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At the AOI, we advise on pricing on a daily basis, covering everything from the smallest private commission to the biggest advertising campaign. We see illustrators being offered fair – and often generous – amounts of money every day. Yet we also see many who willingly give away their rights or work for free, and then are not able to sustain a career in the industry. But with some support and a bit of basic knowledge, illustrators are increasingly negotiating better fees. We say a big yes to that. We asked fashion illustrator and AOI member Willa Gebbie to share her insight on costing. More information about pricing can be found in the Members Area at The AOI. 01. Consider pricing based on usage Gebbie co-runs the popular monthly illustration meetup Yo Illo "Pricing is difficult. It's hard to know what the going rate is, and no one wants to feel like they've charged too little," says Gebbie. "For jobs in marketing and advertising, I charge based on usage, which is a bit complex as you need to think about how the illustration(s) will be used, who will use it (or them) and for how long. I loved Jessica Hische's article, The Dark Art of Pricing, which gave me so much confidence in how to speak to art directors about money and usage. The AOI's pricing advice has also been invaluable." 02. Remember it's not just about the illustration However, sometimes, quoting isn't a straightforward process. "Recently, a regular client was interested in developing a short animation with my illustrations," says Gebbie. "I've never worked on an animation before, but I share a studio with some really great animators, and knew it could be great to involve them and work together. "When the role involves multiple people, you're not just being paid to draw, you have to manage the project for the client, and make sure that everyone involved is being paid fairly." 03. Don't sign over copyright Gebbie's clients have included Chanel, H&M and Diesel Occasionally, Gebbie's clients will ask her to assign copyright. "It's really disappointing," she explains. "I'll always give them a call and kindly ask them if they can provide a licensing contract. Sometimes that's all it takes; not everyone understands what they're actually asking for. If the money is decent, or if it's obvious that the artwork will never be used for anything else, then I'll settle with giving rights ‘in-perpetuity'. But often, I'll turn work down rather than give away my copyright – mainly out of principle." 04. Never work for free So how does Gebbie feel about working for free? "No way. Not for a company who is profiting from it," she assets. " There are much better ways of working for free, such as collaborating with other artists on personal projects, so I do that instead. I already donate a lot of my free time to the community through Yo Illo. Sometimes I'll do a freebie for a friend's wedding invitation, but only for VERY good friends." This article originally appeared in Computer Arts issue 271; buy it here! Related articles: 4 ways to cash in as a freelancer How much should you charge for your work? 6 steps for dealing with cheapskate clients View the full article

Knowing how to code is an invaluable skill. Whether you're looking to launch a career as a web developer or just want to add a new ability to your resume that may put you in line for new opportunities, you can pick up the skills you need to take part in the new wave of development with the help of the Learn to Code 2018 Bundle, on sale now for a price you choose! The Learn to Code 2018 Bundle is packed with courses for people of all skill levels. It's designed to give you the know-how you need to be a talented developer with the talent to succeed, no matter where you're starting from. You'll find hundreds of hours of actionable content in these 10 professionally-caught courses on the most important programming languages, from Python and Swift to Java and R Programming. Add new skills to your resume so you can create great works online for fun or get a promotion and take home more money on your paycheck. The Learn to Code 2018 Bundle usually retails for $1,479. Right now, you can pick the price you pay for it. Beat the average to unlock it all or get on the leaderboard. The price is up to you but you can't go wrong no matter what you pay, so grab it today! 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 View the full article

For a long time companies forgot to think about the needs of their users. Companies only focused on their priorities and what they wanted to express. That changed with user-centred design – people started digging into the needs of different audiences. But there’s a risk that an organisation can lose itself in exclusively paying attention to users. Brand and content strategist, Margot Bloomstein, is on a mission to bring the pendulum back to the middle. “If companies within a particular industry that speak to the same audience only focus on the needs of that audience, it would be a very bland experience ,” she argues. “Airlines that sell the same product would all look and sound the same, and that’s just not right because we know that they differ as brands, even if they fly the same routes, sometimes at the same price point. We know that the experiences that JetBlue, Virgin and United offer differ wildly, and people have different loyalties, proclivities and interests that correspond to those brands. I like to work with my clients to help them best express those differences. If they know who they are, then they can better decide what they want to communicate and what kind of language, content types and platforms are best to engage their audiences.” Bloomstein, who has worked with clients like Timberland, Lindt, and Al Jazeera America, helps brands ensure the choices they make are not just right for their audience but also right for them as a company; an approach she calls brand-appropriate user experience. Should a brand be communicating in short, truncated sentences, long-form copy or in bullet lists, for example? Should they be conducting video interviews with their stakeholders, or would it be better to hear directly from their biggest customers? The first step, regardless of the client’s industry, size or problem they are trying to solve, is always to help them create a message architecture. Bloomstein defines this as a hierarchy of the communication goals that can be used to guide the copy creation as well as the visual design. For this purpose she tends to facilitate an exercise around BrandSort, a deck of cards that she’s created to help the client prioritise and clarify all of those important communication goals. Bloomstein guides the client through a three-step process (first introduced in her book, Content Strategy at Work) of sorting attribute cards describing who they are, who they’d like to be and who they’re not. She then analyses which terms are so core and important to the brand that they want to make sure they hold onto them, while others are discarded. “Maybe you’ve always been thought of as traditional and you realise that’s stodgy and boring, but you still want to be seen as established, responsible and reliable, ” she explains. “Finally, we figure out the natural patterns in those terms and rank them. We find out what’s most important to communicate – for example, your sense of innovation and being a ground-breaking, thought leadership-orientated organisation." Margot created a pack of cards to help clients prioritise and clarify communication goals Once the message architecture has been established, Bloomstein moves into the more tactical work. This could be conducting a content audit and establishing editorial style guidelines. The message architecture is used to measure the brand’s existing content to test it. “I can’t tell you how many times I’ve worked with a team that might start out by saying they want to be seen as modern,” Bloomstein laughs, “but when I ask them what that means and how it differs from how they’ve always done things, oftentimes people pause and shrug, because who doesn’t want to think of their work as modern? We have to unpack those terms and go from abstract to concrete. "The BrandSort tool is a way to do that. By the time you get to the actual content, whether it’s speccing out photography, developing infographics or writing copy, it’s real and concrete, and you can see how it all goes back to the original message architecture. I firmly believe that you cannot conduct a content audit that is effectively qualitative as well as quantitative unless you first understand the message architecture of an organisation.” To find out more about Margot's career, and examples of brands that get content strategy just right, you can read the full interview in the latest issue of net magazine. Margot will be one of the speakers at Generate New York on April 25-27, 2018. You can view the full, star-studded line-up, and book your early bird tickets now. Tickets for Generate New York 2018 are out now! Related articles: 7 great examples of branded content 5 ways to master branding strategy How to craft a brand voice View the full article

Adobe has released a video that shows off an intelligent new selection tool coming to Photoshop CC soon, called Select Subject. This tool uses Adobe Sensei – the artificial intelligence and machine learning platform that headlined the tech reveals at Adobe Max last month – to work out where the main subject is in an image. It promises to make basic and time consuming tasks such as performing cutouts and making photo edits with masks quicker and more straightforward than ever before. Whereas you were previously forced to use the lasso, quick select or pen tools if you wanted to select an individual subject, Select Subject does all that work with one click, making working in Photoshop CC much easier. It sounds too good to be true, but watch the Select Subject tool in action with the video below and prepare to be amazed. Picked up your jaw from the floor yet? What's so amazing about this machine learning tool is that it can work with single objects or group shots, plus it's clever enough to filter out any foreground details that could potentially clutter the subject. As well as being powerful, this tool is flexible too, allowing users to refine the mask edge to their heart's content – keen-eyed readers will notice that the image in our header could do with a little refinement, as the model's lost part of her left arm. All the plebs are gonna just denounce people that make this our job YouTube user Starius2 Every innovation comes at a price, though, and lo and behold the comments on the Select Subject tool's sneak peek video are filled with creatives anxiously wringing their hands that this feature could lower the bar for entry when it comes to graphic design. We know that the YouTube comment section is usually best thought of as a no-go zone, but just this once we decided to take a look at what designers are saying about this impressive tool. Most were quick to sing its praises, with one user claiming that "Adobe has commercialised actual magic", while another was slightly more cautious with their admirations: "PLEASE STOP MAKING PHOTOSHOP EASIER! PLEASE. All the plebs are gonna just denounce people that make this our job." With no release date set in stone (the video teases that the Select Subject tool "is coming to an update to Photoshop CC") it remains to be seen if the tool leads to amateur designers running amok. Related articles: Age a photograph in Photoshop CC 9 things we learned at Adobe Creative Meet Up 2017 95 top Photoshop tutorials View the full article

The new issue of 3D World magazine is out now, and it's as packed as ever with expert 3D tutorials, VFX secrets from the titles you love, and industry insights and inspiration. Secrets from the production of smash-hit movie Blade Runner 2049, and a celebration of Firefly as the show turns 15, kick off our features this month. Plus, we bring you tutorials on creating video game characters in ZBrush, sculpting VR environments in Oculus Medium and Quill, and working with Unreal Engine 4 and IvyGen. Buy 3D World issue 229 here Look out for the January 2018 issue in stores now, or order a copy online here. Read on to see what's inside this month's magazine. Never miss an issue: Subscribe to 3D World magazine here Feature: Blade Runner 2049 In this feature we explore the visual effects of Blade Runner 2049, with some fascinating render breakdowns and behind the scenes shots. Learn how the giant Joi hologram was built, how future Las Vegas was created and how the infamous digital threesome scene was constructed. Feature: Firefly at 15! It's now 15 years since Joss Whedon's cult sci-fi show Firefly was aired but the visual effects still hold up well to this day, something common to the work of Zoic. In this feature we get to talk about many aspects of the show's creation, including a look at some incredible elements that never made it to screen, before Fox cancelled it. Not only that but we have an exclusive shot breakdown of the iconic 'Train Job' sequence with one of the original artists. Tutorial: Game characters If you have ever wanted to create stunning game characters then this is the issue for you. Our awesome cover artist reveals his techniques for sculpting and texturing realtime characters, so you can jump start your own projects. Tutorial: Build environments in VR It's rare that we get to create assets in the some workspace as their final use, but with the rate of technological advancement that is becoming more and more possible. This issue we show you how to dive into VR to create environments that will be used in VR. This is both a logical and exciting method of working. Tutorial: Unreal 4 terrains In this tutorial you will learn some advanced techniques for building terrains for use in Unreal Engine 4. This is a fantastic step-by-step workshop that will give you invaluable insights into environment creation, which is applicable to any of your projects. Tutorial: Bootcamp This issue's instalment of bootcamp introduces you to an incredibly useful plugin, which is also free! Use it to grow splines that spawn polygons over any structure. The obvious use is ivy but you can swap out textures to change things from leaves to crystals or whatever you can imagine. 3D World is the world's best-selling magazine for CG artists – packed with expert tutorials, inspiration and reviews. Buy issue 229 here or subscribe to 3D World here. View the full article

When it comes to developing your illustration skills, your first stop of course should be this very site. Within our illustration, art and digital art sections, you’ll find a range of features, tutorials and software reviews to help develop your abilities. But if you’re looking for something specific, you may need to look elsewhere. So here we’ve compiled our favourite free sources of illustration training on the web. Note, though, that not everything on these sites will necessarily be free. So where the site offers a mixture of free and paid resources, we’ve included a relevant link to get to the former quickly. 01. Adobe.com These free Illustrator tutorials come straight from Adobe, including this introduction to Start making artwork Adobe Illustrator is one of the most popular tools for creating illustration, so you’d figure the company would give something back. And it indeed has, in this great collection of tutorials, divided into beginner and experienced levels, all given by Adobe experts. A mixture of text and video, with sample files, these tutorials get to the heart of how to use tools within the software that you may not even be aware of. 02. Affinity Designer Video Channel Affinity Designer is fast being adopted by many illustrators looking for a professional alternative to Illustrator. Because its interface is quite similar to Adobe’s, it’s relatively easy to pick up and run with, but there are differences. So the team behind it has produced a range of video tutorials, on Vimeo and on YouTube, to get you up to speed. 03. Painterartist.com Corel has a range of free tutorials to help you use its software, including this guide on How to draw manga Whether you’re an experienced user of Corel Painter or an absolute beginner, Corel’s own site is the place to head for informative and in-depth tutorials. From how to replicate the techniques of the Old Masters to getting on board with the latest Manga styles, there’s a huge amount of training available here, and you can even download a trial copy of the software to try it out first. 04. Envato Tuts+ Evato Tuts+ offers a mix of free and paid-for lessons, including this tutorial on How to create a surreal scene by Lewis Moorhead Evato Tuts+ is a long-established provider of free instruction to help you develop your creative skills. There are tons of tutorials and courses to choose from in the design and illustration section, which are aimed at both beginners and advanced level users, and cover a range of drawing software. While the tutorials are generally free, the courses normally require a subscription. That said, most of them contain free sample lessons, so you can at least get a feel for them first. 05. Creative Live Classes on Creative Live are free when broadcast live, paid-for later. This class by Mary Jane Begin examines the fundamentals of colour CreativeLive is an online education platform that broadcasts live classes to an international audience. It operates on a freemium pricing model, which means that all classes are free to stream while they’re live and can be purchased to watch at a later date. Tutorials in the illustration category are grouped under the topic headings Drawing, Digital Illustration and Adobe Illustrator. 06. PPLLUV Process Watch professional illustrators such as Sean Ferguson at work with PPLLUV Process One of the best ways to learn is by watching the pros at work, and that’s exactly what PPLLUV Process sets out to bring you. Calling itself the 'Home of Open-Source Creativity', the site strives to demystify creativity by showing professionals using their skills to solve creative problems. It’s a paid-for service but there are currently two packages in the Free Processes section to tempt you in, including video walkthrough and source files. 07. Skillshare Skillshare is generally paid-for but includes a number of free taster courses, including Character design by Sarita Kolhatkar Skillshare is an online platform where anyone who wants to teach can create classes. Most of these are paid for, but there are a number of free courses to tempt people in. You can find those related to illustration simply by clicking the link above, including Vector illustration: Design a playful character using geometric shapes and Adobe Illustrator: Make paths fast & easy. If you're ready to upgrade to the paid-for classes, Creative Bloq readers can get two months of Skillshare Premium courses for free right now. 08. Spoongraphics Spoongraphics has been posting free illustration tutorials for more than a decade, including this one on How to create a vector popsicle in Adobe Illustrator Established in 2006, Chris Spooner features design tutorials, free resources and tons of visual inspiration. Its tutorial section is filled with cool vector projects, such as How to create colourful gradient orbs and How to create digital particle waves. 09. Digital Arts Online Digital Arts Online features some top-class illustration tutorials, including How to draw a mandala by Breno Bitencourt Digital Arts is a UK-based online magazine focused on the creative industries, from graphic design to filmmaking. Its tutorials section is packed with illustration projects, usually based around Photoshop or Illustrator, such as How to draw a mandala in Adobe Illustrator and How to create artwork with a 1980s feel in Photoshop. 10. Cartoon Smart Cartoon Smart is a huge online training site teaching skills in the areas of game art, illustration, animation and app development. There’s a huge amount of paid-for instruction on the main site and you can get a taster by checking out the free lessons on the Vimeo channel, including How to draw an angry muscular guy’s head in Procreate (above). 11. Vector Guru Vector Guru offers simple, no-nonsense illustration walkthroughs, such as this one on How to create a twisted vector ribbon Vector Guru is a simple, no-nonsense website featuring, at time of writing, a total of 29 vector illustration projects. Based on step-by-step, text and images approach, these include How to create a custom vector shadow and How to create a polygon background from a photo. 12. Vector Cove Vector Cove boasts a range of Adobe Illustrator tutorials with topics including How to create texture in Adobe Illustrator Vector Cove houses a large collection of Adobe Illustrator tutorials for a variety of skill levels. Based on a step-by-step, text and images approach, typical subjects include How to create a haunted castle for Halloween, How to create cardboard boxes and How to draw a taco. 13. Creative Nerds Illustrator tutorials Creative Nerds’ Illustrator tutorials are based around either software features or specific drawing projects, such as How to create a USB flash drive using Illustrator Established in 2008, Creative Nerds is a design blog that offers free resources and tutorials on a range of creative topics. The section linked to above features both tutorial list features and individual tutorials. The latter are both text and video-based, and cover everything from How to create an angry little Samurai to How to export multiple SVG graphics quickly. 14. Vectips tutorials Vectips features short, step-by-step tutorials walking you through projects such as How to create realistic vector leaves in Illustrator Owned and maintained by Kevin Sanderson, Vectips is a site dedicated to Adobe Illustrator tips, tricks, and tutorials. Recent tutorials include the likes of Create a cartoon skull vector and Create a haunted house background. Liked this? Read these: 7 hot illustration trends of 2017 5 free apps that can boost your creativity Maximise your shape building in Illustrator View the full article

You're reading Image Optimization Tools & Tips for Webmasters, originally posted on Designmodo. If you've enjoyed this post, be sure to follow on Twitter, Facebook, Google+! Proper image optimization is crucial for a fast website. Whenever you run your site through a tool like PageSpeed Insights you’ll always find helpful hints to improve your images. Typically this involves compression where the image says the same size and general quality, but you compress some parts to make it a smaller file. You can do this […] View the full article

A major bug in Apple’s macOS High Sierra gives anyone with physical access to a system running the latest version of the OS root access simply by putting "root" in the user name field. View the full article

Google discovered a spyware app that uses nearly a dozen old vulnerabilities to root devices and steal sensitive data from social media applications. View the full article

The world's premier racing championship, Formula 1, unveiled its first rebrand for 23 years at the close of the Etihad Abu Dhabi Grand Prix on Sunday. The new identity (shown below) was created by a team at Wieden + Kennedy London led by Richard Turley. Featuring a sleek red logo and three typefaces, the rebrand replaces the familiar Carter Wong studio negative space logo (above) which Formula 1 has been using since 1994. Formula 1's director of marketing, Ellie Norman, says that the refresh “speaks to the core of why people loved the sport in the first place." Eagle-eyed fans were aware that a change was on the way when trademarks were applied for new Formula 1 logos earlier in the month. Out of these three candidates, the streamlined logo was chosen. See it below by clicking left to right through our gallery. Whereas the previous logo focused on a clever use of negative space to showcase the Formula 1 name, the new design echoes the long, flat shape of an F1 car. By keeping the design close to the ground, this helps to communicate a sense of speed. This is a subtler representation compared to the old logo, which used dynamic red spikes to get the racing angle across. Turley reveals the thought process behind the logo: "creatively, the challenge was to reposition Formula 1 as a forward-facing entertainment brand, which works across a multitude of channels." Norman talked to fans of the sport to find out what the rebrand needed to focus on. "It was about racing," she explains. "But many felt those days were behind us and that the sport has become almost impenetrable for fans, particularly new ones. “It was clear we were going to need to address some fundamentals of our brand, if we were to realise our ambition to make Formula 1 a major entertainment player and claim our rights to be the global media brand we should be. What we say and do now is so important for our future, but it must always be driven by our fans. They come first.” Accompanying the new logo is a trio of typefaces by French designer Marc Rouault, which you can explore in our gallery below. Rouault hopes that the sleek and curved look of the typefaces evoke the retro aspect of the motorsport in a similar fashion to the new logo. To give designers an insight into how the logo developed, the team behind it has shared pages from an internal booklet that collect together dozens of potential variants. It's interesting to see the various ways in which the design team reimagined the Carter Wong F1 icon, a design which set an intimidating benchmark for all involved. When it comes to new logos there are always detractors who cling on to the previous iteration. But for a property as huge as Formula 1, the amount of attention has been immense. Fans seem to be split on what to make of it, and racing drivers themselves have also weighed in on the debate. Lewis Hamilton said: "The old one was iconic, and the new one isn't." Meanwhile former World Champion Sebastian Vettel was more blunt with his observation: "I liked the old one better." Rebrands always take time to settle, though, and perhaps once we see it in action properly more people will be won over by the new logo. In fact you can get a taste of what to expect right now by watching it in this teaser promo for the next season. Related articles: The 20 biggest logos of 2017 The top 10 big-brand logos The 7 best logos by design agencies in 2017 View the full article

With the introduction of Sketch Cloud, a rethought file format and subscription-based pricing model, Sketch has had an exciting run. Besides a string of small but highly intuitive improvements, Sketch Plugins now update automatically, and outdated ones are disabled. Sketch plugin management is heaps better, and the library is getting bigger every day. So let’s take a look at 10 of the best Sketch Plugins that are drastically changing the way that we design user interfaces. Once you've spotted one you'd like, scroll down to the bottom of the article or click here to read how to install Sketch plugins. 01. Auto Layout Plugin Type: Added features Price: Free Summary: Responsive design for Sketch Auto Layout is a responsive design solution for Sketch designers, turning static layouts into dynamic layouts Group Resizing is a native feature that was added to Sketch late last year. It enables you to change the way that objects react when your artboards or parent groups are resized – it’s not exactly responsive design, but it’s close enough. Auto Layout, built by AnimaApp, takes this functionality a little further. Where Group Resizing lets you create fluid elements and pin objects to a corner (think: :fixed positioning in CSS), Auto Layout also lets you offset elements by a certain amount of px, define minimum and maximum dimensions for elements (think: min-: and max-: in CSS) and do everything that Group Resizing allows you to do but with a much less confusing UI. It also does something else, which we’ll discuss next. 02. LaunchPad Plugin Type: Website publishing Price: Premium plans from $9/m Summary: Convert designs to static HTML webpages LaunchPad is an efficient way of converting .sketch designs into static HTML websites – domain and allYou’ve designed a website in Sketch. Great – now what? Design handoff? Nope, no need! LaunchPad offers an ultra-simple way to convert .sketch designs to static HTML webpages. I’m always healthily sceptical about ‘easy’ ways to ‘convert’ design to code, but LaunchPad delivers. LaunchPad was built by AnimaApp, the makers of Auto Layout. In fact, you can combine LaunchPad with Auto Layout to export responsive .sketch designs as HTML. Let’s have a look. First, the expectations. LaunchPad doesn’t export a ‘finished’ design. You’re still expected to fine-tune loading times, further tweak the code to ensure responsiveness and adaptability to alternative screen sizes, and overall optimise the code output to ensure that the site loads quickly and runs smoothly. LaunchPad doesn’t make web design easy – nothing ever will – but it does give you some pretty solid foundations to work with. After trying it out with a couple of low-fidelity mockups, I can see that the code output is relatively simple, which means that: 1. We don’t have to worry about bloated code, and… 2. It won’t replace developers by a long shot Features: Responsive design (if combined with Auto Layout) Videos, links and forms Font-family fallbacks Publishing and domain management SEO (title, meta description etc) Social media meta tags (Open Graph etc) Version control (easy to rollback to older versions) Google Analytics (or similar) integration Keyboard-centric workflow for faster designing What LaunchPad can’t do: Export dynamic websites with JavaScript03. Color Contrast Analyser Plugin Type: Added Features Price: Free Summary: Analyses Colour Contrast Colour contrast between two elements, most often between backgrounds and body text, is compared using a formula defined by the WCAG (Web Content Accessibility Guidelines). Nobody likes to deal with formulas on a daily basis (or ever, really), which is why Color Contrast Analyser makes our top 10. While many Sketch plugins help you accomplish little things easier and/or faster, Color Contrast Analyser also helps you to make solid design decisions using internationally recognised design standards. Color Contrast Analyser compares two colours and defines the contrast ratio between them. Contrast ratios are split into three levels (A, AA and AAA), and the contrast ratio should always meet the minimum requirement of AA. Of course, you will never know the contrast ratio without a tool that measures it, so the Color Contrast Analyser Plugin is a must-have for designers trying to improve both the readability and accessibility of their work. If only one layer is selected, the colour will automatically be compared against the background colour of the artboard. While there’s no available keyboard shortcut, you can access the feature from the Plugins menu, or you can manually define your own keyboard shortcuts using this super neat trick in macOS. 04. ImageOptim Plugin Type: Added Features Price: Free Summary: Image optimisation in Sketch ImageOptim brings a sophisticated image optimisation workflow into Sketch, a must-have for serious designersWhile Sketch offers its own solution for optimising SVG files, compression for JPG and PNG image formats is still lacking the options to fine-tune using a range of compression techniques. Since ImageOptim has been offering a solid service for a number of years, it makes sense that it would bring this functionality to Sketch. Any designer who cares about loading times and image optimisation (which should be all designers) certainly needs to add ImageOptim to their toolbox, although it should be noted that you still need the core ImageOptim app (free) installed on your macOS system, and you still need to mark layers as exportable in Sketch. Navigate to ‘Export and Optimise All Assets’ to begin. 05. Export More Plugin Type: Extended functionality Price: Free Summary: Animated GIF export When you think animated GIFs, you think Dribbble shots and app demos. It’s no secret that GIFs are making a comeback, but the delicate art of making them isn’t exactly common knowledge. Do we use Photoshop for this? After Effects? Both of those are terrific choices, but you don’t necessarily need a full-featured Adobe app to create cool GIFs, especially when creating relatively simple animations. Export More treats each artboard as an individual frame and combines them together. You can then choose whether to have the GIF play once or on a continuous loop. Navigate to ‘Plugins > Export More > Artboards to GIF’, choose the desired playback method (default or loop), then choose the desired frame rate. It’s really, really easy – and fun. 06. Sketch IconFont Plugin Type: Time saver Price: Free Summary: Manage icon fonts in Sketch Icon fonts are a highly efficient way of using virtually an unlimited amount of icons in your web designs without having to export and optimise a ton of image assets. Typically we reference icon fonts in the <head> section of HTML webpages, as we do with CSS and JavaScript. However, using them in Sketch is a little more complicated. Thankfully, Sketch IconFont makes it easy. After downloading and installing Sketch IconFont, download SVG font files or download this font bundle, which includes the font files for FontAwesome, Material Design Icons, Ion Icons and Simple Line Icons. When you’re done, navigate to ‘Plugins > Icon Font > Install a Font-Bundle’ , select the downloaded fonts from the Open File dialog, then navigate to ‘Plugins > Icon Font > Grid Insert > [your desired icon font]’ in order to insert an icon. Even if you’re intending to design a custom icon set for your design, having ready-made icons at your disposal can help you with rapid prototyping in the early stages of design, adding a little more clarity/fidelity to your low-fidelity mockups. 07. Craft Plugin Type: Prototyping Price: Free Summary: Design and prototyping tools Craft is a super useful toolbox that supercharges your design and prototyping workflow. It’s made by the guys at InVisionCraft does a lot more than sync your .sketch designs with the InVision web app. In fact, most of Craft’s features can be used without having an InVision subscription at all. Craft supercharges your design workflow by letting you build your design with realistic data and images, rapidly tile objects horizontally and vertically, and create libraries of styles and assets that can be stored in the cloud, shared between your team and accessed at any time. Recently added to this list of functionality is Craft Prototype, which not only lets you demonstrate user flows, transitions and dynamic components such as fixed headers/footers, but also sync those demonstrations into the core InVision app with Craft Sync, bringing your entire team into the loop with an abundance of top-class communication, collaboration and design handoff tools. With design, prototyping and handoff tools, Sketch + Craft + InVision is a triple-threat! InVision App subscriptions start at $15 a month, which is suitable for small teams. However, Craft itself can be used for free. 08. Sketch Dynamic Button Plugin Type: Time saver Price: Free Summary: Dynamic widths for buttons Buttons are very common in user interfaces – we use them to activate functionality, visually alert the user of important tap targets, and submit data to a web server. The problem is, not all buttons are made equal. Among other things, they often vary in size, depending on the character length of the text inside, which can make resizing each one in Sketch a bit of a hassle. Sketch Dynamic Button isn’t a new Sketch Plugin, but it’s certainly one that can’t be stepped over. If you’ve never used it before, it allows the designer to specify a fixed amount of inside spacing (known as padding: in CSS). When you change the value of the text layer inside the button, the button automatically resizes while keeping the padding intact. It’s very useful despite its simple nature. 09. Swap Styles Plugin Type: Time saver Price: Free Summary: Swap styles with another layer Swap Styles uses a handy keyboard shortcut to swap styles with another laterWith the help of a handy keyboard shortcut, Swap Styles quite literally swaps styles with another layer. Although simple by nature, Swap Styles is a huge time saver when designing hover states. Let’s take a menu navigation, for example. A menu navigation would appear on every screen, although the active state (the visually highlighted link that describes where you are in the navigation) would differ from screen to screen. On the settings screen the ‘Settings’ menu item might be underlined, and on the newsfeed screen the ‘Newsfeed’ menu item might be underlined… You usually have two options: 1. Awkwardly move things around for every artboard 2. Create an insane amount of shared styles and/or symbols In this example, Swap Styles lets you move the active state style to another menu item simply using the keyboard shortcut: Cmd+Ctrl+S. Simple but powerful, right? 10. Sketch Runner Plugin Type: Productivity Price: Free Summary: Spotlight for Sketch Sketch Runner is macOS’s Spotlight equivalent for Sketch – it quite literally does all of the running around for you!Sketch is well-loved for its minimalist keyboard workflow. That being said, there’s always two or three keyboard shortcuts that you always seem to forget or confuse with another design app like Photoshop. And let’s not forget those less common tools and features that don’t have a keyboard shortcut and are hidden deep in the Sketch menu. Sketch Runner solves these issues and does so in a way that macOS users are familiar with – Sketch Runner is the macOS Spotlight, but for Sketch. Feature breakdown: Open Runner: Command+‘ Run last action: Command+Shift+‘ Jump anywhere: type ‘goto’ , then an object name Insert symbol: type ‘insert’ , then a shared style/symbol name Create symbols and shared styles: type ‘create’ , then a name Apply shared styles: type ‘apply’ , then a shared style name Install more plugins: type ‘install’ , then the extension name How to Install Sketch Plugins Sketch Plugins can be installed in a variety of ways. Most developers simply upload their extensions to GitHub in the form of a .sketchplugin file. This is easy enough, but you’d have to check back regularly for updates as extensions are known to break when newer versions of Sketch are released. We can also use Sketch Toolbox to search for, install and manage Sketch Plugins. However, there’s no assurance that you’ll be given the latest versions, and some (such as Craft and Zeplin) aren’t even included in the toolbox. SketchPacks is updated more often and usually includes the big boys like AnimaApp – yet it’s still missing the private-source plugins like Craft and Zeplin. The newest version of Sketch (version 45) tries to update Sketch Plugins when it can, but using Sketchpacks or even the GitHub GUI – if you’re familiar with GitHub – could serve as a suitable alternative. 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. Read more: How to survive as a web designer beyond 2020 12 common JavaScript questions answered 8 CodePen features you didn't know about View the full article

You're reading Opinions Mixed on Kickstarter Redesign, originally posted on Designmodo. If you've enjoyed this post, be sure to follow on Twitter, Facebook, Google+! The crowdfunding platform Kickstarter has rolled out a surprise new logo complete with a redesign of their site. Out goes the old two-tone bubble font logo so familiar to us, in comes a pumped up, super bubbly dark blue logo. The old logo was simple, friendly & honest Founded in 2009, New York-based Kickstarter was […] View the full article

While many of the fantastic Cyber Monday deals for creatives are still hanging around for the rest of the week, we've got you a fresh new deal on a great social media tool. Managing social media accounts for your business is a necessity in the modern economy. It's also a total pain. Instead of bouncing between tons of apps and tabs trying to control everything, do it all from one place with SMhack Business. Get a lifetime subscription on sale for just $49.99 (approx £37) – and take an additional 40% off when you use the coupon code CYBER40 at the checkout. As your business grows, you'll need to communicate with people on social media. It's an essential tool for expanding your business and gives you tons of access to your consumers. With SMhack Business, it's easier than ever to take control of social media and use it to communicate. All of your interactions, from DMs and messages to posts and Tweets can be handled from this single app. Publish your content, analyse its success, improve your reach, and expand your business like an pro. You can get a lifetime subscription to SMhack Business on sale for just $49.99 (approx £37) – and you can take an additional 40% off when you use the coupon code CYBER40 at the checkout. 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. Read more: How to make social media work for you 5 golden rules for social media strategy How to make money on Instagram as a creative View the full article

The 18th century Rococo painters used imagination, dreamlike palettes, romantic atmosphere and lively brushwork to create a wonderful atmosphere of enchantment. This period was one of the first times in art history when painters sought to truly transport us to different worlds and fantastic places. In this workshop we’ll discuss how to illustrate a scene in oil that has this classical, Rococo sensibility to it. You’ll learn how to use an underpainting to achieve a lighting effect that captures form and volume. Then learn to use glazes to enhance the colours and create a jewel-like effect for your painting. Finally, discover how to apply details that bring your characters and their world to life. Christmas offer: Save up to 49% on a subscription to ImagineFX We’ll be working in traditional oils for this painting, but the principles here can also be applied to other mediums. Art shouldn’t be defined by the medium used, but rather the message the artist is communicating. Don’t be afraid to try oils out, even if it seems scary at first. Every time you push yourself and experiment, you improve and expand your own abilities. Annie uses Prismacolor Col-Erase pencils to sketch her initial image To draw, we used Prismacolor Col-Erase pencils on a toned two-ply Bristol board. We painted with Old Holland oil paints on a 100 per cent cotton Gessoed canvas with Isabey Isacryl brushes (a handmade synthetic brush) in round, bright, flat and filberts of different sizes. We also used Walnut Alkyd oil as a medium. Buy Prismacolor Col-Erase pencils in assorted colours: UK | US Buy Old Holland oil paint set of 6 x 18ml colours: UK | US Let's get started. 01. Develop the drawing Keep your pencil in constant motion, always in contact with the paper for sketching Before starting my painting, I create a sketch to better understand my image. By mapping out a rough foundation you can ensure the subsequent steps of the painting will go more smoothly. For this image I’m going to be using three different pencils on a smooth toned Bristol paper. In the early steps I prefer to use a Light grey Prismacolor Col-Erase pencil to loosely sketch the figure using basic round shapes. I like to keep my pencil in constant motion and always in contact with the paper during this step. It’s fine for this image to be messy. The lines help build form, and will allow for the figure to have more life and dimension later on. 02. Refine the sketch It's much easier to have the initial outline before adding valueI feel more comfortable adding value once the general idea of the image has been established. The smooth surface of the toned Bristol board enables soft and light shadows to be created easily. I work in a circular motion with a dull grey pencil. I prefer to work with soft forms initially. Darker and sharper lines will be used later on, near the final stages of the image. 03. Apply finishing details Neutralising Chroma: Payne’s Grey is a wonderful pigment for cooling down warm toned areas in your painting.By tracing over the many lighter pencil lines that I’ve developed in previous steps, I can give certain areas in the sketch a more focused and polished appearance. I darken areas of interest, such as the figures, using passes of black pencil. The 3B prismacolor is perfect for achieving much darker tones. Motion and flow can be defined by using thin lines. While I focused on overall shape before, this is the stage where everything comes into sharp and defined detail. 04. Transfer the image Reuse old brushes to soften hard lines. A frayed, soft bristled brush is best suited for this.I tone my canvas using Raw umber paint. This gives the image a nice mid-tone to begin the underpainting. Once it’s dry, I’m ready to transfer the drawing. I scan and print it on a piece of copy paper that’s sized to fit my canvas, and apply a thin layer of pastel chalk to the back of the paper. Then I tape this down to the canvas, and trace the image with a 6H pencil. This will transfer a sharp, clean line down on to the surface. 05. Begin the underpainting Add white for highlights and a dark tone for shadows to begin to add depthI begin to paint the foundation of my image using Titanium white for the highlights and Raw umber for the shadows. This part of the process is focused solely towards achieving accurate value. Because of this, the contrast of tone is more significant than the final image will be. I continue this process until all elements in my scene have been depicted. Because the unicorn is going to be darker, I mix Scheveningen black with the Raw umber for some darker values. While working on this step I’m most concerned with capturing the lighting effect. This stage of the painting acts as an important guide for subsequent layers. 06. Apply glazing colour Sometimes after a layer has dried, colours can look dull and sunken in. Once the painting is completely dry, rub a thin layer of Walnut Alkyd oil over the surface to reinvigorate the colours.I start adding colour to the background. Because the environment for this painting is inspired by the Black Forest in Germany, I’m going to be using blue tones for the foliage: I apply Cerulean blue mixed with Titanium white over the surface. If the paint needs to be thinned, Walnut Oil Alkyd can be added. To create the illusion of depth, atmospheric perspective is created by using more subdued and lighter colours. Because this is the most distant point in my scene, I’m not going to render this part of the image as heavily as the foreground elements. 07. Define the environment Tool Maintenance: I use Walnut Oil and then soap and water to clean my brushes. You don’t need solvents or special cleaners to remove oil from them.The rest of the environment is toned using more blue and green tones. Payne’s grey helps to neutralise the Raw umber in the underpainting. I apply washes of Green Umber over the foliage. Light washes of Bright Green is painted over the moss-covered boulders. More defined and detailed leaves and moss can be painted by building Titanium white on top of the existing foliage. 08. Colour the unicorns Get a fresh perspective on your image by looking at your drawing in the mirror. This can help you double-check those proportions.Now that the cool tones of the background have been established, the Raw umber in the scene appears red by comparison. I apply a wash of Cerulean blue and Payne’s grey to the unicorns to help integrate them into their environment. The blue tones will be a better base for their black coats. 09. Refine elements of the unicorns Don't use straight black pigment as it can be too stark and unrealistic for shadows, instead mix various huesOnce the blue layer on the unicorn has dried, I can begin to detail the rest of the figure. Payne’s grey is perfect for the shadowed areas. Because it’s being layered over the underpainting it appears black. I find that by mixing different hues instead of using straight black pigment alone, the colour has more life. Titanium white is used to detail the strands of hair on the mane and tail. Any areas that are too bright can be darkened using glazes once they are dry. 10. Add final details and finish up Finally, add your detail by layering colours. Ensure you wait for each layer to dry before working on top of it to create a more vibrant and 3D effect Now that the values and colours have been established, I begin to detail the image. I prefer to work on each new layer only once the previous layer has completely dried. This layering builds a more vibrant and dimensional effect. I pay close attention to individual elements in the scene. I apply separate colour washes to the different objects to help them stand apart from the background. Green umber mixed with blue creates dark, rich shadows. The smaller details also begin to take shape during this finishing stage. This article originally appeared 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. Special Christmas offer: Save up to 49% on a subscription to Computer Artsfor you or a friend for Christmas. It's a limited offer, so move quickly... Related articles: How to draw and paint - 100 pro tips and tutorials How to paint fantasy beasts 15 fantasy portrait tips View the full article

Creating a complex 3D city scene is no small undertaking, and a project such as this one requires a significant amount of repetitive modelling actions. To explain the process behind creating this, the following steps and tips should guide you through my workflow in Blender. They should also come in handy for users of various software – and prove to be more than just a Blender tutorial. 01. Gather ideas and inspiration Creativity springs out of real life Forming ideas and deciding what to make is the first step to creating anything. Inspiration is everywhere; in everyday objects, movies, books and the art of others. The idea to make a noir and slightly cyberpunk city scene came to me after watching Blade Runner. I wanted to see if I could achieve this look with my skills and Blender software. 02. Use reference Photos give you a real-life foundation It's not always necessary to use reference during the creation process, but it makes life much easier. Using real-life pictures saves time, as instead of making things from scratch, you can recreate them from photos and ensure they look correct. I used plenty of photos of colonial buildings, wet roads, street lamps, bus stops, different materials, and cyberpunk/futuristic game and movie trailers, such as Blade Runner (pictured). 03. Sketch out a plan Concepts are built with basic shapes Once the idea is established, it’s good to make a general concept of the scene we want to create. Some people sketch doodles, others do matte paintings or make a photomontage. I sketch directly in 3D software by setting a camera and placing the basic objects to create a general comp. Here I set two rectangular planes as a road crossing, then added multiple cuboids, like buildings and vehicles. 04. Create a composition Block shapes establish a layout quickly Working with primitives allows us to establish our intended composition fast, and change things quickly. At this point, we don’t need to know what type of buildings they’ll be – we just need basic shapes to work as walls for the urban interior, limiting field of view and guiding the viewer. I direct the viewer along the street into the tunnel by placing the guidelines of the buildings from all sides of the picture. 05. Use real-life scale Scale keeps the scene believable When working with just the basics, it’s still important to use objects to scale – even if the scene is just fantasy. By keeping realistic measurements, it’s easier to achieve reliable results and helps avoid incorrect size relations between objects on the scene and texture inaccuracies. In Blender, change the measurement method in the Scene tab. 06. Model the city structure Buildings are built up one by one The next step is all about replacing the created basic objects with real objects. Here, all of the gathered reference photos come in handy. A lot of people say that it’s better to work on the whole picture at once, but I like to focus on each individual element at a time. In this case, I make building after building (as the numbers on the illustration show) and make sure that they match more or less stylistically to one another. 07. Repeat basic shapes Rudimentary shapes can be used repeatedly It's vital to use the Array/Modifier function to create buildings in 3D. Create as many repetitive assets as possible: ledges, ornaments, pillars, windows and doors. In architecture, many elements are simple primitive shapes multiplied many times. The more recurrent assets are created at the beginning, the faster work will be in the future. 08. Set the main light source Time to light the landscape After modelling buildings, it’s a good idea to set the main light in the scene. When rendering architecture, it’s necessary to set the HDRI Environment map as the main illumination source, as in most cases this gets the best results. I use the Pro Lighting Skies Ultimate add on (HDRI map: Night 04). It’s easier and faster than setting all the nodes manually and allows me to test different lighting styles quickly. Any other night or blue evening environment map will do the trick. 09. Add environment elements Mistakes are brought to light Lighting from the environment texture will reveal the imperfections on modelled surfaces and missing details. It’s a good time to start adding smaller environment elements such as street lamps, bins, pavement tiles and street signs – remembering most of those elements are objects within the Array modifier. The more objects the better. 10. Apply ambient light Different light sources are built up I set the materials on the scene as a white diffuse material (except glass shaders) and add additional light sources. I want to collide cold blue street illumination with warm lights. Additional lights are planes with the Emission shader, except for TV screens and billboards; these are textures plugged into the colour input of Emission and Diffuse nodes, which are added together. 11. Texture main elements Textures are easier to build with lights Once the lighting is set, it’s time to add materials. In this particular scene in Blender, it’s easier to tweak materials to look good with lights you’ve already created than the other way around. Practically all materials use PBR shaders (there are plenty of online tutorials on this) and are a mix of albedo, roughness, specular and normal textures. 12. Strike a quality balance Detail can be reduced to save memory Since the scene is large, be aware of texture size, so as to save memory. The further an element is from the camera, the less detailed it can be and the lower quality texture it requires. There’s no point having high-quality textures in the whole scene, especially when they’ll be visible only in the first row of objects in the picture. The same goes for UV maps of objects – since the scene is full of modelled details, most objects have Cube Projected UV maps. 13. Mix materials Wet surfaces are built in two layers One exception for PBR shaders is the wet road material. This is a mix of two materials that use the same textures, the only difference is the first is very rough and the second is very smooth and reflective. When mixing these materials, I use the noise texture added to hand-painted black or white textures created in Texture Paint mode. 14. Make details Grungy imperfections are deployed After all the main materials are set and are working well with my lighting, it’s time to add some imperfections, such as dust, scratches, drips, water streaks and cracks. This can be done by simply multiplying the Diffuse map with a ‘grunge texture’ (with its own UV coordinates). To add grunge details in a couple of places, I use Substance Painter as a material generation tool, for example with the street lamps and some of the ledges. 15. Render layers There's still time to edit details post render I render my scene using Cycles Render Engine but it doesn’t look like it will in the end. It’s not important to get a 100 per cent perfect look directly in Blender. Things can be fixed in post-processing, so it’s a good idea to render the main materials as separate render layers, giving them a different Pass Index in the Material tab. Then it’s easy to extract them after rendering is finished for further editing. 16. Make two renders A bright and dark image is rendered I render this scene twice, making two completely different images. One is bright and reflective and the second is toned down and diffused. This way, I have more control in post-processing, as I can mix both images together. I recommend this technique to everyone – make more than one render and then the pick elements that came out nicely in each to combine into one shot. 17. Composite in Photoshop Finishing touches are added with matte painting At the end, in Photoshop, I like to do everything that requires a lot of effort to make in Blender, including colour grading; brightness and contrast balance; and levels and filter effects. Most of the time I use the Camera Raw Filter function, which is a very powerful tool. Photoshop is also a good place to add missing details, imperfections and atmospheric effects, such as smoke or mist elements and lens flares. You can do this by matte painting or by overlaying individual textures; lens flares, for example, are just .png files placed over the picture with the Blend Mode Screen option selected. This article was originally published in issue 214 of 3D World, the world's best-selling magazine for CG artists – packed with expert tutorials, inspiration and reviews. Subscribe to 3D World here. Related articles: 30 inspiring examples of 3D art 30 free 3D models 12 tips for realistic 3D lighting View the full article

If you're a young animator it can be hard to know what you should do in order to secure your first real studio job. Here, Milo Targett and Lana Simanenkova from animation studio Animade, who work at the cross-section of design and animation, share their biggest challenges and offer their best advice to junior creatives. 01. Spend time on your showreel "Have a really nice showreel showing off your skills and the kind of animation you want to do," advises Lana Simanenkova. "It's always good to be an all-rounder, but it's also nice to see that someone specialises in a certain type of animation, so that you can say: 'Yes, I will go with this certain person because I want that type of animation, right now.'" 02. Identify what you're good at "Don't worry too much about exactly about what you need to be doing, but have at least one or two skills that you know are strong," recommends Milo Targett. "You can have interests in many things, and become good at other things, but to know that you're good at something is a strong start." 03. Learn to talk to clients "The biggest challenge I've faced since joining Animade is talking to clients," says Simanenkova. "I'm not a native English speaker so it was daunting to explain things to clients. But it comes with experience." 04. Be confident "Be confident in what you're saying, and remember that clients don't necessarily know a lot of the terms you're talking about," says Targett. "If they seem confused, it's because they're trying to understand – so just be very clear with them. Be confident that you know what you're talking about because you've been trained to do this." 05. Build up your studio experience "Being able to manage my time better is something I've learned since joining Animade," says Targett. "It's something I should have known before I started in the industry, but being in a studio environment – and not a freelancer – has really taught me how to get things done." Want more? Check out our video interview with Milo Targett and Lana Simanenkova's below: See our full set of interviews with the team from Animade. This article originally appeared in issue 262 Computer Arts, the global design magazine – helping you solve daily design challenges with insights, advice and inspiration. Subscribe to Computer Arts magazine here. Related articles: 15 pro tips for crafting the perfect showreel 8 tips for beating animation deadlines Turn photos into 3D animations with Photoshop View the full article

You're reading Designing for Small Businesses? Use These 13 Quality Website Templates, originally posted on Designmodo. If you've enjoyed this post, be sure to follow on Twitter, Facebook, Google+! Is your focus is on small businesses? Then, you might know about the stiff competition for freelancing jobs in this area. It can be difficult enough to land a single job, and being able to corral multiple jobs at once is even harder. Are you wondering if there’s a better way to reach out to […] View the full article

This year's Cyber Monday is marching on, but there are still plenty of great deals to make the most of if you know where to look – including this astonishing offer on a refurbished Apple MacBook Air for just $419.95, which goes to show It's not only the latest devices on offer. Slashing a whopping 57% off the Apple MacBook Air 11.6-inch RRP, this eBay deal is a great place to pick up a powerful device refurbished to manufacturer specifications. We thought that our earlier spot of 45% off an iPad Pro was impressive, but this one might even beat that. Complete with an 11.6-inch screen, Wi Fi connectivity, and an Intel HD Graphics 4000 card, this MacBook Air is a cost-effective way to either pick up your first Apple laptop or expand your collection - so make sure you don't let this Cyber Monday offer pass you by. Save 57% on an Apple MacBook Air for Cyber Monday 2017 You can also find some of the latest deals on a 2017 MacBook Air below – our tool scans the latest advertised prices from a range of retailers, to help you find a good price for the gear you want. Plus, our best MacBook Cyber Monday deals article brings you our top choices today. Related articles: The best Amazon Cyber Monday deals 2017 The 6 best smartphones for designers in 2017 5 best laptops for video editing in 2017 View the full article

There are still a good few hours of Cyber Monday deals to go, and if you've made it thus far without succumbing to any hot deals then we reckon we might be able to twist your arm a little. Rather than parade a load of expensive gear in front of you, here we've collected together some of the best bargains available for under $50 or £50, so there's no excuse for not snapping up a sweet deal. Don't dawdle, though – in most cases you'll only be able to take advantage of these Cyber Monday deals for the next few hours, so blow those moths out of your wallet and get shopping. US Cyber Monday deals under $50 UK Cyber Monday deals under £50 Related articles: The best Amazon Cyber Monday deals on creative gear 2017 Save 45% on an iPad Pro with this big Cyber Monday deal Get $900 off a Surface Book with this Cyber Monday deal View the full article

With a judging panel of leading 3D experts and over $30,000 worth of tools and resources up for grabs, E-on's annual 3D CG Environment Competition 2017 attracts the most talented digital artists around. Read on to find out who snagged the hotly contested top spots this year, and see the paintings that caught the eyes of the judges. This year's winner was Alen Vejzovic, an environment design and concept artist based in Gothenburg, Sweden. At the Heart of the Island was created using a combination of VUE xStream 2015, PlantFactory Producer 2015, Photoshop and ZBrush. Vejzovic has entered the competition for the past few years, and it has become something of a tradition. For this year's entry, he decided to focus particularly on the cliff sides and textures in his scene. "I spent a lot of time making a smart material in Substance Painter," he explains. "I like the lighting too. E-on's VUE really excels in these kinds of scenes." This impressive environment was praised by the judges for its natural composition, impressive detail work and realistic lighting. "Composition is strong, we move through the image with interest, whilst the excellent attention to textural quality, render and lighting make this my favourite," said Sofronis Efstathiou, BFX Competition and Festival Director at Bournemouth University. Blue Sky Studios' Justin Gladis was also impressed, commenting: "Wow. Beautifully lit and very believable, well balanced and understated." Vejzovic scooped up over $17,000 worth of prizes, including VUE xStream, PlantFactory Producer a HP Zbook Studio G4 Laptop and a Wacom Cintiq 27 QHD Touch. Alessandro Mancini, a freelance environment artist based in Rome, Italy, just missed the top spot with his submission. Wonderfully Alone was awarded second place, thanks to its impressive atmosphere and strong sense of depth. "Amazing attention to detail and strong use of depth and tonal contrast. A classic VUE image," enthused Jim Thacker, editor of CG Channel. With his environment, Mancini tried to create a place the viewer would want to be alone with themselves. He took inspiration from images of Costa Rica and Malaysia, and created a scene mainly in VUE, but used World Machine for the terrain and Blender for the little tent. It's Mancini's third time entering the contest. "I've always wanted to win, as a sort of challenge to myself," he explains. "Of course the presence of other artists, especially very skilled ones, made the objective not so easy to reach!" This environment, entitled Fisherman, was awarded third place in the competition. It's the work of Maciek Sikora, a 3D artist based in Ireland. It was Sikora's first year entering the competition. "There are two things that inspired me, the beautiful landscapes in the 2016 film The Jungle Book, and the classic oriental image of the fisherman on the raft," he explains. "I tried to add a lot of details to make the scene look natural, and spent a lot of time setting the light so it looked realistic." To create this painting, he used a combination of VUE xStream, PlantFactory Studio, Cinema4D, Daz3D and Photoshop. E-on's academic prize was awarded to Jonathan Bacheter, who studies at ARTFX in France. For his entry, Bacheter took an existing sketch and challenged himself to recreate it using VUE xStream, including matching the atmosphere of the original image. "I wanted to create a mood, a world, a light, a story," he says. "Painting is not simply good techniques. There was potential for storytelling – you can imagine a dinosaur behind the hill; he comes and the birds flee." Bacheter was thrilled to have been awarded the academic prize. "I didn't think I could win," he smiles. "Thanks to this competition, I feel more comfortable presenting CG concepts at my school." View the full article

Today only the creatives’ favourite fancy notebook maker, Moleskine, is offering 15% off everything you buy on its US site – from special edition notebooks, to 2018 planners, to smart notebooks, to bags, pencils and even design books. Vying for a place as one of the best Cyber Monday deals for creatives, the offer applies to its full range making the store a great place to start stocking up on stylish Christmas gifts for friends (or if you want to just to treat yourself we won't tell anyone; we're sure you've earned it). For UK customers there's a bit of a deal too, with 20% off all Moleskine planners this Cyber Monday. Admittedly it feels a little US-centric, this offer, but the planners are pretty exciting (as planners go) with loads of interesting design and plenty of space to sketch ideas on each week. This limited edition Keith Haring Moleskine notebook would make a great gift There are no special discount codes to enter at the checkout or convoluted methods to get to any of the deals – simply look for the items you'd like, and at the checkout you'll see 15% of the marked price disappear, Moleskine promises (or 20% if you're in the UK and buying a planner). What's more, some of the items on the site have further reductions. The Alice in Wonderland planner comes with themed stickers and more This Star Wars-themed 18-month weekly planner, for example, is marked down from $24.95 to $19.96 even before the 20% checkout discount. Similarly, this beautiful 18-month Alice in Wonderland planner is down from $24.95 to $14.97, complete with wonderful original illustrations from the book and a canvas cover. Moleskine's discount could be particularly tempting for creatives thinking of trying its Adobe range of smart notebooks, which work with its Creative Cloud app. These high-tech notebooks let you easily turn your hand-drawn sketches into fully workable digital files. The video below shows you how they work, from drawing in the notebook as you normally would, to scanning it with the Creative Cloud-connected Moleskine app, to working with the resulting SVG file in Illustrator CC or Photoshop CC. With the Creative Cloud Connected Smart Notebook usually costing $32.95, the Cyber Monday discount will make quite the difference in this helpful tool. Plus, with Adobe offering 20% off all Creative Cloud apps this Cyber Monday, you can enjoy discounts all round on this combination. Explore the Moleskine store even more and you'll also find a gorgeous range of design, illustration and architecture books. The Hand of the Graphic Designer, for example, collects hundreds of examples of typography, sign and image designs given by 108 international graphic designers such as Glazer, Godard, Lamarche, Guarnaccia, House Industries, Lupi, Steiner and more, carefully curated by Pietro Corraini. There are also pens, pencils and accessories to be had, with the former designed to clip on just-so to your trusted Moleskine notebook or planner. Because heaven forbid you use your flash new notepad with a sub-par pen. The Cyber Monday discounts end at 11.59pm tonight (Pacific Standard Time), so act fast to grab some bargains. Free delivery is included. Related articles: The best Cyber Monday 2017 deals for designers, illustrators and artists Up to 40% off Wacom tablets in huge Cyber Monday deal The best Amazon Cyber Monday deals on creative gear 2017 View the full article

If you missed out on the best Black Friday 2017 deals for designers, don't worry! There are plenty more savings to be had thanks to Cyber Monday. Don't hang around though, this is your last chance to scoop up a huge discount on top-of-the-range creative products. One of the most exciting discounts we've seen today is this huge deal on the Apple iPad Pro 9.7-inch with 32GB storage for just $399.99. It's worth remembering that this is last year's 9.7-inch Pro tablet, but with the price slashed by a whopping 45% from its $729.99 rrp, this is still a Cyber Monday offer worth knowing about. The best Cyber Monday Microsoft Surface deals 2017As well as boasting an impressive price tag, the iPad Pro 9.7-inch comes with Wi-Fi and 3G cellular connectivity. This would make the perfect Christmas present - either to yourself or someone else - so be sure to check it out before Cyber Monday is over. Save 45% on Apple iPad Pro for Cyber Monday 2017 Related articles: The best Amazon Cyber Monday deals 2017 The 6 best smartphones for designers in 2017 5 best laptops for video editing in 2017 View the full article

If you've been holding out until Cyber Monday to get an epic deal on a Microsoft Surface Book, now's the time to pounce. As long as you don't have your heart set on a swanky new Surface Book 2, right now you can get your hands on a mighty powerful Surface Book for $1,799.00 - that's $900 off the list price. This top-end Surface Book is crammed with features you'd expect to find in a full-size desktop PC. Powered by a 2.6GHz Intel Core i7 Skylake processor, it packs 16GB RAM and a 512GB SSD, with an Nvidia GeForce GPU running its 13.5 inch PixelSense detachable display. Its two-in-one design means that you can use it as a normal laptop, or you can detach the screen from the dock and use it as a multi-touch tablet. And if you have creative plans for it, the Surface Book comes complete with the Surface Pen, which will give you increased precision with its 1,024 levels of pressure sensitivity. The Surface Book can be used as both a laptop and a tablet With a third off its list price, this is a deal not to be missed. But if it's just a little too rich for your budget, there's still likely to be a Surface Book deal that's more to your liking. If you don't need heavyweight specs, you can instead grab a Surface Book with an Intel Core i5, 8GB RAM and 128GB SSD for just $949.00 - that's $550.00 off the list price, or if you prefer, a whopping 37% off. Don't hang about, though - we can't guarantee how long these Cyber Monday prices will last. And if you want a bit more choice, check out our roundup of the best Cyber Monday Microsoft Surface deals to see what other bargains are to be had. Related articles: Best Amazon Cyber Monday deals for designersView the full article

Amazon Cyber Monday is here! We've rounded up all the best Cyber Monday deals at Amazon for designers, illustrators and creatives – and we're updating this list around the clock. Although we're busy curating the best Cyber Monday deals, there are some Amazon Black Friday deals still running, which you can check out here. US: Amazon Cyber Monday deals UK: Amazon Cyber Monday deals The retailer has a huge range of exclusive Amazon Cyber Monday flash sale deals that we'll tell you about as soon as they're released. In the meantime, we're curating the best of the creative deals that are on Amazon right now – both in the US and the UK. And if you want even more deals, we're also curating the best Cyber Monday deals for creatives from all retailers, to help you make huge Cyber Monday savings on the best creative kit. How to grab an Amazon Cyber Monday 2017 bargain The best thing you can do if you're after a brilliant Amazon Cyber Monday 2017 deal is bookmark this page and stick with us throughout Monday. We'll be updating it with all the best bargains for designers and creatives to snap up – scroll down to see some early deals that we've found so far. A word of advice, first. Amazon doesn't reveal how much stock it has of each item. So if you find something you want, you'll need to be prepared to purchase it there and then – or risk missing out. Another good tip is to sign up for an Amazon Prime subscription. Prime members often get a sneak preview of the offers, as well as first dibs on some discounts and some exclusive deals. Start your FREE 30-day Amazon Prime trial today: UK Start your FREE 30-day Amazon Prime trial today: US An Amazon Prime membership will set you back £79/$99 a year, although if you're lucky you could save that much money on deals alone. Plus you'll have access to Amazon Prime Video, Amazon Prime Music, free one-day shipping and other offers that crop up throughout the year. US: Best Amazon Cyber Monday deals 2017 Amazon already has some awesome deals on creative kit. We've split our deals into US-based and UK-based. Here are the best Amazon Cyber Monday deals in the US we've seen so far... US: Creative software Cyber Monday deals US: Best laptop, desktop and tablet Amazon Cyber Monday deals 2017 US: Best Wacom deals Amazon Cyber Monday US: Camera deals Amazon Cyber Monday US: Monitor and TV deals Amazon Cyber Monday US: Audio Cyber Monday deals US: Smart home / studio Amazon Cyber Monday US: Smartphone Amazon Cyber Monday deals UK: Best Amazon Cyber Monday deals 2017 Amazon.co.uk will also have some great discounts for Cyber Monday. The bargain shopping fiesta has washed across the Atlantic and, it's shaping up to be a big one this year. UK: Best laptop, desktop and tablet Amazon Cyber Monday deals UK: Best Wacom Amazon Cyber Monday deals UK: Audio deals Amazon Cyber Monday 2017 UK: Camera deals Amazon Cyber Monday 2017 UK: TV and monitor Amazon Cyber Monday deals UK: Computer accessories Cyber Monday deals UK: Smart home / studio Amazon Cyber Monday UK: Smartwatch and fitness tracker deals UK: Smartphone deals Amazon Cyber Monday Related articles: The best Amazon Black Friday deals 2017 The best laptops for graphic design 2017 The best drawing and graphics tablets View the full article

Qihoo 360 Netlab researchers reported on Friday that they are tracking an uptick in activity associated with what it said is a variant of the Mirai botnet. View the full article