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You're reading Snapchat Separates the Social from the Media in the Latest Redesign, originally posted on Designmodo. If you've enjoyed this post, be sure to follow on Twitter, Facebook, Google+! When was the last time you’ve seen Evan Spiegal, Snapchat CEO on YouTube? About two years ago. In a video titled “What is Snapchat,” Spiegal shared with us his wonderful handwriting and, of course, explained to us why we need Snapchat. It all starts with a snap! Snapchat began as an escape from social media, […] View the full article

The right landing page design can make or break a website – as this is the first thing your visitors will see, if you get it wrong, most people won't hang about. Landing page designs should clearly convey the unique selling point (USP) for the product or service, and focus on one call to action (CTA), such as getting the visitor to register their details or to make a purchase. Whatever the goal, it's up to the design of the page to channel the user towards it, whether through use of white space, contrasting colours or more explicit directional cues. Clear, succinct headers and sub-headers and punchy, easily scanned bullet points are the order of the day. The landing page should be prominently branded, often incorporate a hero image to communicate the product or service at a glance, and cut straight to the point to avoid users' attention drifting. With all of that in mind, we've pulled together some particularly effective examples of landing page design from across the web. 01. Interface Lovers Designing a landing page for a site dedicated to 'interface lovers' is no mean feat, but Timothy Achumba – a designer for Facebook – has nailed it here. The site aims to inspire people, provide practical advice on the craft of UI design, and celebrate different designers' unique experiences. The design places the focus firmly on content, and uses a balanced layout inspired by Achumba's first love: print. “The design for Interface Lovers, based on a simple three-column grid taken from a newspaper layout, is uncomplicated and clean,” he says. Beautiful portrait photography draws visitors in and emphasises the site's interest in individual stories. To build the site, developer Iheanyi Ekechukwu took advantage of Tachyons, a functional CSS framework that allows for granular control over the design. The result is a gorgeous, minimal design without any bells and whistles getting in the way. 02. Google Fonts Google directs you straight to the fonts without any fuss Originally launched in 2010, Google fonts are now viewed on the web over 15 billion times a day, in over 135 languages worldwide. The Google Fonts site is clean and fully responsive, using Material Design for its grid and styling. In her blog post about the project, designer Yuin Chien explains that "by building in the ability to play with scale, colour and font pairings, we invite everyone to discover and seamlessly use typefaces in their projects." And she's right; the interface is inviting and beautiful. It's also intuitive and fun to explore. Crucially it doesn't force you to jump through hoops to get to the fonts; they're right there at the top of the landing page, ready for you to play with. You can type straight into the page's text fields to test them out. And if you're overwhelmed by choice, Google makes it easy to narrow things down with tick boxes for font categories and handy sliders for number of styles, thickness, slant and width. 03. MIT Technology Review MIT Tech Review keeps it simple So many sites go out of their way to reel in those page views with fancy tricks, it's a relief to find a site that keeps things nice and simple. MIT's Technology Review, first published at the end of the 18th century, has a long and proud heritage, and its site has been tailored to showcase excellent art and be a delight to read. The landing page is a joy to behold, starting you off with a bold cover story, three secondary stories, and a roundup list of the day's top stories called 'The Download'. This enables visitors to quickly get to what matters in a no-nonsense way. A large red Subscribe CTA in the top-right also immediately draws your eye, channelling visitors to the paid website options without impeding their enjoyment of the free content available. 04. Resn The mysterious 'drop' breaks most of the rules of conventional landing page design Now let's look at a page that disregards most of the rules of landing page design, yet succeeds anyway. Never one to fall in line and use a standard UI pattern, design agency Resn has built a landing page centred around 'The Drop', an enigmatic, shimmering teardrop-shaped polygon that acts as a portal into the Resn psyche. Click and hold your mouse and you get to be, variously, a greyscale, apple-themed kaleidoscope; a bat with a ouija board that uses its x-ray laser beams to strip the flesh from people in old paintings; a fun tube; a psychedelic Yakult that dispenses bizarre clipart; and goodness knows what else. Resn has broken many of the usual rules for creating a landing page, but the result is compelling enough that you're likely to keep digging around if this kind of thing floats your boat, and refrain from wasting their time if not. 'The Drop' probably works as a perfect filter for attracting the kinds of clients the company wants to work with, and it is a truly magnificent landing page that you'll probably never forget. 05. Present & Correct Every panel is a temptationWith its neatly laid-out grid of glorious imagery, the Present & Correct site reaches out to what is surely its core audience: people who fetishise stationery. A graph paper background, pale grey colouring and classic font channel a school exercise book vibe and each panel displays a beautiful product. Stock is meticulously arranged into categories displayed in the top menu bar, and it's tempting to click through the whole lot, starting with the intriguingly-titled 'Ephemera' section. 06. Monotype Like the company itself, Monotype's landing page is about the power of typography "We are the company behind type," states Monotype's landing page, and its understated yet smart design goes hand-in-hand with this confident statement. The entire left half of the landing page design is dedicated to the company's mission statement, and there's a clever twist: through a dropdown you can view the text in an assortment of fonts, and in various weights and styles, to get a taste of what Monotype does. The right-hand side of the page is given over to a link to the Monotype library, enterprise licence, and company news, with large 'M' icons in different fonts, acting like drop caps. A muted sepia colour palette keeps the focus firmly on the fonts. 07. LS Productions LS Productions lures you in with cavalcade of gorgeous Scottish locationsLS Productions – a stills and motion service production company based in Scotland – knows what its biggest asset is, and that's what you're presented with when you go to its site. A window-filling looping video showcases a selection of the company's work, all set in beautiful locations. Scroll down and you'll learn of its three main services: motion, stills and locations. By this point the landing page has already done its job. Everything below – the gorgeous location of the week, the 'meet the team' section – is just window dressing. If you're looking to hire LS Productions then you'll have already moved on to one of the main service pages, where you'll find a wealth of relevant, well-presented information convincing you of the company's suitability. 08. O'Neill O'Neill's photo-heavy page sells the surf and snow dream perfectlyAmerican lifestyle brand O'Neill is largely focused on two things: surf and snow. And its US site makes that perfectly clear with an image-led landing page that sells you its clothing ranges and sports gear through stunning photography of big waves and snow-covered mountains. A set of drop-down links at the top of the landing page can take you straight to what you want if you know what you're after, but beneath that the landing page sets out to seduce you, with several large, image-led section links and Instagram galleries. It's all quite enough to get you dashing to the beach – or the top of the nearest mountain – but not before stocking up on O'Neill gear first. 09. Hipstamatic Hipstamatic's landing page shows what the app has to offerFor retro analogue photography app Hipstamatic, it's all about demonstrating the cool features, as well as the look, feel and intuitive navigation of the app, in as engaging a fashion as possible to draw users in. At the top of the page, a scrolling gallery strip showcases the 'Hipstamatic aesthetic' in practice, while an enormous iPhone showcases the latest version of the app, with its old-skool ClassicMode and new ProMode, with more up-to-date features. Beneath that a new strapline sums up what Hipstamatic is now all about: "Make beautiful photography", with a big CTA directing you to the App Store. 10. Apple Apple's landing page centres around beautifully shot product photographyIt's no surprise that the undisputed masters of industrial design can knock together a decent website, and the effortless simplicity of Apple.com has even won it a D&AD Black Pencil. The homepage slices through the company's extensive product range and zeroes in on just one hot product of the moment. Besides the simple navigation bar across the top, it's just beautifully shot product photography, the product name and its slogan. There isn't even a CTA here – Apple sensibly assumed its tech-savvy audience will know the image and text is hyperlinked to more information. It's a true masterclass in restraint. 11. Pinterest Pinterest is so well known, its landing page doesn't need to work hard to sell itselfPinterest knows what it wants, and is in no mood to beat about the bush: it's sign up or nothing. The popular online scrapbook is confident enough in its brand and burgeoning reputation not to worry too hard about selling itself, or giving users an opportunity to browse around some boards and risk getting sidetracked. Behind the signup card, one of Pinterest's scrapbooks of glorious photography scrolls tantalisingly upwards, giving a taste of what's on offer for users. This is a stripped-back and beautified version of what you actually get – no wordy descriptions, ads or repin info clutters up this version of the homepage. Related articles: CSS tricks to revolutionise your web layouts 10 great uses of imagery on agency websites Fresh ideas for building websites View the full article

Researchers have found a flaw in the original fix for the Dirty COW vulnerability patched in October 2016. View the full article

Think back to your latest digital project. It probably came about because something old had problems, or someone identified an opportunity to do something better. Almost all of our projects (excluding those for learning or fun) are borne out of a desire to improve. We want to make websites faster and more secure, with a UI design that makes them easier to use and great to look at. Christmas offer: Save up to 47% on a subscription to net magazine The rate of change of technology available to us means there’s always something we can be tweaking to take advantage of the latest spec, API or library. Nothing stands still. Everything moves and we, as people who work with the web, move with it. Why you should think broader My career is a good example. Starting out as a back-end developer, I got more and more interested in ‘whys’ and my work shifted towards discovery and strategy. I started caring more about the people using websites hand-in-hand with learning more about technology; letting users influence solutions. It often doesn't matter how good your design or code is – other factors can have a big impact on the success of projects. As a developer, I was always asking questions. Did the site need to be multilingual? Would a CDN help us better serve them? How would people be searching, so I could structure data accordingly? All of these questions came from wanting to make sure I was making the best possible websites, yet my thinking was starting and finishing with the website itself. That all changed when I began to work for myself a few years ago, and the projects that I was working on shifted slightly. Rather than websites being the beginning and end point, I realised that looking at everything else around them could also make a huge difference. It often doesn't matter how good your design or code is – other factors can have a big impact on the success of projects. Think about everything around a website, not just the web project at hand The space I now work in is best described as ‘digital transformation’, which is a phrase I have a love/hate relationship with due to its buzzword-tastic usage. For me, my work is all about positive change; about using digital technologies to make things better, as well as about helping people to be able to work better with technology. By looking more broadly than just immediate concerns, we can not only remove some of the repeated problems we may face when making websites and putting them into the wild, but we can also use our digital skills to make the world a better place in general. Here are a few examples of situations where there's a good chance for positive change to happen: The brief was to create a beautiful set of new pages and patterns to replace an old, failing site, but the existing CMS continued to spew out inaccessible markup, and was also really awkward to use, so content never got updated. The website therefore failed. A highly experienced lead developer is always a big advocate of performance, but because senior management slashed their project time in half, they have to cut corners. Lots of different systems and technologies are used through a lack of strategy. The development and ops teams are finding it hard to support them all. Old, paper-based processes are taking up staff time and introducing manual errors. Data is locked away in elaborate databases, and the insight available from it isn't being used by non-technical people who could benefit. When you start to look into the root causes of why websites or digital projects may suffer the same issues, or identify other areas that could be better, you'll likely discover that findings fall into the following areas: technology, processes, people/culture, and strategy. Other factors that can affect your web projects Technology Where technology isn't yet in place and maybe should be, you might have issues around inefficiencies or inaccuracy. However, when poor choices are made, other problems may occur. Are you making technology choices based on personal developer convenience and preference, or are there impacts on your users, the rest of your business, or your teammates? Thinking about the future, scalability, extensibility and the ability to react are all important, and should be part of the decision-making process. By updating the way we approach technology selection, we can try to make sure that our products are given the best chance, and our teams kept happy. Processes When we start to peel back the layers of everything that lies around our websites, we can often find manual or tedious processes that can be improved. This goes for our own project workflows as well as customer journeys, or back-office tasks. Trying to find ancillary processes we can update can provide us with new opportunities to make people's lives easier, do things more quickly, or change older ways of thinking. Many process points that get taken at face value are worth questioning, as their importance may be being overstated, and could be prime opportunities for radical change. Web design includes every person involved People and culture The people involved in a website aren't just our end-users – they're our customers, but they're also those people making our sites, updating them, the business stakeholders who need to get information out of them, and the managers influencing the process. It's everyone who's involved or who will be. Are our teams structured well with all of the roles we need? Do they have the right skills and training? Is the culture right for everyone to work well, and are they happy? Is everyone pulling in the same direction? If we have the right mix, the culture they work in is as good as possible, and if everyone has the skills, knowledge and support that they need, then our projects will be much better. Strategy Underlying much of this is strategy itself – what the plan is for digital, how teams will evolve, which areas are a priority for change, and how technology selections are made. Strong leadership, an ability to embrace change and try new things, and the ability to trust experts within a team can all play a valuable role. When the strategy, leadership and direction are good, the above areas are more likely to be working more seamlessly. What's beyond websites As time and technology have moved on, I've watched the ebb and flow of different technologies with interest and with some awe – we can do incredible things with the web now that I'd never have thought possible when I started out. Consider thinking beyond users, into people who build sites, those behind the scenes, and everything else feeding in It's only getting more exciting: the current fixation with AI and machine learning, VR, interfaces beyond screens, and the Internet of Things movement grant us a lot of possibilities – not only for our customers but also for our own work practices. The technology available to us progresses every day, and coupled with that, as an industry, I think we've mostly become fantastic at thinking about how it impacts on users. We can work to make our websites better – turning those checks green for performance, passing accessibility testing with flying colours, or using newer concepts like PWAs to save people both data and exacerbation on trains. Next project, however, consider thinking beyond users, into people who build sites, those behind the scenes, and everything else feeding in. Look more widely to find areas you can change for the better with digital skills – whether that's teaching those around you, looking for processes to update, or viewing technology through different lenses to make a selection that works for everyone. Let's reclaim digital transformation from buzzword bingo and instead use it as an aspiration – making positive change happen beyond the confines of our website boundaries and browser chrome. Illustration: By Kym Winters This article originally appeared in issue 297 of net, the magazine for professional web designers and developers – offering the latest new web trends, technologies and techniques. Buy issue 297 here or subscribe to net here. Special Christmas offer: Save up to 47% on a subscription to net magazine for you or a friend for Christmas. It's a limited offer, so move quickly... Related articles: Are brutalist sites the web's punk rock moment? How to market yourself as a freelance designer: 7 top tips CSS tricks to revolutionise your web layouts View the full article

English comedian Adam Buxton recently described The Face (through the tongue firmly in his cheek) as a magazine which he “wasn’t allowed to buy” because he “wasn’t cool enough, and they were printed with special ink that burned you if you hadn’t taken enough drugs.” While reports of that particular design flourish are unsubstantiated, what is confirmed is that The Face has an enduring reputation of being very, very bloody cool indeed. A vast number of people cited it as having changed their lives and careers at this year’s ModMag magazine conference (even though most of these people weren't yet embryos in the magazine’s heyday.) So with all this rabid hipness, it’s little surprise that we now have a book telling the story of The Face – The Story of The Face: The Magazine that Changed Culture, by journalist and author Paul Gorman. The Face's art director, Neville Brody, was free to experiment with his designs The Face was launched in 1980 by NME editor and Smash Hits creator Nick Logan, and blustered into being as a totally unapologetic, edgy enfant terrible that was the first of its kind to report on youth culture from a broader sphere than music alone. Instead, the magazine looked at 'pop' and all that sprawling three letter word touched on through lenses of fashion, photography, film, drugs, and generally being a young person disillusioned with life under grey, right-wing Thatcherism. And as with so many things adored by the young, The Face was as stylish as it was substantial in content: for the graphic design community, Neville Brody’s stunningly original and groundbreaking approach to editorial design was a watershed moment in what could be achieved and the boundaries that could be pushed when it came to typography, layout and art direction. This book celebrates the quirkiness of The Face In an interview with The Guardian, Brody described The Face as “a living laboratory where I could experiment and have it published. Our golden rule was to question everything. If a page element existed just as taste or style, it could be abandoned. Page numbers could be letters or shapes increasing in size. We could start the headline on the page before.” Brody was at the magazine from 1981 until 1986, by which time he says he had “reached the end of an era. The new had become the normal.” So why do we need this book now? There’s talk of The Face being revived as a digital platform, so maybe Gorman knows something more about that than the rest of us. But whatever the politics or relaunches or issues around The Face, the fact remains that for journalists, photographers, designers, and everyday suburban kids – whether in the 1980s or 2017 – it’s an artefact that remains bold and inspiring. Special shoutout for pages 280-281's glorious snaps of Damon Albarn and some pretty wild staircase carpeting The fact that those feelings are echoed by 'the man' and big institutions (in 2011 The Face was added to the permanent collection of the Design Museum, London, and featured in the Postmodernism exhibition and the 2013 Club to Catwalk exhibition at the V&A), doesn’t mitigate the publication’s countercultural flair. At a time when everyone and their guinea pig seems to be crowdfunding a magazine; yet where 'mainstream' publications are rapidly closing, it’s certainly an interesting time for publishing. And what this book does is tell of the lows of The Face, as well as its legacy and successes. And we all need a little injection of realism in our nostalgia occasionally. Related articles: How to design a striking magazine cover 26 books every graphic designer should read How to get your work featured in an industry-leading magazine View the full article

The GT-220 V2 is Huion's latest version of its GT-220 pen display, with the main new addition being over 8,000 levels of pressure sensitivity from its new pen, which has a soft touch rubber coating but remains rechargeable. The pen is included with the graphics tablet, which has a full retail price of $799. The pen is the main interface between the user and the tablet, so how the tool feels in the hand is critical to the experience. Huion delivers with a lightweight yet sturdy stylus, the nibs of which are hard, but not to the point of losing good feedback levels. There are two programmable side buttons, although you might want to define one of these as an eraser, because the USB charging port is housed where other manufacturers put a dedicated eraser nib. A full charge of the pen takes just an hour and regular daily use will see a charge lasting three weeks, so there are no worries about downtime. The supplied stylus has a soft feel without being too rubbery Huion GT-220 V2 screen Although stylus feel is important, the screen itself will play the largest part in the creative process, and it's here where the GT really excels. Other manufacturers use a matte coating to enhance the feel and prevent any palm friction, but Huion has opted for a high-gloss finish. This helps deliver excellent clarity, saturation and contrast at full HD resolution and is a pleasure to look at for extended periods. The screen's gloss finish could lead to sticky hands that smudge their way across the surface when drawing, though. Since this is a drawing tablet, after all, that would be pretty problematic. Huion's solution is to supply a drawing glove that covers your palm and little finger, which will work wonders on many devices. We found it counters any surface issues perfectly. The bottom edge of the display has a thick, rubber strip that serves as a cushion and keeps the device in place as you lean on it Huion GT-220 V2 build and performance A slim silver bezel surrounds the screen, with menu buttons at the bottom right. The tilting adjustment is a one-hand operation, with slippage stopped by a thick rubber base. Heavy pressure on either upper corner can lead to a little movement, but not enough to hamper productivity. Where the lower price is more obvious with the Huion GT is the screen menus, which are more on a par with a standard monitor of a few years ago than that of a modern designer's tool. This in no way holds back the tablet in use, and adjusting contrast, brightness and so on is still achievable, of course. The main downside to the Huion GT-220 V2 is a lack of shortcut buttons on the device, but at this price it's a small sacrifice. Video signal can be supplied via HDMI or DVI cables, and the GT even boasts workaday speakers. The quality on show here is very good, as is the drawing tablet's value for money. You might get a better all-round experience with Wacom's Cintiq 22HD, for example, but that costs about twice the price. Huion's screen tablet device has excellent display qualities, accuracy and a pleasing, stable feel from a stylus that, although not the best, is very useable and feels well balanced. This article was originally published in issue 152 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 152 here or subscribe to ImagineFX here. Related articles: How to draw and paint - 100 pro tips and tutorials The best Wacom tablet deals The best drawing tablet: our pick of the best graphics tablets in 2017 View the full article

Beautiful, relevant imagery can have a huge impact in creating strong designs, and tying your campaign’s imagery in with the season is a simple way to lend it a sense of timeliness. With the winter season being special to people all over the world for its stark beauty and magical memories, using winter photos, illustrations or vectors will inject your designs with a sense of wonder. There’s no shortage of wonderful subjects to use in wintry images, with different cultural and religious festivals, foods, drinks, traditions, activities and landmarks that look spectacular in winter. Many of these subjects – and the dominant colours in wintry images – link perfectly to different brand voices that you may need to convey or emotions that you may want to evoke in your designs for promotional campaigns, website designs, passion projects and beyond. Stock images not only save time, they can also give your designs a timely feel that taking your own images won’t do (especially when designing something in November for use at New Year – you may have a snowy scene in mind, but no snow outside to photograph yourself). Shutterstock’s fantastic search filters, its plugin compatibility with Adobe Illustrator and InDesign and curated collections make finding a gorgeous photo, illustration, vector or footage easy. The following 10 images (and one bonus video) are examples of just some of the gorgeous winter images available to download on Shutterstock today. We’ve got some ideas for using them in your designs below each one, but of course that’s up to you – there’s no limit to how you use them. 01. A sense of hygge Chilly winter nights are a great excuse to cosy up with comforting food, drink, warm clothes and loved ones. This photo sums up the sense of hygge that is ubiquitous in winter months, so would work perfectly for a brand that wants to convey feelings of friendliness, approachability and down to earth comforts. As our article 12 colours and the emotions they evoke explores, red signifies love and attracts attention, so its dominance in this image certainly provokes an emotional response. And of course in Western culture red – and the fir green seen in the socks here – is synonymous with Christmas, making this an ideal image for your Christmas designs. 02. Time for adventure While winter is a time for cosiness and comfort foods for some people, it’s also a time for bracing adventures in snow-dusted landscapes for others (or at least for imagining them). If the brand you’re designing for wants to be seen as youthful, energetic and a bit different from the norm, then use this stock image to capture its spirit of adventure. 03. Family fun Similarly youthful in its adventurous theme, this image’s depiction of outdoor action for the whole family definitely has an aspirational-yet-achievable lifestyle tone. The wholesome and low-tech activity combined with the lens flare suggests young parents can enjoy more quality time for years to come if they get on board with a brand or product that’s using this picture. 04. Seasonal magic Indulgent and magical, this image combines the sophistication of black with the opulence of gold and light that emphasises its shimmer. As this colour in branding infographic tells us, black imagery is particularly striking for high-end brands and the fashion industry in particular. The gold glitter, however, also makes it ideal for a glamorous event or luxury promotion. 05. Natural beauty With something of a Scandi feel to it, this cool watercolour painted vector is totally on-trend. Its pale blue colour palette is calming as well as seasonal for winter, so we could see this image suiting wellness and outdoor brands seeking to promote a sense of peacefulness. As it doesn’t explicitly feature any typical ‘Christmas subjects’, you could also use this image well into the new year and beyond, without your designs looking dated. 06. Spiritual art Rangoli patterns are traditionally created by Hindus celebrating Divali, to welcome the goddess Lakshmi into their homes. This colourful and joyful rangoli design bursts with energy and opulence, and shows a superb attention to detail. Use it in designs targeting the Indian market, as well as for travel brands, food brands and even beauty or fashion. 07. Abstract winter shapes This vector artwork makes you look twice, due to its delightful incongruousness. The familiar snowflake shape is transformed with all the vibrant colours of the rainbow, with painterly textures. It reminds us of crafting afternoons and homemade gifts. As a scalable vector, we think it would form a pleasing addition to a design for family events or shows in particular. 08. Handcrafted wonder As we saw in our 8 golden rules of handmade piece, papercraft is becoming big business, but is painstaking work and slow to produce. How delightful, then, that Shutterstock has a selection of papercraft art photos just like this ready for you to buy. This gorgeous image shows care and attention, and would make any customer feel valued and inspired to see this in an online or offline design. 09. Cute Christmas We got a bit carried away with searching for Christmas dogs on Shutterstock, but after much deliberation we chose this husky pup as our favourite. He’s just gorgeous, and the tree in the background of course screams of the excitement that many people feel around the holidays. Use this in a personal project, in a creative thank you to your favourite clients of the year, add humour to branding projects, or stick it on a website design for some heartwarming fun. 10. Travel possibilities Some cities and landmarks look even better in the snow, and Paris is one of them. The saturated colours in this scene are slightly filmic and dreamy, and it’s definitely an aspirational image. We can see an image like this being an asset to a consumer banking website or print design, for example, as it’s unusual without being too whacky. Bonus video: Enticing footage Finally, if your design is online then using stock footage of an enticing subject like a steaming hot drink could boost engagement even more than a great image. It grabs attention more than a still, especially on Facebook or other social media outlets, so would be a great way to increase clickthroughs for your online campaigns. Follow our 6 tips for finding the perfect photo or video for your project to help you find more great stock images like these, all year round. View the full article

Cyber Monday and the week of deals it brings might be drawing to a close now, but we've still got you a great daily deal on some top-notch tech training. Has it been bugging you that you’re missing that one additional skill that might take your work to the next level? With access to Stone River eLearning, you'll be able to work through a library of always-growing online courses and learn any new skill that you can imagine. Get a lifetime subscription for just $85 (approx. £64). There’s no shortage of knowledge that you can gather from Stone River eLearning. With over 140 courses and 2,000 hours of educational videos – and new courses are added all the time – you can get a lifetime’s worth of knowledge from this great base for tech learning. Pick up instruction that you can apply to your job or use to pursue in your own time, from coding and design to 3D animation and more. Plus, you'll get unlimited ebooks and certification exams that will help you prove your skills. You can get lifetime access to Stone River eLearning's online courses for just $85 (approx. £64). That’s a massive saving of 99% off the retail price. Learn anything you’d like by grabbing 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 Check out these great articles: The ultimate Christmas gift guide for freelancers 9 tools to make graphic design easier in 2018 14 free resources to improve your illustration skills View the full article

Music streaming service Spotify is wrapping up 2017 with a witty advertising campaign that uses people's unusual listening habits to create potential 2018 goals. This isn't the first time Spotify has run a funny data-driven campaign. Back in 2016 it took user information and created the brilliant "Thanks 2016, it's been weird" ads in response to the year's events. Unlike last year's campaign, which was all about reflecting on the madness of 2016 and delivering some well-earned gallows humour, this series of ads decides that 2017 has been bleak enough and doesn't deserve to be remembered. We realised there was a lot of fatigue and exhaustion with all the events in 2017 Seth Farbman, Spotify CMO Instead, Spotify is looking ahead to 2018 with posters and billboard ads that use curious playlists and listening choices to create 'goals' for the next 12 months. These include goals such as "Eat vegan brisket with the person who made a playlist called 'Leftist Elitist Snowflake BBQ" and "Be significantly less proficient at goodbyes", which is based on impressive streaming data for the song (you guessed it) Too Good At Goodbyes. Scroll through the gallery below from left to right to see some of the funny Spotify billboards. Speaking to Creativity, Spotify's CMO Seth Farbman says: "When we started to look at this year's data and what the news was every day we realised there was a lot of fatigue and exhaustion with all the events in 2017. So rather than go back and relive that exhaustion, we thought we would look forward and bring in a spirit of hope and optimism." The campaign was created by Spotify's in-house agency and will run in seven US cities, namely: New York, Los Angeles, Chicago, Dallas, Miami, Nashville, and Washington DC. Location-specific ads will also appear in 18 different areas around the world. While this is another great example of how companies can turn dry data into engaging advertising with a personality, we can't help but wonder how surreal it must be to see your listening habits blown up into huge posters and stuck up around town for all to see. Either users are going to become a lot more wary with their playlist names or – and we imagine this is the more likely scenario – they're going to embrace Spotify's cheekiness and come up with hilarious titles that are just begging to be turned into posters. We can't wait to see what music fans and Spotify come up with for the 2018 campaign. Related articles: 100 brilliant print adverts When to use humour in branding 5 ways to use imagery to create better branding View the full article

Discover new ways to work with colour and light in your art with ImagineFX issue 156 – on sale now. Inside the latest issue, our cover feature artist Maria Poliakova shares how she paints with vibrant colours to create decorative illustrations. Her tutorial explores how to stop your illustrations from looking flat, as well as taking a look at when to deploy shadows for maximum impact. It's sure to help give your illustrations a touch of vibrancy. Buy issue 156 of ImagineFX here Elsewhere in issue 156, we look at how artists in the games industry have been aided by Autodesk's SketchBook tools. There's also an interview with Canadian fantasy artist Jason Rainville, and reviews of the latest art books and tools that you can't afford to miss. To get a taste of what to expect, just take a look at our lead features below. Never miss an issue: Subscribe to ImagineFX here Christmas offer: Save up to 47% on a subscription to ImagineFX How to give art criticism Learn the art of diplomacy with this art critique feature Last issue we looked at how artists should take art criticism, but this issue we're turning the tables and looking how you should deliver feedback. We talk to industry experts to discover how they tackle this tricky topic without hurting anybody's feelings. Sketchbook insights Whimsical ideas get warped in this wonderfully surreal art Few things are more tantalising for an artist than taking a peek into the sketchbooks of other creatives. This month we look inside the sketchbook of Lorena Lammer, who mixes fantasy themes with a dark undercurrent. The results are beautifully surreal artworks that are sure to excite your imagination. Create art in Procreate Look out for that poison apple! Procreate has quickly become one of the most-loved painting apps for the iPad Pro – and it's not just due to its attractive price tag. Illustrator Chrissie Zullo is a huge fan of the app, and here she reveals how to create an iconic fairy tale moment with the popular tool. Dragon painting techniques 'Ere be dragons! Dragons are a mainstay of fantasy illustration, so it's important that you know how to paint them. To show you how it's done, illustrator Alex Stone shares his dragon painting techniques. These include tips on how to communicate character, as well as advice on how to use observations of real animals as inspiration. Line art workshop Learn how this fiendish line work was created Single colour line art has unique qualities that can capture an artist's imagination. Line art illustrator MRHASS reveals how he creates amazing line art in this workshop, and shares advice on how to keep your inking interesting and spontaneous. ImagineFX is 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 156 here or subscribe to ImagineFX here. Special Christmas offer: Save up to 47% on a subscription to ImagineFX for you or a friend for Christmas. It's a limited offer, so move quickly... Related articles: How to blend coloured pencils How to mix shadow colour in paint 19 best iPad art apps for painting and sketching View the full article

We all get used to the tools in our kit, and quickly know them inside out. But with innovations coming thick and fast from the major players and startups in design software, it’s worth out trying some new tools. Because once you get past the initial learning curve, you could end up saving yourself considerable time and frustration. Here we bring you some of the biggest new tools to hit the market in recent months, and explain why they might be able to supercharge your workflow in 2018. 01. Photoshop Lightroom CC Lightroom CC isn’t an update; it’s a brand new app Released this October, Lightroom CC is not, as you might expect, an update to Adobe’s long-running image editor and organiser, just moved to the Creative Cloud model. It’s an entirely new app. Just to make that clear, the original version of Lightroom is still available, and has been retitled Lightroom Classic CC. Rather, Lightroom CC is a next generation tool that harnesses the AI power of Adobe’s Project Sensei. Most notably, that means it automatically tags photos with searchable keywords to save you having to do it manually (or, as we’ve all experienced, forgetting to tag them altogether). The tool also comes with scalable storage options for everything including raw files; built-in social sharing tools and Adobe Portfolio integration; and support for mobile on iOS and Android. Unlike its predecessor, it’s not a one-off purchase but is only available through the Creative Cloud. 02. Photoshop CC’s Curvature Pen tool This cool new tool makes drawing curved lines easier If you have a Creative Cloud subscription, also since October a cool new tool has been available to you to make drawing curved lines in Photoshop CC easier. As an alternative to drawing and modifying paths using Bezier curves, the Curvature Pen tool allows you to simply click to add points, and it will automatically create curves between them. Then simply push and pull segments of the curve to modify it. You’ll find it under the Pen tool in the Tools panel. 03. Illustrator CC's Puppet Warp tool Play around with your designs using Illustrator’s new Puppet Warp tool There’s been a Puppet Warp tool in Photoshop since CS5. And in October, Adobe finally add a vector version of the tool to Illustrator CC. Puppet Warp lets you plant pins on different parts of your design and then twist, warp and distort them by pulling the pins around. Importantly, the effect is only applied in the area you select, while leaving other parts unaffected. You’ll find it under the Free Transform tool in the Tools panel. 04. Cineware for Illustrator Combine 2D and 3D assets using this new plugin from Maxon There’s a new way to incorporate 3D assets into Adobe Illustrator: using a free plugin for Mac and Windows from Maxon, the makers of Cinema 4D. This enables you to combine 2D graphics and 3D scenes in a similar (but different) way to Adobe’s own Dimension CC (previously known as Project Felix). Interestingly, you can use the tool to import and edit Cinema 4D assets, even if you don’t have a Cinema 4D licence yourself. 05. InVision Studio InVision Studio is challenging the likes of Photoshop and Sketch Until recently, things were quite simple. InVision was a prototyping tool, generally used in conjunction with tools for creating static images such as Photoshop. Then came XD, Adobe’s own prototyping tool, which was designed to work seamlessly with the Creative Cloud apps. Now, in response, InVision is gunning for users of Photoshop (and Illustrator, and Affinity Designer and Sketch) with the planned launch in January 2018 of InVision Studio. As the name suggests, InVision Studio is a full graphics package, built with the typical workflow of a modern designer in mind. So not only will you no longer have to edit your static images within a separate tool, the new tool offers an easy way to share your assets with other designers within the InVision Cloud and responsive design is baked in. Studio will also have its own assets store and app store. You can request early access from InVision here. 06. Lightwell Lightwell lets you combine your 2D designs to create simple apps While many tools allow you to prototype apps without knowing any code, Lightwell actually lets you create mobile apps themselves. Available for iPhone, iPad and OS X, this clever tool lets you upload your 2D designs and turn them into interactive storytelling apps. Aimed at designers, artists, students and creative agencies, Lightwell is the product of Hullabalu, a company that previously made a name for itself creating interactive apps for kids. Offering a potential quick and easy way to bring media and stories to life, Lightwell is currently free on the Apple Store and will reach the Google Play store in 2018. 07. Wake (free version) A new free version of Wake aims to help freelancers and small teams communicate and collaborate more efficiently A collaboration and communication tool for designers, Wake has been around for a couple of years now. But what is new is that this summer, its makers released a free version for freelancers and small startups. Originally created by Facebook product designer Chris Kalani and available for iOS and OS X, Wake is being used by the likes of Airbnb, Microsoft, IBM and Spotify. Features include the ability to share work directly from Sketch, Photoshop or Illustrator with a handy keyboard shortcut; to find what you're looking for by searching for people, tags, file types and dates; and to stay up to date while you’re out of the office via your iPhone. 08. Photoshop CC's Select Subject As we reported when it was revealed just the other day, Adobe's new AI-powered tool promises to help you select the main subject or subjects in an image in one click. Powered by Adobe Sensei, the video demonstration above suggests that Select Subject could save creatives a long time when cutting out subjects to move onto a new background. Not solely dependent on machine learning, the tool also lets you refine the mask edge easily in the Select and Mask workspace. Select Subject is said to be coming to Photoshop in an update, which we hope will be pretty soon. 09. Easle Could Easle help you get your dream design gig? This last entry on our list might not help you complete your design work, but it might help you get it in the first place. Easle is a website that’s been launched by industry leaders to help freelance creatives get hired by big brands, without needing to pay fees to an agent. Illustrators and graphic designers can apply directly on the site, and are vetted and curated by a team of experts. With more than 200 clients including Ogilvy, Penguin and Netflix, it’s clearly doing something right. Liked this? Read these: 14 free resources to improve your illustration skills 8 great graphic design portfolio sites for 2018 5 free apps that can boost your creativity View the full article

A Cisco Systems security advisory is urges users of its WebEx platform to patch six vulnerabilities that could allow attackers to execute remote code. View the full article

You're reading Adobe Teases New AI Powered Select Subject Tool in Photoshop, originally posted on Designmodo. If you've enjoyed this post, be sure to follow on Twitter, Facebook, Google+! The holidays are coming. It’s the perfect time for an escape. Swiss Alps, Iceland or Melbourne are on my top priority list, but, because I’ll probably spend my vacation working, I’ll settle up with Photoshop’s new AI feature that promises to make photoshoping vacations way much easier. Select Subject by Sensei While there are quite […] View the full article

Researchers say a new remote access Trojan dubbed UBoatRAT is targeting individuals or organizations linked to South Korea or video games industry. View the full article

Creating your own video game characters means you can push yourself and go crazy with the design idea, as long as the concept still works as a video game character. This means it has to be readable in its environment, the design has to support the game function of the character, and the technical artists have to be able to rebuild the design within the game’s technical restrictions. In this tutorial I’ll first show you how to go completely nuts and push your ideas and concepts to the extreme. Then I’ll show how I take the design and clean it up for professional use. A key aspect is creating a beauty shot, which clearly shows the attitude and movement of the character. My painting process combines traditional and digital media, but my steps don’t require mastery in any of these mediums. They require an open mind, patience with yourself, and pushing through until you have that great idea. How to draw and paint - 100 pro tips and tutorialsBecause creating a piece of concept art involves working within limits, here’s the character brief I’ll work to: create a non-playable character (NPC) for a 3D roleplaying video game, with a merchant game function and a wicked attitude. And just for fun, the shape will be page-filling and the colours will be flashy. So get your best pencils ready and follow me. 01. Explore sources of inspiration Images might be ugly, but you've got to start somewhereThe brief is to create a Merchant NPC with a street-wise attitude, who’ll appear in a 3D RPG. My goal is to create a strong design with artistic value, so I explore photo books, music, art and literature for imagery that provokes an emotion. I take in as much as possible and make notes on whatever catches my eye. Scribbles at this stage are often ugly, so don’t worry about that. 02. Clearly define the character's game role Character routes are mapped outNow to the character’s game function. Given the brief I write down whatever I associate with the terms “merchant” and “NPC”. Then I separate my list into two: things that are necessary for the character’s readability; and those that aren’t. Exploring unconscious design decisions and then discarding them gives me room to freely explore outside the box. 03. Go wild! Finally a character idea strikes! With this conceptual foundation in place, I start drawing whatever comes to mind. I want to find my own, unique source of inspiration. It’s at this stage that I get an idea for my character for the first time. I decide on complex patterns and simple, clean-cut clothing to balance them. I want an eerie-looking face and lots of items attached to the body. 04. Be prepared to push an idea Different iterations are thrashed outWhenever I hit an interesting idea I stop and redraw it three times, each time pushing it further, changing the main volumes and the level of detail. I also have to think about whether or not to add a main element, and decide that it’ll be a house. To keep my drawing bold, I only use fineliner pens here. 05. Pick the strong designs Use a fresh eye to assess the designs After taking a break I return to look at the sketches and immediately mark those designs that catch my eye first. Then I mark convincing attitudes and then strong shapes. I add notes to remind me later what I saw in each. I look out for opportunities to create clean volumes and contrast, because they add interest. 06. Create initial concepts in Photoshop Strong ideas are simplifiedIn Photoshop I take my good ideas and combine them into strong, single designs, keeping them loose but readable. I ensure each design has a clear focus. I select a shape using the Lasso and Magic Wand, then add colours or values. If you have a clear vision for the colours, go for it. Otherwise, work in greyscale for now. 07. Translate for your medium Shapes are given volumeMy final medium is 3D, so I have to break the design down into simple volumes and translate details into textures. I ensure that posture and gesture can be animated easily while everything else can be summed up with minimal effort. In a team I would work closely with the animator and modeller during this stage. 08. Make beauty shot thumbnails Beauty shots communicate a certain atmoshpereI do a lot of beauty shot thumbnails until I get a feeling for the character. A good beauty shot shows both the attitude and the atmosphere of the game. Showing the main volumes is more important than showing design details. These are the criteria for choosing the right sketch to take forward; I choose III. 09. Sketch loose background shapes A simple sketch gets a feel of the characterAfter drawing a clean sketch based on the thumbnail, I use the Pen tool to create the different shapes on separate layers. I keep things simple here because I can add details later using a mask. I then quickly airbrush some shadows indicating my main light source, to get a feeling for the overall look. After that I start rendering and adding details. 10. Sprint to the finish Details are quickly addedTo make sure I don’t overwork it, I try to finish every element as quickly as possible. For this, selecting areas with the Lasso is key. I change the feathering from 0 to 8 pixels and add texture, smaller volumes and effects this way. I use a textured brush to fill my selection until I achieve the desired effect. I continue defining volumes and textures until it’s finished. This article was originally published in issue 141 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. Subscribe to ImagineFX magazine now. Related articles: 10 top tips to improve your sketching skills 20 top character design tips 95 top Photoshop tutorials View the full article

Branding and creative agency DixonBaxi’s diverse staff are creatively restless – that is, they're passionate about continually evolving and improving, and have the curiosity and drive to make new ideas a reality. Christmas offer: Save up to 47% on a subscription to Computer Arts Co-founders Simon Dixon and Aporva Baxi met 24 years ago, when the former interviewed the latter for a new London-based studio, staffed by a small team of northern designers aspiring to “make their name in the big city”. The two just clicked and the rest, as they say, is history. Dixon says: “We’ve always believed that the bit between the two of us is more powerful than the individuals. That’s where the magic is.” We caught up with the creatives to explore how this magic middle ground translates into a 30-strong agency model. In the video and written interview below, the co-founders tell us about DixonBaxi as an agency, and further down we catch up with junior designer Thierry Nahayo and design director Harry Ead about how to thrive in a creatively restless studio. How would you define your studio culture? Simon Dixon: We’re very focused and intense. Hopefully in a positive way: it’s about creating great work. Over the years, we’ve tried to create a space to have fun too. Every Friday, we have a ‘family lunch’ together. We go out together. Obviously, the team goes out much more with each other than we do necessarily, but we try to enjoy the process without losing the focus that we’re trying to achieve something creatively excellent, and that does require putting in the hours. There are certain things we care about. Challenging the status quo; being restless; caring about what you do; understanding your audience. Little details like kerning and leading are just as important as big ideas. It goes from the macro to the micro. I think people chant about man hours, and work-life balance. I get out of bed in the morning because I love it. I’m defined by my creativity. If you don’t want to work hard on the creative industries, you should be in a different industry, I think. DixonBaxi created a bold, modern and confident brand voice for the History channel Aporva Baxi: We have people from all over the world here, and that adds a real energy. You get different points of view, but they are all full of integrity and have a genuine quality. We see everything in a collective way. We print a ton of work out. Standing around it or putting it on the wall creates an openness, and that discussion literally can involve tearing work up, or reorganising it. That hands-on ability helps people understand what they’re making. You’ll always see people up and talking, really expressing themselves, and it makes for a more thrilling and immersive way of creating work. It isn’t a quiet, headphones on and no music sort of environment. There is a real spirit, and that finds interesting personalities. What is creative restlessness? The DixonBaxi team isn't quiet What does it mean to be creatively restless? SD: It’s an operating system. If you’ve worked for 25 years in an industry and you want to be valid, you’d better be restless. Otherwise you’ll plateau, and then you’re gonna drop. It’s about creative self-fulfilment. It’s about learning and engaging with the world and doing new things. Pushing the envelope of our industry, because why be in it otherwise? AB: It’s not simply about flitting from one thing to another. It’s really learning, and creating what’s next. It’s trying to find the next thing. Your tagline is ‘changing things for the better through creativity’. How much of that is about design for good, versus commercial metrics? SD: We see creativity as a tool to improve things, and that could be a very small change, or a massive, cultural internal change within a business. It could also be social change. It depends on the client we’re working with. We are basically commercial artists. Very large brands want to engage people, and our job is to help them do that – but you have to do that on the merits of how that brand fits into someone’s lifestyle, and has relevance and validity and purpose. Take the Premier League, for example: you have to enjoy the football watching experience more if we’ve worked on it than if we haven’t. Why would we design a complex motion and design theory if it didn’t enhance the experience of watching the thing you love? DixonBaxi worked with DesignStudio’s Premier League identity to create a broadcast graphics language AB: We root that inside the company as well – the idea that we can change things for the better. Again, it’s about being restless, about improving things – it’s that thought that any aspect of anything we do can be changed for the better. That also allows for a freedom and an openness when we’re talking about work. We move projects through the studio, or take work from one team and give it to another for a different point of view. We also tend to work really quickly, which means we’re looking at work on a daily basis. We all meet at around 4 o’clock, when there’s still enough time to get somewhere. How to thrive in a creatively restless studio DixonBaxi design director Harry Ead and junior designer Thierry Nahayo share their dos and don’ts for making work that stands out. Watch them speaking in the video below and read their top four tips below that. 01. Do get bad ideas out the way early “We get as many people involved as we can from the start, from different skillsets,” explains Ead. “We have a creative sprint, where we spend a week or two doing everything you can imagine. Stuff that’s wrong, stuff that’s right.” The most important thing, he adds, is not to worry about nailing it first time. Thierry Nahayo agrees: “Make all the wrong decisions first, and smash those out the way,” he grins. 02. Don’t be afraid to rip stuff up “I enjoy making mess. You can always tidy it up afterwards,” says Ead. “We print lots of stuff out, get everyone around, and it’s a communal effort to get the idea. It’s hard to get that kind of viewpoint when things are on a screen. It breeds a little bit of healthy competition as well,” he goes on. “Once it’s out on the floor, you have nowhere to hide.” Of course, making mess has downsides: “We have to constantly tidy these areas, because literally there’s paperwork every single day,” admits Nahayo. “It keeps us on our toes to see what everyone is doing, and also it gets us back in line.” Home of the Olympics is a major branding campaign for Eurosport, to present the channel as the exclusive European partner for the global sporting extravaganza 03. Do put the hours in when necessary "There’s always going to be a bit of a pinch point,” insists Ead. “You’ve got to put in the hours to make it good, but I think that comes with being passionate about what you do. If you love being a designer and you care about the project, you’re going to put the time and the hours in because you want it to be the best it can. Opportunities like working on the Olympics don’t come around very often, so it’s worth the odd late night.” 04. Don’t rest on your laurels “Restlessness is part of our everyday life here,” says Ead. “The constant push to try to make things as good as they can be bleeds into every single bit of work we do.” Part of that is not resting on your laurels, adds Nahayo: “I don’t think that after we do an incredible project here, we stick with just thinking about it,” he says. “Before you know it, we’ve forgotten it and we’re onto something massive.” This article was originally published in issue 271 of Computer Arts, the global design magazine – helping you solve daily design challenges with insights, advice and inspiration. Buy issue 271 here or subscribe to Computer Arts here. Special Christmas offer: Save up to 47% on a subscription to Computer Arts for you or a friend for Christmas. It's a limited offer, so move quickly... Related articles: How to challenge brand stereotypes What are the next big branding trends? 5 design agencies that do things differently View the full article

UXmas is back for a fifth year running to bring festive cheer to the hearts of UX practitioners all around the world – starting, of course, tomorrow. Boasting some of the biggest names in the UX community, this digital advent calendar is a fun and informative way to count down to Christmas. Set up in 2012, UXmas is a joint effort from the teams at online learning resource UX Mastery and Melbourne-based user experience design team Thirst Studios. Though it may not have nude artwork like Mr Bingo's scratch-off advent calendar, users can look forward to receiving a UX-related treat every single day as a new window is made available to open. These treats include anything from an article or a video, to a sketch or something else all together. The team behind UXmas was keen to make sure there were some surprises in store, just like a real calendar. “For the past month or two, the elves at UX Mastery and Thirst Studios have been working closely with the authors to package up another very special digital advent calendar for user experience designers," says UX Mastery co-founder Luke Chambers. The lead up to Christmas starts now with UXmas And this year's version of UXmas includes some slightly different content. “We're experimenting with shorter content and different content formats, to highlight value, make things more concise and a lot more fun. It was also a bit kinder on the authors who do a stellar job putting this stuff together uniquely for the calendar,” says Chambers. In the past, UXmas has featured prominent voices including Andy Budd, Indi Young, Susan Weinschenk, Eric Meyer, Elizabeth Churchill, Steve Portigal, Whitney Hess and many others. It’s our little gift to the UX community at Christmas time Ben Tollady - Thirst Studio “But we attribute UXmas' success to the breadth and quality of content from the curious and creative minds of all our authors – the emerging voices, UX engine rooms and friendly faces that make the user experience scene what it is,” Chambers adds. “Seriously though, it’s really just a bit of fun and a nice way to give a little something back to the burgeoning UX community that has been so supportive to us," says Thirst Studios' experience design director Ben Tollady. "We’ve had a lot of positive feedback over the years so it certainly seems to be of value, and that makes us happy. It’s our little gift to the community at Christmas time.” Related articles: 10 essential tools for freelance UX designers 5 ways to improve your UX design 30 Chrome extensions for web designers and devs View the full article

Gouache is more forgiving than watercolour paint, but decisions you make early on can still affect the rest of the painting, so planning your colour choices in advance will ensure you get a pleasing palette with harmonious colours. Although it may be tempting to dive in to start painting right away, this usually results in a lot of mistakes and tedious backtracking. If you lay down a vibrant violet sky in your initial wash, for example, the chances are that’s what you’ll end up with. Depending on the amount of moisture in your brush, gouache can also lift and mix with each layer applied on top, so there’s a limited number of times you can rework an area before it becomes a muddy mess. This is why it helps to plan out your colour choices in advance, so all the heavy lifting is done before you even touch brush to paper. Mixing your palette from a limited pool of colours will result in a more unified colour scheme. Mix secondary colours from primaries or variations thereupon, tinted using titanium white and a subtractive black. Here's how to do it. 01. Gather materials and get started Assemble paint, watercolour paper, brushes and recycled containers While it’s worth investing in artist-grade paints and paper, your setup itself doesn’t need to be complicated or expensive. The paints I used are M. Graham gouache and Winsor & Newton gouache, which are high-quality, colourfast brands. To avoid paint drying, store the tubes away from light and heat. Organise your palette according to warm and cool values – the colours I used here are Ivory black, Prussian blue, Primary blue, Magenta, Cadmium red, Cadmium yellow and Yellow light, and Titanium white. Mix the colours with the consistency of mud in mind, as you can always water them down later. Keep the colours you'll need a lot of in separate airtight containers (like these old yoghurt pots) and use them as needed. An old garbage brush is fine for mixing the colours; a palette knife wouldn’t be able to lift paint off the surface. Checking a colour comp of the planned image with a black and white adjustment makes sure the values are correct Creating a printed colour composite can really help you to match paint mixes. Plan it out in Photoshop, where working in LAB colour space makes it easier to create a more harmonious colour scheme. You can also then use the Black and White adjustment layer to check that your values work. 02. Plan your painting Advanced planning can save a lot of time later Analyse the composite image you created in Photoshop to determine the colours required to paint it, and how much of each to mix. Although this looks like a colourful image, you can achieve this look with three base mixtures. The base colour of mountain will need a reddish brown hue that you can lay down as an initial wash and use throughout the painting. Use variations on this base colour when painting in the facets of the mountain, tinting them either warmer or cooler using the sky colour. A black mixture can be used for darkening areas throughout the image, while tinting with titanium white will lighten areas. The top of some trees require a bright green mixture. Cadmium Yellow light is ideal for painting bright foliage. The sky is a slight gradient, so keep this in mind when mixing a pure blue hue, as well as a darker shade to mix in later on. A warm grey mix will be needed for the underside of the clouds, too. 03. Mix the base hues The black, reddish brown and blue base colours need mixing first Mix the base hues first, as you’ll mix these with each other and with the other colours on your palette to achieve harmonious colours in this painting. The black mix is a mixture of Prussian blue, Magenta, Cadmium red and Cadmium yellow. To make this as neutral as possible, test it by mixing it with Titanium white. If the result is a neutral grey (sitting between the warm and cool spectrums), then you've found my mix. The sky blue mixture is just a straightforward mix of Primary blue. You can tint this pure mix using Magenta and Prussian blue to use as a gradient for the sky. The base hue of the mountain is composed of Cadmium red, Magenta, Yellow and Primary blue, but keeps things on the warmer/magenta side. 04. Break it down further Expand the base colours for a full palette Once you've mixed everything, you'll have a full palette of base colours, bright green for the trees and darker and lighter variants that correspond with the comp. Keep the pure colour mixes towards the top of the palette and mix from them. Use the black mixture to shade, cool things down with the sky blue mixture, or tint with white as needed. 05. Fit it all together The colour palette that was used in the painting Make sure that you know how your mixed colours relate to all of the areas of your comp image before you start painting. The swatch card above shows the colours contained in the palette for this image. It’s not perfect, and it will change a little during the painting process, but already you're miles ahead of where you'd be if you went in blind. (A) is the base tint of the mountain at about 15 per cent opacity. (B-F) are all at about 30 per cent. (G) is a subtractive black mixture. (J) is a neutral grey cloud colour mixed using (I), (L) and (B). (L) is a bright green mixed from pure Cadmium yellow and (H). (K) and (M) are both cooler satellite mixtures of (L). Once you're happy with your mixed gouache colour palette, start painting. This article was originally published in issue 152 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 152 here or subscribe to ImagineFX here. Related articles: How to mix shadow colour in paint How to get harmonious colours in paintings How to draw and paint - 100 pro tips and tutorials View the full article

Stock art is an essential tool for any creator. Having the right image to fit a project is important, and you can always find the exact image you need with Stock-Graphics' massive library. For a limited time, you can get a lifetime subscription for just $19 (approx. £14) thanks to a special price drop. No matter what your project calls for, Stock-Graphics has exactly what you need. You'll find tons of assets, from one-of-a-kind vectors to a massive collection of editable images that can be used as you see fit. There are more than 13,500 photos and 2,900 vectors with new content being added every month, meaning you'll never run out of the inspiration that you need. Download as many images as you like and put them to use in all of your projects without restrictions. A lifetime subscription to Stock-Graphics usually runs to $4,999, but you can get full access on sale now for a special, low price of just $19 (approx. £14). That's a massive 99% saving off the retail price for an essential asset for any designer, so grab this deal while you can. 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 Check out these great articles: 5 uses for stock images you might not have thought of 5 tips for using stock imagery in your designs The 16 best websites to download stock art View the full article

Whether it is a signup flow or a multi-view stepper, forms are one of the most important components of digital product design – so you need to design them so they work effectively on mobile devices. Here's how to design forms for mobile devices, including a quick look at how to use Flexbox. 01. Design for vertical scroll A single column layout works betterRegardless of the device size, the easiest way to complete a form is in a linear fashion. Multiple columns disrupt a user's momentum (the users are likely to interpret the fields inconsistently, which is a negative factor in terms of usability) and can result in users having to resort to horizontal scrolling. When it comes to laying out forms, you should design the entries in one column: if a form is in a single column, the path to completion is a straight line down the page. 02. Place labels above fields Place labels above form fieldsLabels tell users what the corresponding input fields mean. When choosing where to place your labels you have two options: left-aligned or top-aligned. Left-aligned labels work well if the form is being completed on a desktop or tablet. However, they are an awful solution for mobile devices where there is limited screen estate. Since left-aligned labels need to sit before the field, the narrow screen leaves very little space for the field itself – especially if the device is in portrait mode. This creates two serious usability issues: The form field won't be wide enough to display the user's entire input, making them more likely to mistype their responses and leading to more erroneous forms being submitted When a user is notified that they have entered erroneous information, they may have a hard time spotting and fixing the problem as they won't be able to see the entire invalid input Placing the label above the form field when a user is browsing from a mobile device will ensure users can see the maximum width to input their details, since you don't need to use up any for the label. Writing your labels above the input fields also makes it much easier for you to write clear and meaningful field labels, as you won't be limited to one or two words. 03. Use tap targets Tap targets should be easy to use no matter what size of device they are displayed on. Larger targets (input fields and buttons) are easier for users with lower dexterity, whether that is a permanent condition or a temporary one caused by the environment. At the moment, the largest target size is for touch devices, so you need to design touch-first. This ensures users won't have to zoom in to enter the text or select an option. Clickable areas should follow the fat finger rule and not encroach on surrounding areas: the average human finger pad is 10 x 14mm and the average fingertip is 8-10mm, making 10 x 10mm a good minimum touch target size. But not only should a tap target be properly sized, you should also ensure there is enough space between multiple tap targets. In fact, if you are getting the 'Tap target size' error on mobile SEO tools, it is often because your tap targets are too close together, rather than the actual tap target being too small. It can be tough to read content on mobile devices, so making the inputs 100% and ensuring the text is set to at least 16px (1em) will make a big difference. That way, no pinch zooming or extra scroll will be required to read the required information. 04. Use HTML5 form fields Mobile devices offer custom software keyboards for different input types, and HTML5 form fields are the single easiest way to improve the user experience of your forms. These input types give hints to the browser about what type of keyboard layout to display for on-screen keyboards. Include the input types of number, email, tel, url and date, and the keyboard input on your mobile devices will update to make it easier for the user to filling in the form. It does not require you to add extra classes to style form inputs, all you need to do is to use valid HTML5 input types: 05. Use Flexbox Let's face it – it's difficult to create a responsive layout in HTML. Most of us have struggled with this at one point or another. Although it's always been possible to make layouts behave as expected using specialised technologies, the process has never been easy. Technologies to deal with structured layouts have come and gone over the years: developers have used HTML frames, HTML tables, float-based layouts, and, more recently, various grid systems popularised by CSS frameworks such as Bootstrap. But with the advent of the HTML Flexible Box model (or Flexbox), HTML has finally gained a rich box formatting engine that addresses complex layouts, including HTML forms. Flexbox gives us great flexibility for quickly building beautiful forms. The key thing to understand about Flexbox is that it's a container manipulation tool: it aims to provide a more efficient way to lay out, align and distribute space among items in a container, even when their size is unknown and/or dynamic (hence the word 'flex'). What's interesting is that Flexbox gives us great flexibility for quickly building our form without using any media queries. Plus, all current browsers support it. Our Web designer's guide to Flexbox article tells you more, but for now let's do some practice and learn how to take advantage of Flexbox to create a responsive form. First things first, let's define the HTML structure for our form: Notice that each of the list items in our form has a class of flex. This class identifies the flex container in our form. One of the big benefits of Flexbox is its ability to use any HTML element to define its containers and elements. You can apply Flexbox styling to any HTML element, which means you can easily restyle and reflow elements independently of each other. Keep in mind that Flexbox is just a styling mechanism, which means that you can add and remove it at will. Let's identify the flex containers in our CSS. Additionally, we want to vertically centre the flex items across the cross-axis. It's pretty easy to specify that, we just need to set up a simple CSS rule: The next step is to specify the widths for the flex items. The main requirements: Labels should be at least 100px and at most 200px Form elements that come after the labels should be at least 200px What does this give us? Each label and its associated form element will be displayed on a single horizontal row when the width of the form totals at least 300px (remember, we're using right-aligned labels here). Lastly, for the submit button, which is also a flex item, we define a few basic styles: As you can see, with minimal markup and the power of Flexbox, we've built a responsive form. With more users carrying mobile devices, it's crucial to deliver a user-friendly experience on any device. The key point is to adapt to both the user's needs and the device's capabilities. This article was originally published in issue 287 of net magazine, the magazine for professional web designers and developers – offering the latest new web trends, technologies and techniques. Subscribe to net here. Related articles: Create responsive forms and tables Get started with web accessibility 7 great tools for testing your responsive web designs View the full article

When trying to convey a design idea to win pitches and get an early sign-off, moods, feelings and visions can be difficult to communicate verbally. So designers will often use mood boards: a collection of textures, images and text related to a design theme as a reference point. Mood boards help others to 'get inside our heads' as they show what you're thinking and feeling about a creative idea and your intended vision for a piece of work. Get Adobe Creative Cloud nowThat said, mood boards can be a pain to create, with many hours spent trawling image galleries, websites, books and magazines looking for that perfect image to sum up your intended feel for the work at hand. The right tools for creating mood boards can help, plus here are a collection of tips to help make your mood board making more effective – and double your chances of winning that pitch. 01. Look beyond the digital world Made by Many used copies of Picture Post to inspire its redesign of the ITV News site When putting together mood boards, it's easy (and therefore tempting) to just use Google Images. But just because you're working on a digital product doesn't mean you have to stick to digital inspiration. For example, while working on the ITV news website, digital product design company Made by Many looked at copies of the veteran Picture Post magazine in order to express how powerful and effective an image plus a caption can be for telling a news story. Real world inspiration such as this can be a very powerful 'convincer' when putting together a board for a client. 02. Take pictures when you're out Use your smartphone to snap anything that catches your eye Real world inspiration is all around us. So use the camera on your phone to take pictures of everything you see that inspires you, whether that be a bird in flight, a great use of typography on a sign, or the brickwork on a building. They don't have to be great photos in the traditional sense – it's all about capturing thoughts, impressions, themes and feelings. 03. Curate what you include Have you ever had the misfortune of going to a gallery exhibition and it just not doing anything for you? You weren't 'touched' by the exhibition or 'moved' by what was on show – and other similar emotive profusions. It's very easy to shove a load of stuff together and call it an exhibition; it's an absolute talent to curate threads and synergies between works and call it an exhibition. When putting together mood boards, think of yourself as a curator rather than a collector, and try to introduce meaning and threads from one image to the next. It makes for easier interpretation. 04. Choose the right format If you're presenting your mood board in person, you need to take a different approach From the outset, establish whether your mood board is going to be presented in person or emailed to the client, as this will determine whether you produce an offline or online mood board. The distinction is not trivial; the two formats demand very different approaches. An offline mood board will generally be looser in style and require the extra kick and emotive spark that comes from it being presented to a client. An online mood board should be tighter and will generally need to work harder to convey a theme or style. 05. Build things up around a large image Whether your mood board is electronic or physical, the layout needs to give prominence to key theme images. You can then surround these with smaller supporting images that enhance the theme. It's a subliminal trick. When someone sees a large image on your board in their heads they'll have questions about it – which they'll quickly scan the rest of the board to find answers for. If you place smaller supporting images around the larger image they should answer these questions by clarifying the messaging given in the larger one. 06. Get tactile Don't be afraid to get a little crafty When making a physical mood board, don't be afraid to get, well, physical. Traditionally, mood boards are made from foam board. Although cutting this stuff up with a scalpel and spray mounting cut-out images onto it can be a pain (especially if you're not dexterous with a blade), it's extremely effective as a presentation tool. The tactile nature of cut-out images glued onto boards enhances the emotiveness of what's being explained. It may seem like a ridiculously old-fashioned thing to do, but perception-wise it's a real ace up your sleeve as a designer. Just be careful with your fingers on that blade... 07. Incorporate it into your pitch Generally mood boards are considered to be separate to pitch or presentation work: they stand alone to show mood and tone. This is standard practice, but consider instead making them part of your pitch or presentation. Remember, you're trying to use subliminal visual tricks to make a client 'get it'. Mixing mood board elements in with the presentation – rather than bolting them on at the end – can be an effective way of communicating your concept to the client. 08. Don't reveal it too early It's important to make sure that a well-meaning project manager doesn't email an offline mood board ahead of the presentation 'so the client knows what we're presenting'. For an offline mood board it's far better to let it all sink in to the client's mind as you showcase it, rather than come armed with lots of questions before you even start. 09. Present your mood board yourself In a similar vein, if your mood board is being presented to the client, try to be involved yourself. It makes no sense to have something that originated in your head being communicated by someone else, because that way meaning can become muddled in a Chinese whispers-type mess. 10. Keep things loose Locking an idea or a style down in a mood board can be detrimental, as the client will feel shoehorned into going with a particular aesthetic. Keep everything a little loose and don't make everything look too final. If you're using preview images from image libraries, don't worry about the watermarking on them – it all adds up to a 'hey look, we can change this, these are ideas' feel to the board. 11. Watch the audience's faces Pay attention to your audience's reactions When you're presenting an offline mood board, watch the faces of those you're showing it to. Ignore any verbal client 'oohs and ahhs' but instead watch their facial and emotive reactions as they look around the board. This will give you a much more honest take on whether the board is doing its job and if they're reacting well or badly to what you're showing them. You have to put these people 'in your mood', so ignore their mutterings and watch their emotive reactions. 12. Hone your mood board skills Employees at Landor use mood boards to express themselves to other members of the team Employees at branding agency Landor Associates use a form of mood board to showcase themselves to other members of the team. Individuals put together nine images in a 3 x 3 grid to give their work colleagues an insight into what they're like; their interests, passions, cares and worries. If you ever want to test out your mood boarding skills, try this out and showcase it to your colleagues. 13. Text it up Don't ignore the power of a few isolated words on a board. Well-chosen words can be fantastic show-stoppers and give your viewer pause for thought as they have to mentally read what's in front of them. Big, bold words juxtaposed together work very well at creating drama, tone and meaning for any project. 14. Make the theme obvious This mood board for UNICEF next to the finished thing shows a clear theme Obscure references can be fun, but try to have a number of relatable items or 'touchpoints' in your mood board. You want to let others in, so being deliberately obtuse will earn you no points at all. It's easy to fill out a board with a pile of incomprehensible references; it's much harder to be clear and use imagery to sell your vision. But it's worth the effort. 15. Aim to spark an emotional response Think a little bit left of centre if you're presenting a mood board to a client. What would give them a genuine emotive response? Real world objects are good for this. If you were inspired by the beach, bring in a shell. If your eureka moment happened on the train, bring in the ticket. This type of thing intrigues people's brains and gains that all-important emotive reaction. 16. Don't make presumptions Expecting too much of the audience can be the difference between a successful mood board and one that's dismissed as being too cerebral. There's a danger of assuming they'll 'know what you mean' – chances are they won't. So if it takes a few more references, images or textures to get what's inside your head into a client's then add them in. 17. Test your mood board Don't forget to test out your boards before you send them off. It's not a game of Pictionary, so if your testing audience have to ask too many times what an image means or why it's there, then it probably shouldn't be there. 18. Have fun The whole process of creating mood boards should be fun – a refreshing break from the often tedious tasks of the jobbing designer. If you're not having fun then it's a sure sign you're going about things the wrong way... 19. Use mood boards to brief designers A mood board for Tom Baker's work on The Avengers cartoon series Following on from the previous point, mood boards are a good way to brief a creative. Don't be afraid to go into detail. The mood board above was compiled for animator Tom Baker as a mood and style guide for creating cartoon versions of The Avengers TV series characters. Instead of relying on one example of a character, several types were found in many different poses, which gave Baker a clear take on the style and direction of the piece. The finished characters for the Avengers animated series20. Use mood boards to speed up client signoff Mood boards shouldn't just be for pitches. Consider preparing mood boards to show other similarly themed projects, websites or functions before creating polished visuals. 'I'll know it when I see it' is a phrase that most of us are familiar with. But to hear this when finished artwork comes back from a client is gutting, signifying that it's back to square one. Using mood boards at different stages of the process can help you avoid this happening. Related articles: 10 great tools for creating mood boards 21 ways to unlock your creative genius 50 brilliant design portfolios to inspire you View the full article

Vertex is offering an incredible opportunity for its Access All Areas ticket holders: one of the most respected people in VFX over the last three decades, Scott Ross, will be sharing his wisdom at the event in London on 13 March 2018. Ross will use his vast experience to talk about the dangers and opportunities facing the industry. Ross managed ILM for George Lucas before leaving to form Digital Domain, with James Cameron and Stan Winston. Digital Domain won two Academy Awards as well as a further nomination. The visual effects of Titanic and What Dreams May Come stand up well to this very day, a testament to the skills and artistry of the Digital Domain teams. Buy your Access All Areas ticket to Vertex 2018In recent times Ross has been touring the world, speaking to VFX community gatherings, drawing from his personal experiences to talk about the future – and it's this area that he will be discussing at Vertex. The UK has a thriving visual effects community, with an established history that has, in recent times, been boosted by some of the biggest projects in movie history – from Harry Potter to Guardians Of The Galaxy and so many more. Times are changing and while some are worried, there are also huge possibilities and new opportunities that are opening to a post-Brexit VFX community. Ross will discuss engaging with new audiences, working alongside new partners and sharing in developments of cultural relationships – things that can only be of benefit to us all. As well as being a world-class VFX sup, he is an accomplished businessman and will talk about what he sees as the future of the community, from small studios and individual artists, right through to the international studios. The chances to hear a talk of this level are few and far between and you'll even have an opportunity to ask Ross questions directly, so book your tickets soon to avoid disappointment. Don't miss out on the chance of asking an Oscar winner a question about your career or passion. Head to www.vertexconf.com to book tickets and find out more about our other amazing speakers, workshops, recruitment fair, networking event and much more. Related articles: Calling all 3D artists: Join us at Vertex 2018 Behind the scenes on Transformers VFX ILM veterans look back on 40 years of VFX magic View the full article

Apple said on Wednesday that it will rush an emergency patch to users that fixes an embarrassing login bug in its High Sierra operating system. View the full article

Autodesk Maya is one of the go-to packages for serious 3D artists, with its advanced tools and high-end plugins, this software is capable of creating some incredibly impressive 3D art to add to your design portfolio. The Maya tutorials on this page will help to demystify its core features and improve your skills. So whether you're a beginner or seasoned pro with the software, there's a Maya tutorial here for everyone to get their teeth into. Give them a go and show us what you've created on Facebook or Twitter. 01. Mastering Maya's interface If you're just getting started with Maya, it's definitely worth taking a look at this interface tour video from its maker Autodesk. This will give you a basic overview of the layout and show you where to find the most used and useful tools for beginners. 02. Beginner's guide to Maya Pluralsight has extensive library of in-depth Maya tutorials If you're wanting to learn Maya (or any other creative software for that matter, Pluralsight is a brilliant place to start. It has a huge library of Maya tutorials depending on your project type and skill level. When you sign up to Pluralight with a demo account you can watch select lessons and courses for free, including this beginner's guide to Maya. The helpful video tutorial explains the essential workflows, terms and techniques to help you get started with Maya. 03. Maya for Beginners If you want to get to grips with Maya without any sign up, this free Maya tutorial video by Shane Whittington will teach you all the basics, starting with the tools and user interface. Over two hours you'll learn how to create and texture polygon models, how to light your scene and finally create a rendered image of your work. 04. Exploring Maya 2018 Learn all about the 3D modeling tools and workflows in Maya in this brilliant video tutorial series For those of you lucky enough to have your hands on the latest iteration of Maya, you can find an absolutely brilliant series of instructional videos over on the Autodesk website. Here you'll find everything from building models and animation to creating UVs and working with lights. 05. Introduction to Animation Create your very own alien environment from scratch in this free video Maya tutorial In this free Maya tutorial you will learn how to create your own 3D scene from scratch. The 90-minute video includes how to sculpt environments, texturing, working with lights and cameras, animating, creating visual effects such as fire and electricity and rendering and exporting animated films. 06. Maya 2017: Easy rigging Rigging a 3D model can be a complicated task, but the team at Faex Editing have tried to simplify things with this helpful Maya tutorial. Easy to follow, this guide will help you get a basic understanding of and set up the human bone structure in Maya 2017. 07. Create a walk cycle in Maya Learn how to create a convincing walk cycle with this detailed 40-minute Maya tutorial. Master each pose, set up the timing and refine the walk cycle using the graph editor. 08. UV Mapping Master the art of placing 2D textures on to 3D models in Maya using the UV editor tools with this 30-minute guide. 09. Maya shaders and textures Wrap your head around all of Maya's different material types with this detailed guide As part of a Know the Basics series by Paul Hatton, this guide delves in to the process of creating and assigning materials in Maya. Wrap your head around all the different material types and how to render them in Maya's default renderer, Arnold. 10. Maya 2018: Bifrost fluids Get to grips with simulating fluids with this in-depth Maya tutorial For the more advanced Maya user, this brilliant Maya tutorial from Lynda shows provides an overview of simulating fluids in Bifrost. Topics include emitting from and colliding with a polygon mesh, adding velocity, friction and drag with motion fields and optimising space and accuracy. You will need a Lynda account to access the course, you can sign up here or opt for a free 30-day trial. 11. How to design an animated hero Learn how Scott Raymond animated Bink to be as appealing as possibleScott Raymond shares his process for animating Bink, a curious little seafaring creature, for Eric Miller Animation Studios' web series. His challenge was to make the most appealing introduction to the character as possible, in just a short amount of time, incorporating Eric Miller's vision and existing setups, while trying to define Bink's unique personality. A versatile rig made it possible to really push the character poses and find the most appealing version of him. 12. Create a realistic environment in Maya Eva Ng explains why getting your references right is key to nailing environmentsCreating different environments is exciting, but to make them believable it's key to study your references. In this Maya tutorial, Eva Ng demonstrates how she made this project based on Vivienne Gucwa's photo Summer on Perry Street, NYC. It's also an opportunity to explore new production workflows and to improve your future projects. Related articles: 8 3D web projects to inspire you Review: Maya 2018 40 amazing After Effects tutorials View the full article

With so much inspiration for artists around every corner, it's a shame to shut yourself away indoors. But for all the benefits and exciting possibilities you get with painting outside, there's a big downside – having to carry all of your equipment. The answer is to travel light and when it comes to brushes, choosing a pocket-sized version that will work with various painting techniques, can really make things easier. Making something smaller can sometimes mean sacrificing quality, though, so we were interested to see whether Rosemary & Co, a company with an excellent reputation in the quality of the brushes it produces, fell into this trap with its range of pocket brushes. Brushes in action These thirsty brushes can cover larger areas We tested the squirrel mop, the kolinsky sable pointed round and the kolinsky sable one-stroke flat. The brushes have a hollow aluminium handle, while the base of the ferrule has a smooth collar that fits into the handle during use. When you’re done, you pull out the brush, reverse it, and it self-encloses back into the handle, making a secure carrying case. It’s great to know you can toss your best sable brushes into a bag or pocket without damaging the tip. That said, you do have to be careful when inserting the brush. We found it best to wet them to a point to avoid bending back hairs. Tapered strokes with the pointed round Feathering with splayed hairs We tested the brushes on a number of outings. When painting in a moderate 9x12in size or smaller, the largest pointed round – what it calls the R3/#10 – is perfect. It’s a decent size, but slightly smaller than a #10 in conventional wood-handle brands. In addition to the round, the mop is useful for large areas. But truthfully, you can create a very nice painting just with the round. Bolder strokes with mop Detailing with the point In our tests, we found the sable thirsty enough to paint a sky (working fast and pulling the bead), yet sharp enough to tackle tree branches or lamp poles and fire escapes. It’s really a great all-round brush! Certainly comparable to other brands. Rosemary & Co also offers some speciality brushes, including a One Stroke (long-hair flat), a Filbert, a Dagger (in a sable/synthetic blend), and a Comber, which is a flat with staggered short hairs giving it the look of a comb or rake. We didn’t spend much time with these, but if they’re to your taste, you’re in luck. Last thoughts Painting some smaller details One thing we would have liked to see is some engraving on the handle, as they all look the same when closed. This can be solved with a tape and marker, though. Also the handle wasn't as snug as we would have liked – a reassuring click when they connected would have been nice– but we didn’t drop one so it's not a problem. Also, we hope two or three larger sizes are added to the range. But these quibbles aside, the Rosemary & Co pocket sables are great brushes for any travel-sketching watercolourist. This article originally appeared in issue 11 of Paint & Draw magazine. Related articles: 15 tips to improve your brush skills Review: Derwent Procolour Pencils Choose the right brushes for watercolour painting View the full article