here, designer Ben Steers shares some insider tips and techniques to help give your vector illustrations a retro look. 28. Add depth to your vector art Ben Steers explains how he created depth in this artwork, Gone Karting Artist Ben Steers has put together this Illustrator tutorial for Digital Arts, where he shows you how to use gradient effects and opacity masks to stop your vector artworks looking flat. 29. Create a sketch-style vector There are many illustrations that call for a sketched or hand-drawn feel. Learn how to achieve this in Illustrator, along with the DynamicSketch and WidthScribe plugins, in this easy-to-follow vector art tutorial. 30. Create a vector glitter text art effect Give your typography some sparkle. Follow this tutorial and learn how to create a vector glitter text effect in Illustrator. 31. Create vector halftone effects Halftone is a way of reproducing a monochrome image using only dots of varying sizes. Artist Chris McVeigh walks you through the process in this four-step vector illustration tutorial. 32. Convert a bitmap to a vector image This Inkscape tutorial demonstrates how to convert a bitmap image into a vector image by using Inkscape's Trace Bitmap function. 33. Create X-ray vector art Artist Evert Martin explains how he made this deer artwork Artist Evert Martin reveals the secrets behind his x-ray/holographic-looking artworks. Using Illustrator, learn how to turn some abstract contour sketches into beautiful 3D art. 34. How to create a vector image slider Image sliders have been a common element of website design in recent years, especially in portfolio designs. This tutorial explains how create an image slider in Illustrator. 35. Create a textured collage with vector imagery and papercraft photography Ciara Phelan shows you how to mix vector imagery with papercraft photography to create a textured collage with real depth. Related articles: 60 amazing Adobe Illustrator tutorials The 55 best free Photoshop brushes Best free fonts for designers View the full article

For as long as humans have crawled upon the surface of the earth we have held a fascinated with art and motion. Early cave drawings show that even primitive man would try to give the illusion of movement by posing the limbs on their animal sketches. Fast forward to the 1800s and even before the invention of the motion picture camera, Edward Muybridge was using photographs taken sequentially to help study human and animal motion, images which are still frequently used to this day. Improve your skills These days we are surrounded by animation in one form or another, be this film, television or more traditional methods. So with animation all around us, how do you as an animator stand out from the crowd and improve your own skills? What follows are 15 tips to improve your character animation. Although some of these are aimed at 3D animation, most can also be applied to other, more physical genres too. 01. Observe real-life characters Breathing life into a once inanimate object may seem a simple task, yet it's those subtle nuances that can help to portray emotion and give a true feeling of thought and consideration behind each movement. Observing people, how they interact, how they express themselves and even how they move around is essential in helping you gain a good understanding, not only of motion but also timing and weight. Why not take some time to go out, grab a coffee and observe the world around you? (You're not skipping work - it's research!) 02. Study the psychology of movement To truly mimic someone you must first understand their movements, not only the process of motion but also in intention. I'm not suggesting you drop everything and enrol at your local university, but instead do a little research. Everything we do has a purpose, and the way we pose and hold ourselves can speak volumes. Understanding the thought processes behind why we do what we do, and when, will help you to share this through your animation. 03. Seek out real-world references Grab a mirror and use your own face as a referenceWhen animating the face it's essential to have something solid to refer to. When working with voiceover artists, most of the top animation studios will record them as they lay down the audio for their characters. This video is then passed to an animator to refer to as they work, allowing them to capture the actors' expressions as they speak and emote. If this isn't an option then why not use your own face as reference? Grab a mirror and repeat the words, or even just recreate key expressions to give you a good starting point to work from. 04. Film yourself Acting out the scene yourself can give you the starting block you needYou can never get a good feel for the way a certain animation should play out while sitting at a desk, and online references can only get you so far. To understand how and why a character should move the way they do, why not record yourself performing that action? We all have access to video cameras these days, in fact most of us have them in our pockets. So instead of just using your phones for selfies and Facebook, why not get out of your seat and record yourself in action? Act out the scene yourself, and no matter how rough and embarrassing it may seem, this recording will give you an essential starting block to then work on top of. Being able to pause, rewind and review it in slow motion ensures you will capture all the subtleties that would otherwise be missed. 05. Keep your rig simple Animating successfully in 3D isn't just down to the talent of the animator. Most of what they can achieve relies heavily on the rig they are using. A quick and generic system will give you the main tools to use, but to give your character that edge, the rig needs to be tailored to the animator's specific needs. An unprofessional rig can also add to the animator's workload. If much of the underlying mechanics and systems are easily accessible they could accidentally be edited, resulting in a broken rig. The best rigs are the ones which leave the animator to animate. They simply pick up the character and move them around without any complicated systems to contend with, or constant trips to the technical artist because the jaw is suddenly at the other side of the scene and they don't know why. 06. Form key poses first Seeing a pile of polygons or clay suddenly come to life and show emotion is truly rewarding, but that doesn't mean you need to rush ahead and focus on each pose in detail, refining it before you move onto the next. Working on one small area at a time will mean you're not seeing the bigger picture and this can result in the sequence not being as fluid or natural as it should be. Following a layering system ensures you are not wasting precious time. The first layer should be quick poses at specific frames, to get a sense of timing. Then once you've nailed those you can go through and repeat the process, adding more and more detail with each new pass. 07. Lead with the eyes If you watch people as they go about their daily lives (not in a stalker-type way, but just in passing), you will notice that with each purposeful movement comes a specific sequence. First the eyes move to where they want to go, and then the head follows and then the neck. This continues down the body until they eventually move to where their focus was drawn. The eyes are what we're drawn to the most when we look at someone, and in most cases they are also the first thing to move before the rest of the body. 08. Study the effects of gravity Gravity has an affect on every one of your character's movementsGravity effects everything, unless you're in space. As we age, we are in a constant struggle to stay upright, which is never more noticeable than through our loose, wobbly bits. It's this gravitational pull, combined with our own physical mass which is crucial to capture in every movement. Walking for example, is a simple movement - but much of how we move is dictated by our own physical build. If you are tall and thin then you may be lighter on your feet whereas someone with a fuller figure will have a heavier foot fall, with their waist dipping more as they then try to raise their upper body. This may seem like an obvious tip, but it's an important one. Remember to give weight to your animation. 09. Time your character's movements The world is governed by time. Even though our days are different we all move to the sound of the same clock. Where animation is concerned, this time is in your control. Yet use it irresponsibly and the results can be difficult to read, and end up giving the viewer the wrong impression. Happier, more joyful movements are usually quick and sharp; this is why they work well in cartoons. They can also help to add exaggeration to a movement, and also add emphasis as the hero draws back slowly to power up the punch, which is over in a flash. Slower movements can mean the opposite, and are often used to show the character is feeling down, or upset. 10. Keep your character balanced One of the first things we learn as children is how to climb onto our feet and take our first steps. To do this is no easy feat as it takes strength and most importantly, balance. With each step you learn to shift your centre of gravity to ensure you don't fall. The centre of gravity is an important element to bring into animation too. Try standing with your feet apart and lift your right leg off the floor, but do this while keeping your waist still. It's difficult to resist the urge to move your waist over your left foot, to keep you from falling. When you do this you are shifting your centre of gravity to maintain balance. And of course, if you have to do it in real life you'll need make sure your characters do it too. 11. Recycle basic animations Keep basic animations on standby so you have more time to focus on the subtletiesThis particular tip only really works when animating in the virtual world, but it's important to save basic animations, and keep a healthy stock of them at the ready. Even if it's a basic walk or run cycle, you can bring it into a scene when working on a new character and give yourself a head start. Once you have this base movement applied, with all the main poses and keyframes in place, you can then dedicate more time to adjusting the timing, weight and style to suit the personality of that particular character. 12. Use a basic model Animate with a simple proxy model to keep your workflow lightManipulating a high resolution model in the viewport can end up causing a strain on your system, especially when the model needs to deform and move with a skeleton or other complex deformers. This is more noticeable when you attempt to play the animation in real time and discover you are only seeing every tenth frame. When working with the overall motion of your character, hide the high resolution model and instead animate with a much simpler proxy model. This could be a reduced version of the character, or even a few boxes scaled to loosely fit the proportions, but this version will allow you to fluidly work on the main areas of movement before you then bring back the high detail model for the finer detail work. 13. Anticipation, action, reaction Every major movement can be split into three main areasWhen you break down every major movement it can be split into three main areas - Anticipation, Action, and Reaction. If we take a simple leap as an example, the character bends first to build up power, this is the Anticipation. The leap itself is the Action and then the landing, with momentum pushing them forward is the Reaction. This principle works with many movements, like throwing a punch or swinging a bat. It can also be used on facial animation, and even exaggerated for a more comic effect. 14. Offset your keys Achieving the natural flow of an element dragging behind your character, like a tail, can be tricky. The root remains fixed to the pelvis but the motion then has to follow through to the tip like a wave. A quick way to achieve this movement is to animate the base, and then copy this animation to the rest of the joints. Initially this will give them all the same action, but you can then go in and edit the key frames on each joint, shifting them forward a frame or two. This essentially delays that initial action on the higher joints, giving you the wave like motion. 15. Don't form every letter in speech When animating the face, and in particular the mouth, it's a good idea to try not to include each and every letter of the word the character is saying. This can make the mouth move too quickly, and often give an erratic appearance. If you observe people as they speak you will see that their lips don't physically form each letter, instead what you get is a more general and organic movement flowing through the sentence. Take a simple 'Hello' for example. If you mouth this greeting while looking in a mirror you will see that your lips form more of a H-E-O, with the tongue making a brief appearance to make the L sound. More from Ant at Vertex Ant Ward will be at Vertex answering your questions, as part of our 'Ask an Artist' section. These sessions are a fantastic opportunity to get one to one with a veteran artist, who can help you overcome a road block in your work, or to talk through a problem area. Ant is an artist with huge experience in many areas of CG. He has been a regular on the pages of 3D World for many years and has written numerous tutorials, as well as being a part of our expert Q and A team. To book a ticket for Vertex 2018 head over to the Vertex site, where you will find information on all the day's activities, from keynote talks to the panel discussion and recruitment fair. Related articles The ethics of digital humans The mocap behind Justice League's Steppenwolf Scott Ross to talk at Vertex View the full article

The heady aroma of artists' grade turpentine is not everyone's cup of tea. Aside from the smell, some are worried about reported health concerns associated with the product, and so the need for water-mixable oil paints was born. 10 essential oil painting tips and techniquesWhat started out as a limited palette of colours from just a few suppliers has now grown into a sizeable range of paints. Australian company Mont Marte has created yet more choices for the smell-sensitive consumer with its H20 Water Mixable Oil Paint set. The 36-tube set comes in a single-piece cardboard box, with two trays of 18 tubes covering an impressive range of colours. The colours squeeze out with a little splitting as the pigment separates from the oil. A slight graininess can be felt under your palette knife and the finish on some isn't that lovely gloopy gloss you get with high-end oil paints. When mixing, be careful how much water you add. Anything more than one-part water to three-parts water-mixable oil paint (WMOP) can change the consistency of the paint and cause cloudiness. You can also mix WMOP with gouache and acrylics, but again, watch those ratios. Adding more than one-part gouache or acrylic to four-parts WMOP can affect how it cures. The colours react well when mixed, and make for pieces that weren't far from the expected results. If you're looking for a serious replacement to your oil paints, then look elsewhere. But if you're after an affordable and safer oil paint that doesn't require toxic spirits, then you could have a lot of fun with this H20 set from Mont Marte. This article was originally published in issue 154 of ImagineFX, the world's best-selling magazine for digital artists – packed with workshops and interviews with fantasy and sci-fi artists, plus must-have kit reviews. Buy issue 154 here or subscribe to ImagineFX here. Related articles: How to capture the light with oils Add vibrancy to your oil paintings with these top tips How to draw and paint - 100 pro tips and tutorials View the full article

We Create Digital is made up of highly experienced web developers and graphic designers fuelled by a genuine passion for technology. Until recently, Adobe Illustrator was our go-to application for graphic design – indeed, it has been a mainstay for many designers since its introduction in 1987. While a plethora of competing products have been introduced since, most have fallen by the wayside and allowed Adobe to maintain its domination of the market. Affinity has risen as Adobe’s newest– and possibly fiercest– challenger yet, drawing influence from two of Adobe’s flagship applications: Illustrator and Photoshop. Affinity Designer is a professional vector graphics app with power to spare. Affinity Photo is a dedicated image editing application boasting a wealth of highly refined tools for image readjustment and enhancement. Affinity Designer is better geared towards the needs of the modern web designer Affinity Designer and Affinity Photo are available for a one-off fee of £48.99 each, for Mac and Windows, which represents a more cost-effective solution than subscription-based plans. However, that's not to say you'll be getting a sub-standard product. Affinity’s improbable success hasn’t gone unnoticed, with Apple awarding Affinity with its highly coveted Design Award in June 2015, unveiling Affinity Photo for iPad onstage at WWDC last year, and then naming it App of the Year. We first started considering moving away from Adobe as our team began to expand. Ultimately, what was instrumental in our decision was a belief that the Affinity Designer is better geared towards the needs of the modern web designer. In this article we'll explore why we made the switch, and how. Feature focus Affinity Designer is a high-end graphics software application that has been created for use by professional designers. It is equipped with most of the functionality seen in its big-name rivals, plus a whole host of new features and capabilities. Moreover, it is fast expanding its range of tools and feature set with regular updates – inviting users to submit new feature requests openly on its forum. Affinity has shown an astute awareness of its audience. A basic example of this would be how users can choose from a range of screen resolution presets based on the dimensions of popular devices. Furthermore, Affinity has clearly been developed with the aim of supporting a streamlined workflow. Customisable layer effects enable designers to effortlessly refine elements of their design, and these adjustment layers can be saved as templates for future use. Affinity Designer's asset management panel helped WCD design a platform for Musician Go These features really shone in a recent project for Musician Go, a central resource for musicians. WCD was responsible for delivering all aspects of branding, design, and development – building a truly bespoke platform entirely from scratch. The asset management panel provides easy access to design elements that crop up repeatedly in projects, a feature we made frequent use of when designing Musician Go. At WCD we are sticklers for detail and accuracy, which is why we love Affinity’s advanced snapping and grid options. Affinity features zooming capabilities of more than 1,000,000% (that’s right, one million percent!), meaning we can be as precise as we want. It's also geared up specifically for working with both vectors and bitmap images within the same document, without having to switch between programmes. WCD used Affinity's advanced image adjustment features on the Fellpack site Affinity offers advanced image adjustment options, which came in handy when we were asked to design a website for a new restaurant called Fellpack. The aim was to showcase the incredible landscape surrounding the restaurant, and to capture the brand's passion for food with vibrant photography. In Affinity Designer we were able to overlay text without impairing readability and with only minimal desaturation to photos. The result is a website that creates an instant impression on its visitors and captures the vision of Fellpack. Making the switch Our transition was aided by Affinity’s support for PSD and AI files – meaning that we were able to work using our existing source files with ease. Similarly, its wide range of file support facilitates our collaborations with external designers and agencies. Affinity’s slick, accessible and highly intuitive interface mean users need little time to bring themselves up to speed with the nuanced differences between Affinity and Adobe. This also makes Affinity an attractive option for beginners as well as seasoned professionals. With a free trial available, we’d strongly advise you to consider giving Affinity a chance. It’s been two years since we switched to using Affinity, and we haven’t looked back. View the full article

The city of Los Angeles hit a nerve with designers yesterday when it shared an advert for a 'graphics designer' vacancy on its Twitter and Instagram profiles. And while it might initially seem to be a classic case of bad design, the ad – which looks like it was whipped up in Microsoft Paint or another piece of free graphic design software – could just be a stroke of genius. We'll start with the city of Los Angeles logo, which is incorporated... clumsily. The lettering is inconsistent, both in terms of shape and colour. To cap it off, the salary details and opening dates are written in the font everyone loves to hate: Comic Sans – while the multicoloured square graphics add a child-like aesthetic. Or do they? Somebody seems to know an awful lot about graphic design... Yes, it's awful, but that's the point. It communicates in an instant that the team need a graphic designer. So does that make this a good piece of graphic design? Either way, it's certainly proved popular. Currently the Tweet has over 11,000 likes and 5,400 retweets. Given how fast the ad is spreading, we're sure it'll have racked up plenty more by the time you're reading this Design humour Whoever created this image has already demonstrated a good sense of humour, but it doesn't end there. They've also taken the time to respond to some of the wittier graphic designers who have taken time to reply. There's even a reference to that hilarious Ryan Gosling Papyrus font sketch from a recent Saturday Night Live. This person knows their audience. On top of that, the Twitter account is even retweeting some of the intentionally bad designs people have shared in an effort to show off their graphic design skills, including these gems... If you're a graphic designer looking for a full-time position in the Los Angeles area, be sure to check out the vacancy (with an advertised annual salary of $46,708-$103,230) properly on its careers page. The closing date is 25 January, so don't hang around. Related articles: Bad volume sliders are a masterclass in terrible UI design 6 embarrassing examples of bad kerning Famous artworks ruined with design by committee View the full article

Web development is a rapidly growing field, and there's still plenty of room for you to get involved and start a career. You just need the right skills to get your start. Dive head-first into the field with the Complete Web Developer Course 2.0 and you'll pick up the talents you need in no time. It's on sale now for just $19 (approx. £14). The Complete Web Development Course 2.0 is the perfect opportunity to pick up the web development skills that you've always wanted to have. This professionally-taught course will help you learn the fundamentals of web development and provide you with a complete understanding of essential programming languages like HTML, CSS, JavaScript, and jQuery. Then you'll move up to full, creative projects that will help you put your new skills to the test. The Complete Web Developer Course 2.0 usually retails for $149, but you can save 87% off that price right now. That means you pay just $19 (approx. £14) for a great course that could launch your next career, 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: 7 game-changing web design tools for 2018 12 huge web design trends for 2018 18 great web design podcasts View the full article

Side projects are a great way to pick up a new skill, hone your creative talents, and, if you're lucky, make a bit of money. Thanks to online resources it's now easier than ever to take your pencil drawing techniques to the next level and learn how to start a blog, but turning your side project into a success is still incredibly difficult. To help you on the way to side project satisfaction, we asked designers for their expert hints and tips. 01. Break it into smaller chunks Jessica Hische's project took her 20 minutes per day Daily Drop Cap project “I think about side projects as these bursts of activity,” says Jessica Hische. “I didn’t think of Daily Drop Cap as a big project: I thought of it as 20 to 40 minutes a day. That was very palatable and easy to figure out how to work into my life.” 02. Do it regularly “For larger projects, I’ll usually do a day or two at a time,” adds Hische. “So I’ll commit a Thursday or a Friday. It’s amazing what you can accomplish in two consecutive days. If you did that every other week, it’s enough to get through a big part of a larger project.” 03. Turn it into a habit It’s easier to stick with a side project if you can establish a regular routine, and you’ll find friends and family will be more accommodating if they understand when you’ll be busy working on it. Try to find an hour in the morning or in the evening twice a week, or ban Netflix for a month. 04. Use your time well “Everyone’s lives are different; everyone’s routines are different – you just have to find the rhythm that works for you,” says Gavin Strange. “The thing I find most inspiring, though, is the fact that we all have the same 24 hours in a day. It’s up to us how we use them!” 05. Set your own goals “That’s the beauty of side projects – they’re allowed to be sprawling,” adds Strange. “They’re allowed to take years. They’re allowed to be weird. You are your own client; your own boss. You set your own expectations. Just throw caution to the wind and experiment.” 06. Don't be afraid to call time “I don’t feel guilty about not finishing projects,” says Hische. “If I’m just being lazy, I’ll give myself a hard time about it. But if this thing I was super-passionate about two years ago isn’t part of my life any more, then to follow through with it feels disingenuous because I can’t deliver it with passion.” This article was originally published in issue 261 of Computer Arts, the global design magazine – helping you solve daily design challenges with insights, advice and inspiration. Subscribe to Computer Arts here. Related articles: How to start a side project: 21 pro tips Manage your projects better 10 social media tricks you didn't know about View the full article

Described by one critic as "a shotgun wedding between Bauhaus and Fisher-Price", the Memphis design aesthetic embodies the 1980s in so many ways: colourful, kitsch and garish. In recent years it's come back into fashion in a big way, so what can we learn from this major design trend? Simple geometric shapes; flat colours combined in bold, contrasting palettes; stylised graphic patterns defined by black-and-white stripes and abstract squiggles – these are the ingredients of Memphis-inspired design, fuelled by influences from earlier movements such as Pop Art and Art Deco. How the Memphis Group began The Memphis Group was a collaborative design group founded by Italian designer Ettore Sottsass, with its roots in furniture design – it made its influential debut at the Milan furniture fair in 1981. But it was relatively short-lived as an actual collective, closing down after just six years. Designed by Memphis Group founder Ettore Sottsass in 1981, the striking Ashoka Lamp is made from lacquered metal Memphis Group products were never intended to be timeless, or to have mainstream appeal. They were a statement; a protest against the neutral, understated and functional Modernism that preceded them. Here was a passionate movement driven by form, not function – designed to provoke an emotional response. Not all those responses were positive. Memphis Group products were much-derided by critics at the time for being ugly, expensive and impractical. Many assumed the movement was a brief flash in the pan. Few would have predicted its ultimate cultural impact, or the revival of the aesthetic three decades on. The modern Memphis design trend After the collective shut down, many of its members continued practicing individually. Sottsass himself was a successful postmodernist architect, and it was only after his death in 2007 that interest in the Memphis design aesthetic was re-awakened in a big way. The trend has been accelerating ever since. Many of the examples featured below are from the last five years, and some of them see original Memphis Group members returning to form. Camille Walala's Memphis-inspired style has graced many products, including cushions Contemporary creatives are also putting a fresh spin on the Memphis design aesthetic, such as London-based French designer Camille Walala, who graduated from the University of Brighton in 2009. While the patterns and shapes are familiar, in the modern revival bold primary colours are supplemented by mellow teals and soft pinks, blended with greys as well as the trademark stark black-and-white. Refined production methods and more high-end materials have also increased the quality of the products themselves – but the retro appeal and rebellious spirit remains strong. Read on to discover 10 standout examples of the Memphis design aesthetic... 01. Ettore Sottsass' Carlton Is it a bookcase, room divider, dresser, or art? The original Memphis Group created a wide range of bizarre creations that won celebrity fans from Karl Lagerfeld to David Bowie. The Ashoka lamp is one of them – but arguably the most iconic of all, and therefore the perfect start to this list, is Ettore Sottsass' Carlton. Built from sections of laminated MDF, the Carlton could be seen as a bookcase, a room divider or a dresser – or all three – but like many of the Memphis Group's creations, it seems equally comfortable as a modern art installation. Designed in 1981, it can be found in design museums around the world, and in fact it's still available for purchase from the Memphis Group website – for the princely sum of €13,200.40 (around $16,154 or £11,636). Even if you could afford one, you'd need a substantial living room to house it, as the Carlton is enormous – almost two metres square. It's also the perfect checklist for the Memphis style: a bold colour palette, strong, stark lines, and a geometric structure: its various partitions, voids and shelves are based around a system of equilateral triangles. 02. The original 1995 Apple Watch This watch didn't bug you about when to stand up Most people would argue the Apple Watch was released in 2015, and they'd be right. But the high-end glossy touchscreen smart watch wasn't technically Apple's first attempt: 20 years earlier, it had a Memphis-inspired predecessor. Part of a marketing drive, the quartz-faced, analogue timepiece was never actually sold as a standalone item, but offered as a freebie if you upgraded to Mac System 7.5. Long before the modern-day Memphis revival, this watch kept the aesthetic alive in the mid-90s with a bold, simple design based on geometric shapes, bold primary colours, and a delightfully playful squiggle for a second-hand. 03. Christian Dior's 2011 fall collection Katy Perry wore this Dior Memphis-style outfit to an MTV awards After Sottsass' death, interest in the Memphis style began to grow. It influenced high fashion houses Missoni, Karl Lagerfeld and Christian Dior, and the latter's 2011 collection helped kick-start the modern movement in earnest. Bold, graphic black-and-white stripes and crazy-paving-style graphics; vibrant contrasting palettes, and patterns defined by simple shapes and squiggles; and pure, chunky geometric shapes worn as headgear combined to make the catwalk show a must-have checklist of Memphis inspiration. And once Katy Perry donned one of the collection's utterly unmissable outfits at the MTV Video Music Awards later that year, there was no going back: Memphis was firmly on the world's radar. 04. Nathalie Du Pasquier's Tapigri rug The designer of this rug, Nathalie Du Pasquier, was an original Memphis Group member Two years after Christian Dior wowed the fashion world, Memphis-inspired patterns and designs were everywhere at Milan Design Week 2013. Original Memphis Group member Nathalie Du Pasquier applied her distinctive graphic patterns to a rug produced by La Chance, revealed at the show. Like a visual crib-sheet of Memphis motifs, Du Pasquier's Tapigri rug features simple 3D silhouettes of cubes, decorated by rough monochrome patterns, on a background of overlapping dark blue squares and circles – with a bright primary-yellow trim. The same design is also available in black, white and grey for a more Art Deco vibe. 05. Nathalie Du Pasquier's American Apparel 2014 collection Memphis went mainstream with this 2014 collection The following year, Nathalie Du Pasquier took Memphis firmly into the mainstream when she collaborated with American Apparel on an extensive Memphis-inspired clothing range. Also in 2014, Sofia Coppola confessed to W magazine that she'd been obsessed with Memphis since childhood. Featuring her trademark pared-back geometric shapes and colourful, graphic prints, Du Pasquier's 43-piece American Apparel collection – commissioned by creative director Iris Alonzo – spanned womenswear, menswear and accessories. Her range included monochrome grid patterns at varying scales, overlaid by squiggly shapes and textured circular motifs, with the classic Memphis primary colours softened in a muted palette of lemon yellow, teal, lilac and soft pink. 06. Camille Walala's Dream Come True Building The Dream Come True Building livens up this corner in Shoreditch, East London By 2015, the baton had passed to a new generation of Memphis-inspired designers. One of the foremost modern proponents of the style, 2009 graduate Camille Walala brought the spirit of the Memphis Group to the heart of Shoreditch by emblazoning her unmistakable style onto a five-storey building on Great Eastern Street: the Dream Come True Building. Now an East London icon, the mural features many of the key components of the Memphis style: black-and-white stripes and speckled patterns; thick, bold black linework; simple geometric shapes and a vibrant colour palette that sits teal and lilac alongside the primary-colour staples. Later that year, Walala also took over Islington-based design store Aria with an extensive new range of Memphis-style products as part of London Design Week – encompassing furniture, ceramics, prints, shelving and more. Teal and soft pink featured prominently in the installation, as well as panels of monochrome grids and stripes. 07. Kartell's flagship store tribute Ettore Sottsass designed these home products in 2004, but they didn't make it to production until 2015 Italian furniture and homewares brand Kartell staged its own tribute to the Memphis design aesthetic in 2015 by finally releasing a range of products that Ettore Sottsass – then in his late 80s – had originally designed for it in 2004. Innovations in materials and production methods in that intervening decade finally made some of Sottsass' more ambitious visions possible, and the range totally dominated the Kartell store, which was decorated with sharp zigzags, triangles, dots, speckles and criss-cross patterns in bold shades of orange, teal, yellow and magenta – a modern twist on the Memphis vibe. 08. Alessandro Mendini's Supreme skateboards Alessandro Mendini introduced a splash of cyan to the traditional Memphis palette for his Supreme skateboard designs Nathalie Du Pasquier wasn't the only original Memphis Group member to enjoy a resurgence as part of the modern Memphis movement. In 2016, her fellow collaborator Alessandro Mendini was commissioned by streetwear brand Supreme to design a set of skateboards in the Memphis style. It put the Memphis movement on something of a design pedestal, as previous Supreme collaborations from the world of design included Peter Saville’s album art for Joy Division, Roy Lichtenstein’s pop art comics, and Damien Hirst’s signature dotilism. Best known for his radical furniture design and striking, brightly-coloured architecture, Mendini's skate deck designs put a modern twist on the Memphis style, overlaying abstract shapes, squiggles and lines and adding a splash of cyan to the well-established combo of pale pink, teal and orange. 09. Auction of David Bowie's Memphis collection David Bowie had a huge collection of Memphis designs 2016 was a year seemingly cursed by high-profile celebrity deaths, including the inimitable David Bowie – who, it transpired, was a hugely prolific collector of Memphis Group artefacts, having accumulated over 400 of them since meeting Sottsass during his heyday in the 1980s. Bowie's extensive art collection was auctioned at Sotheby’s over three days, raising £1.4 million. Possibly the most expensive typewriter we've seen One highlight was a lipstick-red Valentine typewriter by Sottsass – estimated at £300-500, sold for £47,500 – as well as an iconic Casablanca Sideboard from the original 1981 Memphis Group exhibition. Boosted by Bowie's untouchable star status, this auction further cemented Memphis Group design in general, and Sottsass in particular, in the public consciousness. 10. Garage Italia Customs' Memphis-inspired BMWs The bold designs were inside and out Which brings us to 2017, and after a journey that started as a relatively brief experimental movement within furniture design, the Memphis design trend has weaved its way through haute couture fashion, textiles and mainstream apparel into murals, homewares, streetwear and pattern design. Where next? A giant corporate superbrand, of course. BMW wanted a piece of the action, and brought in Garage Italia Customs to give two of its cars – an i3 and an i8 – Memphis Group makeovers just in time for Milan Design Week. The resulting paint jobs featured a patchwork of bright colours and bold patterns, continued inside the vehicle with patterned textiles. Designed under the guidance of original Memphis Group member Michele de Lucchi, the paintwork comes complete with trademark monochrome stripes and grid pattern, the well-established yellow, teal and orange colour palette, and distinctive Memphis-style geometric shapes that are carefully adapted to the contours of the vehicle. You might also like these: 12 essential tools for graphic designers 8 free apps for picking a colour scheme 10 huge graphic design trends to know for 2018 View the full article

Diversity, like accessibility, is a huge topic in UX – and indeed in all areas of design right now. If you need a little help increasing the inclusivity of your user experiences, then check out these 5 tips. 01. Understand it’s the right thing to do This one’s short, but simple. Before any other reason, decide that being more inclusive in your work is absolutely the right thing to do. Sure, there’s plenty of rational, strategic business decisions behind targeting a more diverse audience for your product or brand, but you need to decide that it’s important to you. We have the power as designers, art directors and developers to redefine what’s normal. There’s a long history in our profession to use design as a tool to affect perspectives on race, gender, sexual orientation and culture. No-one’s asking you to make a direct political statement or be inauthentic. Just be self-aware. Don’t just talk about it, do something about it. 02. Show diversity in visuals Google frequently uses its homepage to promote multiculturalism, different physicalities, genders and sexual preferences When generating content or visuals for your site, you may have the opportunity to shoot custom film or photography. If filming, be sure to incorporate diverse representation early on in the storyboarding/concepting process. People will naturally follow the boards as they are approved; it’s the path of least resistance. Laying the groundwork now makes justifying your casting decisions later a bit easier. 03. Be sensitive in copywriting and content Don’t neglect chemistry. Diversity works best when it feels real instead of feeling staged. Try to find natural pairings or groups of people who seem like they could relate to each other, and maybe actually hang out together.” Tish Loh, Digital Creative Director @ Pu Words matter. Cultural sensitivity in your brand’s social media, website, or app’s content should not be dismissed as bland political correctness. Be careful in how you describe groups. Consider using more considered language instead of potentially derogatory terms. For example, say ‘women in poverty’ versus ‘poor women’ 04. Use strategic UX Empathy is an easy emotion to find within yourself (unless you’re a sociopath). That’s a big part of experience design. But how do you effectively channel your own empathy to truly understand your user? Start by re-evaluating the methodologies you are likely to use. 05. Be careful with personas and assumptions Avoid making assumptions about your audience. Try to find alternative perspectives in your research before narrowing your personas down. Okay, maybe you do represent ‘diversity’ in them, but is that diversity based on stereotypes? Being culturally sensitive is not necessarily the same as being overly politically correct. In this more socially conscious era we live in, perpetuating stereotypes at the foundation of your project is an easy way to create negative associations with your brand. Learn how big brands design Digital technology manager, web developer and professor Daniel Schutzsmith will speak at Generate New York Daniel Schutzsmith is the digital technology manager/senior web developer for Amnesty International USA. His job is to create websites and mobile apps that engage supporters through great user experience design to advance human rights. Let him tell you more in his talk 'How the largest human rights organisation in the world uses design systems to win on the web' at Generate New York from 25-27 April 2018 – Get your ticket now. Related articles: 30 web design tools to speed up your workflow in 2018 10 huge graphic design trends to know for 2018 10 essential tools for freelance UX designers View the full article

Prolific Google bug hunter Guang Gong earns highest ever Android Security Rewards payout. View the full article

Today saw the launch of a new product from Nintendo for its Switch console – Nintendo Labo, which makes coding and engineering child-friendly. Cartoon characters in a video walk users through how to turn the cardboard sheets into toys that, when combined with the Switch console and its detachable Joy-Con controllers, interact with augmented reality games like conventional games console peripherals. The range of accessories includes a miniature piano, a fishing rod, and a small house among others. Included with Nintendo Labo are the 25 sheets of sturdy brown card required to make the controllers. To make them, simply punch out the cardboard nets and follow the assembly instructions. Depending on the complexity of the accessory, this can take anywhere between 15 minutes and two hours. These controllers are the latest in a long line of innovative products from Nintendo. Just cast your mind back to when the Nintendo Wii hit the market and changed how players interact with games, thanks to the motion-sensitive Wii Remote. The new controllers are geared more towards younger players, and it's easy to see how the cardboard Nintendo Labo accessories will encourage creativity among curious children. And parents are sure to welcome some hands-on play time as the different toys are made. Watch them in action in the video below. Given that plastic peripherals only stay in use for as long as a game is popular – Guitar Hero axes we're looking at you – the release of cardboard accessories is sure to be welcome news to environmentally conscious gamers. Having said that, it would've been a really nice touch if the Nintendo Labo controllers could have been incorporated into the packaging design to cut down on waste further. Either way, these accessories are sure to be a welcome addition to Nintendo's long line of entertaining products. In a statement, Nintendo of Europe's president, Satoru Shibata, said, "Our goal is to put smiles on the faces of everyone Nintendo touches. Nintendo Labo invites anyone with a creative mind and a playful heart to make, play and discover in new ways with Nintendo Switch. "I personally hope to see many people enjoying making kits with their family members, with big smiles on their faces." Related articles: Nintendo Switch concept design gets the VR treatment Why the Nintendo Switch logo is subtly asymmetrical 14 brilliantly creative gifts for kids View the full article

Here's one to bookmark: Laws of UX explores the links between user experience design and 10 key psychological principles, to provide valuable guidance for designers building user interfaces. If you hadn't really considered it in much depth before, it's a fascinating insight into why we design interfaces the way we do. On this helpful site, each of the 10 vital UX rules is accompanied by an overview, further explanation, and a selection of further reading to dig into. And as you'd expect from a site dedicated to UX, it's beautifully designed and a breeze to navigate, with subtle animations that help the information shine. Fitt's Law lays out guidelines for the placement of elements Rule number 1 is Fitt's Law, which states that "the time to acquire a target is a function of the distance to and size of the target." What does that have to do with UX design? Well, it has implications for the size and positioning of your navigational elements. In your interfaces, you should aim to reduce the distance from one point of navigation to the next as much as possible, as well as ensuring you make the target object large enough so that the user can spot and select it easily, without sacrificing accuracy. Hick's Law has big implications for decision making Rule number 2 is Hick's Law: "The time it takes to make a decision increases with the number and complexity of choices." Another biggie for UX designers. Everyone knows that UX design is predominantly about making your users' lives as easy as possible, and part of that is about not throwing every option under the sun at them and asking them to put the leg work into figuring out what they want. Laws of UX was created by frontend designer Jon Yablonski, who designed it in Sketch, and it's powered by Gulp, Sass and Nunjucks. Take a look to explore the science behind more UX laws. Liked this? Read these: 7 game-changing web design tools The 5 biggest UX design trends for 2018 Nail your HTML with this cheat sheet View the full article

If you're after the best cheap MacBook deals this Christmas, you're in luck. A good laptop makes the world of difference for a designer, and with a MacBook you know that you're getting a high quality device – but they're also expensive. The good news is, there are some incredible offers to be had if you shop around. So we've gathered up the best MacBook and MacBook Pro deals around at the moment, and split the deals here into UK and US sections, so you can find what you're after, faster. And it doesn't matter if you go for a refurbished model – which some of the laptops on this list are – because they still deliver the same standard of performance as a new MacBook. Immediately below you should see the best deals that our deal checker software has found on the main MacBook models today, and further down the page we've written up some of the best deals we've found. So without further ado, start scrolling through this list of the best MacBook deals out there in time for a Christmas bargain. The best MacBook deals UK The best MacBook deals US Related articles: The best iPad deals for Christmas 2017 The best Wacom tablet deals for Christmas 2017 The best laptop deals for Christmas 2017 View the full article

If you're looking to bag a brilliant deal on a Surface Book, Surface Pro or any other model in Microsoft's fantastic Surface family, then you've come to the right place. We're collecting all the best Microsoft Surface deals right here, as soon as they appear. So far, the best savings we've seen have arrived in the form of Surface Book deals. That's because the Surface Book – our laptop of the summer – was replaced in 2017 by the stunning Surface Book 2 and retailers are looking to shift their older stock. The Surface Book remains an incredibly powerful machine, though. We gave the Surface Book five out of five stars when we reviewed it. It's powerful, flexible and has a stunning screen – so if you don't mind buying an older model, there are some incredible savings to be had. (And if you're in the market for more creative hardware generally, don't miss the following articles: Best MacBook deals, Best laptop deals, Best monitors for creatives, The best Wacom tablet deals, Best iPad deals, Best phone deals, and our the best Adobe deals.) Read on for the best Microsoft Surface deals to be had right now. Or hit the jump links above to navigate to your preferred product... Best Surface deals today 01. Surface Book 2 deals At 15-inches, the beautiful new 2-in-1 Microsoft Surface Book 2 introduces a larger form factor to the original Surface Book. In our view, this is the world’s best 2-in-1 laptop: it’s incredibly powerful, with a dazzling 13.5-inch PixelSense display, and boasts a battery life up to 17 hours. It’s also incredibly flexible – with laptop, tablet, studio and view modes – and lightweight to boot. Prices are unlikely to come down much, but if there are any deals to be had anywhere, you’ll find them right here. 02. Surface Book deals The first iteration of the Surface Book remains an impressive model – and with huge cuts likely while stocks last, Microsoft's first-ever 2-in-1 laptop makes an irresistible prospect for creatives. With an innovative Performance Base that delivers crisp, vibrant graphics and up to 16 hours of battery life, if you can get your hands on the Surface Book you won't regret it. Read our five star review of the Surface Book. 03. Surface Pro deals Thanks to a powerful Intel Core processor, the Surface Pro delivers great speed and performance that previous models. This has lead to Microsoft describing it as the most powerful Surface Pro ever. With all this power under the hood, the new Surface Pro provides users with a smooth experience to help them stay productive. It can also switch between laptop, studio, and tablet modes easily to keep up with your demanding workflow. Ultra-light and versatile, the Surface Pro gives users the best of Microsoft at their fingertips. Read our review of the Surface Pro. 04. Surface Studio deals With an impressive 28" PixelSense Display, the Surface Studio is specially designed for the creative process. Capable of switching and adjusting to follow how you work, the Surface Studio is powered by Intel Core processors and an NVIDIA GeForce dGPU to help bring your work to life. Paired with the Surface Dial, the Surface Studio is changing how creatives are working for the better. Read our review of the Surface Studio. 05. Surface Laptop deals The beautifully designed and crafted Surface laptop matches its elegance with its performance. Boasting a vibrant 13.5-inch PixelSense Display with immersive touchscreen, the Surface Laptop gives users more room to get creative. Available in four colours to suit your style (burgundy, platinum, cobalt blue and graphite gold), this laptop packs the best of Windows and Office. Read our review of the Surface laptop. Related articles: The best laptops for graphic design 2017 5 best laptops for video editing in 2017 The best drawing tablet for illustrators and artists View the full article

While the Bayeux Tapestry made headlines yesterday after it was announced that the huge embroidered cloth would be displayed in the UK for the first time, a different tapestry caught our attention. Created by Tourism Ireland, the Northern Ireland Game of Thrones Tapestry brings to life the complete story of the popular fantasy series in one 77 metre-long medieval wall-hanging like one massive, olde worlde infographic. Any Game of Thrones fan worth their salt will know that the show has used Northern Ireland as a filming location over the last seven years, so it makes sense to celebrate a show that's become deeply embedded in the country's culture (and tourism industry). We've seen some amazing Game of Thrones fan art before, but this tapestry takes it to a new level. Brought to life by a team of expert weavers working on a state-of-the-art Jacquard Loom, along with hand illustrators and digital artists, the tapestry is made of Northern Irish linen and other fabrics used for the costumes in the show. Watch how it was made below. The original tapestry was created in under three months and went up to the end of series six. As series seven aired, a new section was added every week shortly after the latest episode was broadcast. If you want to see the tapestry in real life you'll need to visit the Ulster Museum in Belfast. Alternatively, you can scroll through the whole thing on the tapestry's dedicated website. Along the way you can click on icons that explain corresponding plot points and learn more about the locations used in the programme. The Northern Ireland Game of Thrones Tapestry is the perfect way to refresh your memory of the show and remind yourself of what's happened and who's died so far. Of course, if you haven't caught up with the latest series you'll need to be careful – the tapestry is full of spoilers. Related articles: The VFX behind 72 grisly Game of Thrones deaths Meet the artist who designed the Iron Throne 14 fantasy artists to follow on Instagram View the full article

You've probably noticed the number of CSS animation examples featuring on websites has been on the rise lately. Animation is already making a splash online, and is set to become one of the key web design trends of 2018. All over the web, designers are getting creative and using CSS animations to bring personality to their sites, explain complex ideas quickly and easily, and guide their users' actions. These animations don't need to be overblown – even a subtle movement can have a big impact (most still have their roots in Disney's classic 12 principles of animation). In this article, we've pulled together a selection of CSS animation examples from some of the biggest websites around, and dug into the code to show you how to achieve these effects yourself. This page features in-depth tutorials, or click through to page 2 for inspiring effects (and links to their code) for you to dig into yourself. 01. Blowing bubbles As seen on: 7UP View the code Click to see the animation in action The CSS bubble animation that features on 7UP is a beautiful example of carrying a brand theme through into the website design.The animation consists of a few elements: the SVG ‘drawing’ of the bubbles and then two animations applied to each bubble. The first animation changes the opacity of the bubble and moves it vertically in the view box; the second creates the wobbling effect for added realism. The offsets are handled by targeting each bubble and applying a different animation duration and delay. In order to create our bubbles we’ll be using SVG. In our SVG we create two layers of bubbles: one for the larger bubbles and one for the smaller bubbles. Inside the SVG we position all of our bubbles at the bottom of the view box. In order to apply two separate animations to our SVGs, both utilising the transform property, we need to apply the animations to separate elements. The <g> element in SVG can be used much like a div in HTML; we need to wrap each of our bubbles (which are already in a group) in a group tag. CSS has a powerful animation engine and really simple code in order to produce complex animations. We’ll start with moving the bubbles up the screen and changing their opacity in order to fade them in and out at the beginning and end of the animation. In order to create a wobbling effect, we simply need to move (or translate) the bubble left and right, by just the right amount – too much will cause the animation to look too jaunting and disconnected, while too little will go mostly unnoticed. Experimentation is key with when working with animation. In order to apply the animation to our bubbles, we’ll be using the groups we used earlier and the help of nth-of-type to identify each bubble group individually. We start by applying an opacity value to the bubbles and the will-change property in order to utilise hardware acceleration. We want to keep all the animation times and delays within a couple of seconds of each other and set them to repeat infinitely. Lastly, we apply the ease-in-out timing function to our wobble animation to make it look a little more natural. 02. Scrolling mouse As seen on: Baltic Training View the code Click to see the animation in action A subtle scrolling mouse animation can give direction to the user when they first land on a website. Although this can be accomplished using HTML elements and properties, we're going to use SVG as this is more suited to drawing. Inside our SVG we need a rectangle with rounded corners and a circle for the element we’re going to animate, by using SVG we can scale the icon to any size we need. Now we’ve created our SVG, we need to apply some simple styles in order to control the size and position of the icon within our container. We’ve wrapped a link around the mouse SVG and positioned it to the bottom of the screen. Next we’ll create our animation. At 0 and 20 per cent of the way through our animation, we want to set the state of our element as it begins. By setting it to 20% of the way through, it will stay still for part of the time when repeated infinitely. We need to add in the opacity start point and then transform both the Y position and the vertical scale at the 100% mark, the end of our animation. The last thing we need to do is drop the opacity in order to fade out our circle. Lastly we apply the animation to the circle, along with the ‘transform-origin’ property and the will-change property to allow hardware acceleration. The animation properties are fairly self-explanatory. The cubic-bezier timing function is used to first pull the circle back before dropping it to the bottom of our mouse shape; this adds a playful feel to the animation. 03. Playful pop As seen on: Adidas View the code Click to see the animation in action The circular buttons on the Adidas website – when interacted with – have a playful popping animation whereby another circle covers the button growing from the centre. This animated transition is overlapped by a fading circle around the edge, the same colour as the button’s original state. This adds a sense of fun and engagement. To achieve this we use both the ::before and ::after pseudo elements – one for each of our animated circles. We absolutely position both of the elements, fixing them to the original button. In order to animate from the centre, we’re also setting the transform origin to the centre of the element. We’ve set the initial scale of our ::before element to 0 so we can transition the value when interacted with. The transition property performs the animation. When we interact with our element, we simply increase the scale. However, since we’ve also changed the translation (another value of the transform property), we need to carry that value to the new transform property’s value. The outer circle is achieved using a very simple keyframe animation – transitioning the opacity. 04. Animated writing As seen on: Garden Eight View the code for the paths and text Click to see the animation in action The Garden Eight website uses a common animation technique whereby text appears to be written out. To achieve the effect, we turn to SVG. To begin with, we’ll create the SVG. There are two approaches here: convert the text to paths in order to animate them or use SVG text. Both approaches have their pros and cons. Start by creating our keyframe animation. The only function we need it to perform is to change the stroke-dashoffset. Now we’ve created our animation, we need to apply the values we want to animate from. We set the stroke-dasharray, which will create gaps in the stroke. We want to set our stroke to be a large enough value to cover the entire element, finally offsetting the dash by the length of the stroke. The magic happens when we apply our animation. By animating the offset, we’re bringing the stroke into view – creating a drawing effect. We want the elements to draw one at a time, with some overlap between the end of drawing one element and beginning to draw the next. To achieve this we turn to Sass/SCSS and nth-of-type to delay each letter by half the length of the animation, multiplied by the position of that particular letter. 05. Mesmerising mandalas As seen on: God of War View the code here and here Click to see the animation in action Once again, to achieve this we turn to SVG to create our shapes, patterns and masks. Once we have our SVG, we target the masked darker circle with CSS and prepare it for animation. Next, we create our keyframe animation. We only need to change two properties here: the opacity and the scale. 06. Flying birds As seen on: Fournier Père et Fils View the code for a single bird or the whole flock Click to see the animation in action We start with completely straight vector lines, drawing each frame of our animation, depicting the bird in a different state of flight. We then manipulate the vector points and round the lines and edges. Finally, we put each frame into an equally sized box and place them side-by-side. Export the file as an SVG. The HTML setup is really simple. We just need to wrap each bird in a container in order to apply multiple animations – one to make the bird fly and the other to move it across the screen. We apply our bird SVG as the background to our bird div and choose the size we want each frame to be. We use the width to roughly calculate the new background position. The SVG has 10 cells, so we multiply our width by 10 and then alter the number slightly until it looks correct. CSS animation has a couple of tricks you may not be aware of. We can use the animation-timing-function to show the image in steps – much like flicking through pages in a notebook to allude to animation. Now we’ve created our fly cycle, our bird is currently flapping her wings but isn’t going anywhere. In order to move her across the screen, we create another keyframe animation. This animation will move the bird across the screen horizontally while also changing the vertical position and the scale to allow the bird to meander across more realistically. Once we’ve created our animations, we simply need to apply them. We can create multiple copies of our bird and apply different animation times and delays. 07. Cross my hamburger As seen on: Better Brand Agency View the code for the spans and SVG Click to see the animation in action This animation is used all over the web, turning three lines into a cross or close icon. Until fairly recently, the majority of implementations have been achieved using HTML elements, but actually SVG is much more suited to this kind of animation – there’s no longer a need to bloat your buttons code with multiple spans. Due to the animatable nature and SVG and its navigable DOM, the code to accomplish the animation or transition changes very little – the technique is the same. We start by creating four elements, be it spans inside of a div or paths inside of an SVG. If we’re using spans, we need to use CSS to position them inside the div; if we’re using SVG, this is already taken care of. We want to position lines 2 and 3 in the centre – one on top of another – while spacing lines 1 and 4 evenly above and below, making sure to centre the transform origin. We’re going to rely on transitioning two properties: opacity and rotation. First of all, we want to fade out lines 1 and 4, which we can target using the :nth-child selector. The only thing left to do is target the two middle lines and rotate them 45 degrees in opposite directions. 08. Chasing circles As seen on: Better Brand Agency View the code Click to see the animation in action The animated loading icon is made up of four circles. The circles have no fill, but have alternating stroke-colours. In our CSS, we can set some basic properties to all of our circles and then use the :nth-of-type selector to apply a different stroke-dasharray to each circle. Next, we need to create our keyframe animation. Our animation is really simple: all we need to do is to rotate the circle by 360 degrees. By placing our transformation at the 50% mark of the animation, the circle will also rotate back to its original position. With our animation created, we now just need to apply it to our circles. We set the animation name; duration; iteration count and timing function. The ‘ease-in-out’ will give the animation a more playful feel. At the moment, we have our loader, but all of the elements are rotating together at the same time. To fix this, we’ll apply some delays. We’ll create our delays using a Sass for loop. Due to the delays, our circle now animates in turn, creating the illusion of the circles chasing each other. The only problem with this is that when the page first loads, the circles are static, then they start to move, one at a time. We can achieve the same offset effect, but stop the unwanted pause in our animation by simply setting the delays to a negative value. Next page: More inspiring CSS animation examples to explore 09. Falling snow As seen on: USA Today View the code Click to see the animation in action The snow is created using an SVG and the technique is very similar to the way we created the bubbles earlier. To start, we create two layers of circles inside an SVG, then we animate those two layers by translating the Y value with a keyframe animation. We apply the animation to each layer instead of individual elements and reuse the same animation for both layers. By simply giving them different durations, we can add some depth to our scene. 10. Moving background As seen on: A Violent Act View the code Click to see the animation in action The website A Violent Act uses masking and subtle movement to grab the attention of the user. The majority of the work here is in the setup and creating the SVG. 11. Colourful transitions As seen on: DaInk View the code Click to see the CSS animation in action The Da-Ink website uses a really effective technique to transition between pages. The transition is simple and consists of an SVG containing a number of different-sized rectangles of different colours positioned on top of one another. The animation consists of transforming the X position by the width of the SVG. Then, using nth-of-type, we apply delays, offsetting each by 75ms from the last to create a smooth transition. 12. Pulsing circles As seen on: PeekaBeat View the code Click to see the CSS animation in action The pulse animation used on the Peek-a-Beat website is simple yet effective and not difficult to reproduce – consisting of three circles inside an SVG in which we animate their scale and opacity. 13. Expanding highlight As seen on: Heartbeat View the code Click to see the animation in action This is a very simple, yet really effective technique. The transition is accomplished using the ::before pseudo element. To begin with, the pseudo element is placed at the bottom while spanning the full width, but only a few pixels in height. When the element is interacted with, the width and height of the pseudo element are both transitioned to 105% of the parent’s size (the change is much more dramatic vertically), as well as transitioning the colour of the text. 14. Elevated title As seen on: Ensemble Correspondances View the code Click to see the CSS animation in action Ensemble Correspondances uses simple animation to convey movement in music. The design loosely represents sheet music. 15. Spinning menu icon As seen on: Coulee Creative View the code Click to see the animation in action The animated menu button is created using an SVG. The animation occurs when the user interacts with the menu button. Two transitions take place: the circular group around the menu spins 360 degrees and the menu icon in the centre changes colour. The most complicated part is the timing-function. Utilising cubic-bezier to gain complete control, we’re able to start the animation slowly, race through the middle part and slow it down again at the end. 16. Underline from the centre As seen on: God of War View the code Click to see the animation in action The animation consists of positioning the ::after pseudo element to the bottom and then scaling it when the button is interacted with. 17. Expanding corners As seen on: Princess Alexandra Auditorium View the code Click to see the animation in action The Princess Alexandra Auditorium website has a visual way to show the categories of its shows. Each of the show cards has a triangular corner set in a colour which represents the category and then, on hover, the name of the category is displayed. The effect is accomplished using the ::before and ::after pseudo elements, transitioning the size of the triangle and fading the name in when the element is interacted with. 18. Sliding arrow As seen on: Greenwich Library View the code Click to see the animation in action The Greenwich Library has a really interesting transition on its buttons. When interacting with the button, two things happen: the text part of the button is covered and the arrow is then animated off the right-hand side of the button and back in from the left. The colour transition is accomplished with the transition property and the arrow using a simple keyframe animation. Both the transition and the animation use the same duration in order to synchronise the movements. This article originally appeared in issue 268 of Web Designer, the creative web design magazine – offering expert tutorials, cutting-edge trends and free resources. Buy issue 268 here or Subscribe to Web Designer here. Read more: Get started with GSAP How to debug web animations Create and animate SVG Polygons View the full article

Having a comprehensive 3D anatomical model of the human body is essential for medical illustrators, among others. The ability to rotate the model and render from any angle is particularly useful and time-saving, as is the ability to hide or slice individual muscles, organs and blood vessels, essentially creating different levels of dissection. The following 10 tips are based on my own personal workflow, where I jump between Blender and ZBrush to create a 3D model of the human body. Don’t worry if the subject looks too complicated – the core workflow can be applied to many modelling and sculpting processes, particularly if you’re aiming to create realistic, accurate human figures. I’ll begin by explaining my process with an overview of how you should prepare for a complex project like this, then we’ll get into the software tools that can really help make anatomical modelling a lot easier, plus how to use them. 01. Always start with good reference Click to see the full size image detail The quality of your reference material is very important in creating a successful and accurate model. It’s important to consider the function of the anatomical structure before modelling. Learn and understand what it does: does it extend, flex or rotate the bone? “Leave paper and pencil alone until the mind has grasped the meaning of the object,” said Max Brödel, first professor of medical art and founder of the Art as Applied to Medicine Degree at the Johns Hopkins School of Medicine. There are numerous sources of reference out there, including anatomy/biology books, video tutorials/demonstrations, pathology museums and exhibitions, such as body worlds and, of course, the internet. The internet can be a valuable source of reference for finding images, illustrations and movies. However, this should be used with caution as there are numerous inaccurate and misleading illustrations that may cause you to incorporate mistakes into your model. You should try to use several different illustrations for your reference, and these should always be obtained from reliable sources. The very best source of reference (and the most difficult to access) is first-hand experience of surgical procedures or within a university cadaveric research setting. This allows you to appreciate the various textures, colours and functions of different anatomical structures. There are several courses around the world offering access to these facilities, and many of these courses are part-time. It’s always worth contacting your local medical university to see if they can help, as there may be mutually beneficial collaborative projects on offer. 02. Begin with a skeleton model Click to see the full size skeleton detail By creating the skeleton model, first you are able to create the framework for all the other anatomical structures. The muscles can then be overlaid onto the skeleton and the human form will slowly appear. The ribcage and pelvis will also define the boundaries for the internal organs. Bones have a very specific shape and have numerous flat surfaces and protuberances where muscles attach. Pay particular attention to the proportions of the skeleton – if the skeleton is wrong this will have a knock-on effect and the overlying structures will also be wrong. 03. Make muscle attachments and insertions Click to see the full size diagram When adding muscle, it’s useful to know where the muscle originates on the bone and where it inserts. The best way to do this is to find reference images showing you outlined areas on the skeleton indicating the origin and insertion sites. You can then ensure each end of the muscle covers the correct skeletal region and this information also gives you clues as to where the muscles are positioned in relation to each other. 04. Use ZBrush UV Master Click to see the full size image detail Unwrapping models can be time-consuming. I use a feature in ZBrush called UV Master, which automatically unwraps your model for you. This saves a huge amount of time and is surprisingly accurate, even on complex models. Click on ZPlugin and select UV Master. Click to see the full size image detail Select Unwrap and ensure your model is at its lowest subdivision level. Then go to Texture Map and select Create from Polypaint. When you export the model from ZBrush, a texture map will be generated with the .obj file. 05. Use displacement maps for a low polycount Click to see the full size image detail The human body is composed of countless major anatomical structures, which means your model will become quite dense with increasing numbers of objects, therefore it’s important to keep the polycount reasonably low without compromising the quality or limiting the detail. To do this unwrap the model in ZBrush at its lowest subdivision level and create a texture map. Use Flip V to flip the imageSelect Create Displacement Map and ensure Flip V is selected (to flip the image), otherwise the displacement map will be upside down when imported into Blender. You can then add the displacement map to the model in Blender using the Node Editor. 06. Inflate your models in ZBrush Click to see the full size image detail I find that when importing models into ZBrush, some volume is lost after subdividing the geometry. To get around this, I always inflate the object slightly before sculpting. Select Deformation and then use the slider on Inflate to add a small amount of volume. 07. Use the magnet tool Click to see the full size image detail When making certain muscles in Blender, such as the facial muscles, use the Magnet tool to snap the geometry to the surface of the skull. Start with a plane and then in Edit mode position the geometry over the skull. Click to see the full size image detail Extrude the geometry and the vertices will stick to the surface of the bone. This will automatically give you the shape of the muscle. You can use a Solidify modifier to create the thickness you require. Here is my process: Click the magnet icon on the menu bar. Select Face from the Snap Element menu next to the magnet icon. Ensure the projection icon is selected. 08. Make use of Auto Backfacemask Click to see the full size image detail When certain areas of your model become quite thin, such as the coronoid process of the mandible, it can be quite problematic when sculpting. This is because the brush also affects the geometry behind the surface you want to sculpt. In order to avoid this, click ‘on’ Auto Masking and then select Backfacemask. This will automatically mask off the geometry behind and prevent unwanted deformation. 09. Parent all objects to an empty Click to see the full size image detail When modelling, it’s useful to make multiple renders from different angles to check the overall form. You may want to keep the lighting set-up in the same place and rotate the model itself. By parenting all the objects that make up your model to an ‘empty’, you can easily control the rotation of the entire model by keyframing the empty. Click to see the full size image detail Create an empty by pressing [Shift]+[A] and selecting Empty from the menu, then choose Plain Axis. Position the empty at the feet of the model. Select all the objects in your model and then [Shift]- select the empty in that order, as the empty will be the parent object. Press [Ctrl]+[P] and select object from the list that appears. You can then move, scale or rotate the entire model using just the empty. 10. Revise your model Click to see the full size image detail You never really finish a model like this one, anatomy is a complex, endless subject and you could spend a lifetime trying to illustrate all of the systems and structures that make up the human body. Inevitably, you will make mistakes so it’s important to constantly revise your model and strive to make the anatomy as accurate as you can. Click to see the full size image detail I have been working on this project for many years, continually making adjustments and modifications. I have completely rebuilt the model from scratch several times and I am continually adding new bones, muscles, nerves and other anatomical structures. You will soon notice that each time you revise your model, the quality and accuracy will also improve. This article was originally published in issue 215 of 3D World, the world's best-selling magazine for CG artists – packed with expert tutorials, inspiration and reviews. Subscribe to 3D World here. Related articles: Perfect your figure drawing with our anatomy masterclass How to master creature anatomy 20 top character design tips View the full article

Social media has the ability to reach billions of people, which means your audience is almost certainly out there. Now is your chance to reach them. The Social Marketing Mastery Bundle will teach you how to make the most of social media, and you can pay what you want for it. Social media is an essential piece of any marketing professional’s job. You can learn how to make the most of these wide-reaching platforms, from Facebook and Instagram to Google and Snapchat, and bring your products and services to those who will be most interested in them with the 15 courses included in the Social Marketing Mastery Bundle. You'll find over 75 hours worth of lessons and 87 lectures to teach you how to use social media to drive traffic to your site and turn visitors into customers. You can get the Social Marketing Mastery Bundle on sale for a price you can pick. Beat the average to unlock it all, get your name on the leaderboard, or just pay what you want. No matter what, you'll get great courses that will help you find your audience. The 15 courses in this bundle include: Facebook Marketing Made Easy Facebook Ads For Beginners Instagram Marketing: How To Build Your Brand The Complete Google AdWords Course: Beginner To Advanced Twitter Marketing Essentials: Get More New Followers Daily Social Media Marketing Masterclass 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: 10 social media tricks you didn't know about 5 golden rules for social media strategy How to make social media work for you View the full article

Used by the likes of ILM, Digital Domain, Sony Imageworks, Activision, BioWare, Guerrilla Games and many more, SpeedTree is pretty much the industry standard for the creation of vegetation in visual effects and video games. So what has changed in version 8 of the VFX-focused Cinema edition? First of all, SpeedTree Cinema 8 has had a price drop from $4,995 to $1,650 for a perpetual node-locked license, or $2,500 for a perpetual floating licence – although if you want unlimited access to the SpeedTree library, the cost increases to $3,150 or $4,000, respectively. However, you can rent the app, starting from $200 for three months, and buy individual VFX plants for anything from $8 up to $75 for a species pack. Buy SpeedTree Cinema 8 from the SpeedTree storeOne of the big upgrades to SpeedTree is the move to PBR (physically based rendering) materials, with a new non-destructive workflow in which you can alter the colour, hue and contrast of textures without having to leave the app. This is accompanied by a brand-new library of 150 trees, bushes and plants, which have been scanned from real-world examples at an arboretum in North Carolina. You can easily create bespoke trees from scratch using the drawing tools. You can still make major edits even once branches, twigs and leaves have been added By employing a mixture of 4K and 8K textures, you get truly beautiful results, but while the SPM files are fairly lightweight, the multitude of high-res textures means that many of the samples weigh in around the 250MB mark (compared to around 25MB for SpeedTree 7 models). The exported FBX and associated textures can be larger still depending on the format used, so there's quite a step up in terms of pushing data around. It even takes a while for the app to stream in all those high-res textures. Despite all this, one of the most dramatic effects of this update is that SpeedTree's preview is faster and more accurate. Not only do the models look even better than in version 7 – especially with the high-res PBR textures – optimised generators and a new leaf rendering system means the app is much faster and more responsive. Even the most densely populated trees can be manipulated with ease, which makes it much easier to edit on the fly and see the results as you work. A new slider lets you switch between the seasonal colours of the foliage and also includes leaves that have fallen to the ground A side effect of the new optimisations is that the overhauled wind system – which now creates more natural-looking wind effects – also previews much more quickly, enabling you to see the result playing in real time and still navigate around the scene. A 1.1-million-poly mesh in SpeedTree 8 was smooth and highly responsive, while version 7 could only manage two or three frames per second with wind activated. One really cool new feature is the Season slider. As you drag from spring through to winter, the leaf textures change accordingly – but there's also a checkbox to show leaves that have fallen to the ground. These are exported with the mesh and so it's a great timesaver if you're doing autumn scenes, although it only works with SpeedTree models that have seasonal variations built in. New branch modelling features have also been added, enabling you to control the form of the tree with a sphere or imported mesh shape, and you can add decorative elements like knots, lumps and cavities – although we wish it was easier to control their position, without endless trial and error. On that note, another minor criticism is that there's a lot of dialling in of figures, and the arrow buttons that increase and decrease values often do so in such tiny increments that they're not worth using. It would be good to have a multiplier hotkey that increases the increment by a factor of 10 (or more), to make experimentation a bit easier and avoid so much number typing. The quality of the new PBR textures means you can get pretty close with the camera and they'll still stand up to scrutiny On top of version 8's major changes there are lots of little enhancements, too: a better layout with neater UI; a mesh preview in the loading panel; nicer material previews; preset lighting setups; and a Cutout Editor that lets you create your own 2D leaf, frond and twig meshes inside SpeedTree, without the need for any external apps. But the main takeaway here is that SpeedTree 8, in combination with its new library, creates the most beautifully detailed vegetation, which – unlike those of its predecessor – stand up to really close examination with the camera just inches away. Regular users of SpeedTree may well have wondered if the suite had been left to wither on the vine, but this root-and-branch overhaul sees it back in full bloom. This article was originally published in issue 230 of 3D World, the world's best-selling magazine for CG artists – packed with expert tutorials, inspiration and reviews. Buy issue 230 here or subscribe to 3D World here. Related articles: 13 tips for making a VR gaming world The secrets of 3D scanning 30 inspiring examples of 3D art View the full article

In recent years, Adobe Illustrator CC’s position as the go-to tool for vector graphics has come under increasing pressure, with new competition from the likes of Affinity Designer and Sketch. Get Adobe Creative CloudBut it remains the industry standard, and the web is packed full of tips, advice and tutorials to help you get to grips with it. So in this post, we bring together the best Illustrator tutorials in one handy place. Whether you’re a beginner, intermediate or advanced user, you’re sure to find what you’re looking for here. Make sure you bookmark this page right now. The basics 01. Get to know Illustrator This entry-level tutorial introduces you to the Illustrator workspace If you’re totally new to Illustrator, here’s a great place to start. This tutorial, which includes sample files, introduces you to the Adobe Illustrator workspace and shows you how to open and save your images. 02. Set up a new document This beginner-level tutorial will teach you how to set up a new document in Illustrator. You’ll discover how to set up the various options to configure variables such as width, height and colour mode. 03. Create and edit shapes This tutorial introduces you to the process for creating and editing shapes in Adobe Illustrator CC using the Shape tools. Learn how to draw, combine, and trace shapes using the sample files provided. 04. Transform and edit artwork In this tutorial you’re walked through the basics of transforming and editing artwork in Adobe Illustrator CC. Learn how to resize artwork, use groups, align objects and more using the Selection tool, Transform panel, and other transform tools in the software. 05. Change colour and strokes Discover how to apply colours to your artwork in this Illustrator tutorial Here’s a great introduction to how to work with colours in Illustrator CC. Discover how to apply colours to your artwork, change an object’s colour, create swatches, recolour artwork, and more. 06. Create with drawing tools This tutorial walks you through the concepts of Paths and Curves in Illustration and introduces the tools you need to create and edit them, including the Pencil and Curvature tools. 07. Organise content with layers Here’s a great beginner-level introduction to layers in Adobe Illustrator CC. You’ll discover how they work, what they’re for and how to use them to create, edit, and organise content. 08. Create and Edit Gradients This introduction to working with gradients in Illustrator explains how to create different types of gradients and modify options such as colours, position, and opacity to get the look you’re aiming for. 09. Explore the Essentials workspace Learn how to customise your workspace using the Properties panel The Properties panel in Illustrator CC allows you to customise your workspace, allowing you to find and use the right controls when you need them. This tutorial explains how to use it. 10. Work with artboards This tutorial explains the function of artboards in Illustrator CC, which are similar to pages in InDesign CC or Microsoft Word. Watch the three videos and you’ll soon learn how to create multiple artboards and edit them. Next page: Tools and features 11. Draw and edit curves using the Curvature tool The Curvature tool in Illustrator CC enables you to draw smooth, refined curves and straight lines easily. This tutorial offers you five simple exercises to help you understand how to use it. 12. Design more efficiently with Dynamic Symbols Dynamic Symbols lets you create multiple instances of a master symbol The Dynamic Symbols tool in Illustrator CC lets you dynamically change a symbol's attributes and streamline your artwork creation. This tutorial explains how to use it to create multiple instances of a master symbol, which then retain their link to the master symbol even when their shape and visual attributes are altered. 13. How to use the Color Picker The Color Picker allows you to select and apply colours to your artwork in Illustrator. This six-step tutorial demonstrates how to do so. 14. Export high-quality, optimized SVG Since 2015, Illustrator CC has offers an option to export higher quality SVG artwork for use in web and app projects. This tutorial explains how to use it in three simple steps. 15. Edit drawings with Image Trace Anna Wray explains how to retain the hand-drawn quality of your artwork using Image Trace The Image Trace tool is an excellent tool for illustrators who want to retain the integral hand-drawn linear quality of their artwork. In this tutorial, Anna Wray runs you through how to do it. 16. Illustrator shortcuts If you’re not using shortcuts in Illustrator, you’re not maximising your potential productivity. Here’s a great list of shortcuts for handling layers, selections, text and more, along with some handy hints for brushes, saving and closing, and viewing options. 17. Share artwork Learn the basics of sharing in Adobe Illustrator CC in this tutorial. Topics covered include how to share files, how to save them as PDFs, and how to export your images. 18. Export assets for web and app design Once you’ve created your assets in Illustrator, it’s important to be able to share them with others in different formats. This tutorial explains how to export assets in multiple sizes and formats in one easy step. 19. Speed up your design with templates Need to create a lot of designs in Illustrator quickly and easily? One way to speed up your process is by using high-quality templates built right into Illustrator CC, which you can download from Adobe Stock. This tutorial explains how to find the right template and customise it for your own use. 20. Use the Perspective Grid Matthew Pizzi explains how to master the three-point perspective grid to create a 3D gift box With Illustrator CC’s Perspective Grid, you can either place existing artwork in a perspective plane or draw directly on to the grid. This tutorial uses both methods to create a 3D gift box, and as an added bonus you’ll learn an easy way to create a reflection. Next page: Illustration techniques 21. Add images and artistic effects This tutorial begins by explaining the basics of adding images to your projects in Adobe Illustrator CC. It then goes on to walk you through how to add and edit effects, apply brush strokes, and more. 22. How to create colourful gradient orbs These cool gradient effects can easily be translated into any shape This tutorial demonstrates how to use the Gradient Mesh tool to create a colourful circular orb, which can also be modified into an abstract shape with the Warp tool, ready for use in all kinds of branding or art projects. 23. Add painterly effects with brushes This step-by-step tutorial teaches you to build up a detailed and impactful illustration by applying painterly brush strokes to objects, to add texture, interest, and details. Sample files are included to help you practice the techniques. 24. Create seamless, Mexican-inspired patterns In this step by step tutorial by Berlin-based artist Amrei Hofstätter you’ll learn how to create a complex, colourful Mexican-inspired pattern by using just two simple geometric objects in Illustrator. 25. Quickly manipulate shapes with effects Here you’ll learn a quick way to manipulate shapes by applying non-destructive effects in Illustrator CC. This tutorial also encourages you to experiment with variations using the sample files. 26. How to create a card suits pattern Andrei Marius explains how to create a simple but striking pattern in this Illustrator tutorial In this step by step tutorial, you will discover how to create, save and use a card suits pattern in Illustrator. You’ll also learn how to apply your pattern and how to adjust it using the Transform effect. 27. How to create a paisley pattern We all love a nice paisley pattern. In this tutorial you will learn how to create one using the Convert Anchor Point tools, Warp Effects and the Smooth tool. Next page: Text effects 28. Add text to your designs This beginner-level tutorial introduces you to the basics of using text in Illustrator CC. You’ll learn how to add text, apply formatting, reshape and style it, and place it on or inside a path. 29. Vectorise hand lettering with the Pen tool Discover a speedy way to digitise hand-lettering and logotypes using Adobe Illustrator’s Pen tool. This tutorial explains how to save time by mastering anchor points and handles. 30. The easy way to roughen your typography In this video tutorial you’ll discover a quick and easy way to roughen your typography in Illustrator. This grungy, roughened effect is a good way to add an old-fashioned print effect to your designs. 31. Create a peeled text effect In this step by step tutorial, you’ll learn how to create a flat background and add some text to it. You’ll then use the Appearance panel to create a bold, peeled text effect. 32. How to create a retro long shadow text effect Andrei Marius demonstrates how to create a retro long shadow text effect in Adobe Illustrator This tutorial explains how to work with the Appearance panel and use a Transform effect to add a long shadow effect to your text without expanding it. Final touches are added using some basic blending techniques and a simple Gaussian Blur effect. 33. How to create a rainbow text effect Here you’ll learn to create a simple square, multiply it using the Transform effect. You’ll then progress to turning a set of squares into a pattern brush. By combining this with the Width Tool, you will learn how to create a rainbow text effect. 34. Create a custom drop cap Liven up your text with a vibrant drop cap This step by step tutorial walks you through how to create a custom drop cap in Illustrator and then use it in an InDesign text layout. 35. Create a bones text effect This tutorial walks you through setting up a simple grid and creating several shapes. Then, using the Rounded Corners effect and some basic vector shape-building techniques, you’ll learn how to create a bones text effect. 36. Set a beautiful title Want to design an eye-catching title for your next project? This tutorial shows you how to choose a high-quality typeface, apply unique typesetting, and use an easy colour matching technique. 37. Design a monogram A monogram is a type of personal branding made up of one or more letters, typically initials, that may be intertwined as part of a design. This tutorial demonstrates how to use a simple shape, a professional typeface and colour to create an impressive monogram. Next page: Logo and icon design 38. Create a perfectly geometric logo design This short tutorial walks you through how to create a perfectly geometric logo design in Illustrator. Begin by creating an initial pattern using smart guides, then remove areas from shapes using the Shape Builder tool or Pathfinder tool, and add gradients. 39. Create a faceted gemstone logo graphic Chris Spooner walks you through the creation of a multi-faceted and polygonal logo graphic Learn to create the multi-faceted and polygonal logo design style that’s popular right now in the tech and digital industries. This tutorial shows you how to use a range of tools to produce such a design in vector format. 40. Create a distressed vintage style logo design This tutorial walks you through the creation of a vintage style logo design for a T-shirt. It’s based on a distressed type based logo design, which is then finished with texturing to achieve an aged look. 41. Design a logo This tutorial shows you how to use vector shapes to create a logo that will look good on screen as it does in print, and which combines imagery with text. 42. How to create a set of icons In this step by step tutorial you’ll learn how to create a simple set of icons using Illustrator. You’ll use vector shape building techniques, the Rounded Corners effect and the Rotate Tool to create the set of 10 icons. 43. Create a web icon In this tutorial you’ll learn how to modify simple shapes to create standout icons: a camera icon to use as a social media profile image, and for a button linking to a portfolio on a digital resume. 44. Create an app icon Create this cool calculator icon in Illustrator with this step-by-step tutorial by Matthew Pizzi This tutorial outlines how to create a calculator app icon in Illustrator, using a variety of shape tools, the Pen tool, and the 3D features of Illustrator. Next page: Advanced techniques 45. Warp, pose, and sculpt your artwork easily This advanced tutorial teaches you how to make smooth adjustments to parts of your vector drawings. The technique involves placing pins using the Puppet Warp tool, and then manipulating specific areas of your artwork accordingly. 46. Merge basic shapes into editable objects Shapes are the building blocks of an illustration, and Illustrator CC’s Shaper tool enables you to draw, edit, and merge them using intuitive gestures, as this video tutorial explains. 47. Bring harmonious colours to a vector artwork Bring to a sense of positivity to your art with a restrained choice of shapes and colours Illustrator Andrew Groves aims to recreate the feeling of discovering the unexpected, by using as few shapes and colours as possible. In this tutorial, he walks you through how to do the same in your own artwork, using Illustrator CC. 48. Quickly join and trim paths Learning to join paths is a great way to clean up your line work in Illustrator CC. This tutorial explains how to trim excess line segments from intersecting paths and close gaps between two open paths. 49. Create pixel-perfect designs Attention to detail can make or break a design This tutorial walks you through three options for ensuring precision control over your designs as you draw them in Illustrator CC. You’ll learn how to create paths that automatically align to the pixel grid as you draw them; align art to the pixel; and customise the pixel-snapping feature. 50. Create a pearl brush from gradient meshes Learning to create your own brushes is a great way to take your vector illustrations to the next level. This tutorial walks you through the creation of a brush that you can use to create an impressive pearl necklace. Next page: Illustrator projects 51. The secrets of cute character art design Learn how to design a character in Illustrator In this Illustrator tutorial, Sascha Preuß reveals how to go about designing colourful cartoon characters and outlines how to make them super-cute, from initial sketch to final colouring. 52. How to create an editable bar chart In this tutorial you’ll learn to create a fully editable chart in Illustrator using the Column Graph Tool. You’ll then use the Direct Selection Tool and the Graphic Styles panel to stylise the main components of your chart. 53. Create a busy city scene Discover how to bring some dynamics and atmosphere to a graphic city scene This tutorial explains how to put together a bustling street scene in Illustrator. You’ll be constructing architecture, adding figures, placing street furniture and signage and experimenting with colour to create a dynamic and atmospheric scene. 54. Create digital tattoo art This tutorial explains how to progress from a simple sketch to a detailed, tattoo-inspired illustration using Illustrator CC. Royalty-free files are included so you can follow the tutorial from beginning to end, and even incorporate your designs into client work. 55. Create vinyl wall art Here Ben O’Brien shows how to create and prepare artwork for making stylish vinyl wall stickers for decorating your home. 56. Create an elderly man illustration This tutorial walks you through how to illustrate an elderly man, using some basic geometric shapes and some simple tools in Illustrator. 57. Create a piggy-bank illustration Learn how to create a detailed piggy-bank illustration in Illustrator, using the Live Corners feature, basic blending techniques, Gaussian Blur effects and some Warp effects. 58. How to create a polar bear illustration Illustrate a polar bear using simple shapes Who doesn’t want to learn how to illustrate a polar bear? This great tutorial walks you through how to do so, using Warp effects, the Pen Tool and the Smart Guides. 59. Create an illustration of Scandinavian mittens Discover how to create a pair of Scandinavian mitten using basic shapes, effects, and tools. This tutorial is broken down into parts to make it easier for beginners. 60. How to create a compass symbol Andrei Marius explains how to create this elegant compass symbol in Illustrator This step by step tutorial walks you through the creation of a wind rose compass symbol illustration in Illustrator. You’ll create the main object using the Appearance panel, then harness the Transform effect to multiply shapes and create a complex compass grid using only a few paths. Read more: 7 biggest illustration trends of 2017 10 skills graphic designers need to get ahead in 2018 The 60 best infographics View the full article

There’s no question about it. China has become a world power. It is now the most powerful and influential country in the Asia Pacific area, and given its trajectory, could easily become the most powerful and influential country in the world. And for some reason, every time a nation gains great economic power, that nation wants to become the new Hollywood. China is no exception. The question is, why? I mean, Hollywood is sexy… but not the greatest business in the world. I recall having had a dinner in Beijing several years ago with a cadre of Chinese media people as well as several high-ranking Generals. When the topic of “why is China so hell bent on being a major player in the film business?” came up, the answer was a resounding, no holds barred, “propaganda”. The powers that be in China look to film, television and online media as a way to spread the message: “China is a great place, with great people and a great government”. Many in China look at it this way: “The USA became a global cultural icon because of Hollywood”. That may well have been true back in the 1930s till the ‘60s, but if we take a close look at film and TV of today, American themes generally run to the dystopian, not the utopian images of the 1950s. Hollywood is most definitely not a great business model. Making a film is tantamount to playing roulette in Las Vegas. Yes, there are some big winners, but the cost of entry is quite steep. There is no guaranteed path to success. One would think that if you made a film at the lowest possible price with the best possible people, then you would have a hit. Not so. No one (except maybe Pixar and James Cameron) has a continued track record of making successful films time after time. The exclusive club of Hollywood Over the last quarter century, I’ve witnessed attempts by Japan, Korea and India (in that order) to try to become a major player in Hollywood. Japan took a very corporate approach: acquire a major studio. In 1989 Sony bought Columbia Pictures for $3.4 billion and in 1990 Matsushita paid $6.1 billion for Universal. Interestingly enough they made these acquisitions in the hopes of winning the VHS/Betamax war. VHS won that war but Matsushita realised that they had no idea how to run a movie studio; they sold Universal just five years later. Korea realised the mistakes made by Japan. It was obvious that if one just bought a major motion picture studio, it didn’t mean that you actually got to manage it. So, CJ Entertainment, Korea’s largest and most powerful entertainment entity, decided to help start a new studio, DreamWorks. They invested a huge sum and a decade later sold to Paramount. Reliance Entertainment, a leading Indian media company, saw that owning or starting studios hadn’t worked, so Reliance focused on services to the studios and putting talent deals in place in the hopes of partnering with Hollywood. That didn’t work very well either. To quote Bill Emmott of The Baltimore Sun: “Cash, ambition, arrogance – with clues like that, Hollywood can spot a fool even before he has ridden over the horizon.” Hollywood has a history of playing with OPM (other people’s money). China as off-shore service provider China has become an economic powerhouse as a result of a dedicated, diligent and to date, very inexpensive workforce. China has become the world’s factory, and while there have been efforts on the part of the Chinese government to change ‘Made in China’ to ‘Invented in China’, not much has changed. It seemed to the Chinese that they could enter Hollywood in the same way they entered the tech business, by being a service provider or a manufacturer. Unfortunately, that model has not seemed to work in the film industry. With the hope of attracting Hollywood projects, several giant sound stage complexes have been erected, at great expense, in China. To date, that gamble too has not been fruitful. Additionally, China, through either acquisition (Digital Domain) or by building its own VFX services company, has not yet been seen as a world-class post-production provider. Global vs local Over the last several years, a new model has emerged from China. The concept being that if one co-mingles the creative team with both Chinese and Hollywood talent, and if one bases the film on a Chinese theme and creates a fantasy, visual-effects-laden 3D movie… well, one can’t lose! The Great Wall, a $150M+ budgeted film made $45M in box office in the USA, while it did $290M internationally ($171M in China). In 2016, China was building 27 screens every day. With 1.379 billion people and close to 40,000 screens, China will soon be the largest movie market on the planet. To date, of the top ten films in China, seven are Chinese films, and in just ten months Chinese box office has passed the $7 billion mark (compared to US box office of $8.733 billion). It seems to me, from a business perspective, that given the enormous growth in the Chinese box office, China should focus on creating local content. While creating Chinese content exclusively for Chinese audiences might be a much better business decision, that path does not address China’s desire to spread the glory of China through film, like Hollywood had done so many years ago. Truth The dictionary definition of propaganda is ‘information, ideas or rumours deliberately spread widely to help or harm a person, group, movement, institution, nation, etc’. In the West, many can smell propaganda. Audiences sense that we are being manipulated. Young adults recoil from advertising. While Hollywood might have shaped global opinion of what America seemed like after the Second World War, I find it difficult to imagine that Chinese cinema, or any cinema for that matter, could sway the minds of a global audience in the same way it had 60 years ago. And given the vast differences between Western and Chinese culture, the language, the customs, story structure, musical preferences and performance sensibilities, China should not use film as a tool of propaganda. Chinese films made by Chinese talent will do great business… in China. And given President Xi Jinping’s global perspective, his outreach with programs such as the One Belt One Road initiative and his desire to end poverty in China by 2020, speaking truthfully has more power than any piece of propaganda. More from Scott Ross at Vertex Scott will be at Vertex talking about the future of the VFX industry post-Brexit, looking at the opportunities that will be presented. Rob Redman, editor of 3D World, will be quizzing Scott on stage in the auditorium, so to ensure you don't miss out on Scott's fascinating insights, book your all access passes now. To book a ticket for Vertex 2018 head over to the Vertex site, where you will find information on all the day's activities, from keynote talks to the panel discussion and recruitment fair. Related articles Why Vertex is a must for CG artists The ethics of digital humans 12 mighty Maya tutorials View the full article

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