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Whether or not you work in logo design, whenever a big brand refreshes its identity it’s worth checking out. New logos are released with such regularity it sometimes can be difficult to keep track of them. So to help you out, we’ve compiled the biggest logo designs of 2017. Together, they make an interesting snapshot of the last 12 months in design. Note that the word here is ‘biggest’. We’re not saying that these were the ‘best’ of 2017; simply that they garnered the most attention, for whatever reason... 01. Tinder This August, popular dating app Tinder took a radically approach to its visual identity. To accompany the launch of a cleaner new look and interface design, it discarded its sans-serif wordmark and replaced it with a simple icon; essentially a wider and rounder version of the flaming dot on the previous logo’s ‘i’. The new symbol, which has been given a nice colour gradient to add warmth, was created by DesignStudio in collaboration with Tinder’s in-house design team. You can learn more about the new branding here. 02. Juventus It’s not that surprising when an app abstracts its logo down into a simple symbol. But it’s far less common (yet) for a sports team to do so. So it took the design community by surprise this January when Italian soccer superstars Juventus released this new design, taking a huge leap forward from its previous, fussier shield emblem. Surprisingly minimalist, the new logo, created in-house, shocked many by abandoning the shield element altogether, although does manage to incorporate the traditional black-and-white stripes of the team’s strip as a nod towards continuity. You can learn more about the new branding, which won two D&AD awards, here. 03. Dropbox In October, file storage service Dropbox caused a big stir by announcing “the biggest change to [our] look in our 10-year history.” This colourful new visual identity was designed by American studio Collins in collaboration with Dropbox’s in-house team, Instrument, XXIX, Sharp Type and Animade. Its radical use of clashing colours attracted a lot of criticism, and the less dramatic changes to the logo itself flew under many people’s radars. Despite the relatively minor nature of the logo update, though, it still alters the design from the previous version in some meaningful ways. More obviously, the icon has been transformed from a recognisable three-dimensional box into what the designers call “a collection of surfaces”. This follows the general trend in logo design to simplify icons over time, but while the new shape is more minimal and geometric, many questioned whether it was still recognisable as a box. Less controversially, the wordmark has also been updated, with a new cleaner look based on Sharp Grotesk, and shift in colour to black to more easily separate the two elements of the design. You can learn more about new Dropbox branding here. 04. YouTube In August, YouTube launched a brand new logo , its first redesign since 2005. The name of the brand was no longer boxed by a red screen; that element has now been given a brighter, more vivid colour. It’s #FF0000, which the in-house designers told The Verge was “a really pure red that goes to the RGB of video”. The screen device now contains a play button, placing the brand’s central ‘call to action’ at the heart of the new branding. The logo’s lettering has also been changed, with the team discarding the previous font, Alternate Gothic Number Two, and designing their own, which was inspired by styles from classic TV and the VHS era, as well as “the essence of print”. You can learn more about the new branding here. 05. Huffpost Founded in 2005 by Arianna Huffington, the liberal news blog Huffington Post has gone from strength to strength. So it was about time that it got a proper wordmark, rather than the variety of newspaper-style titles it had been using. In April, the newly named HuffPost released this logo, which was created by New York agency Work-Order. It’s typeset in the Klim Foundry font National, and set in bold italic because, according to a press release, “they point us forward”, as well as being “reminiscent of the slashes in URLs”. You can see more of the new branding for HuffPost here, and read about how designers reacted here. 06. Pinterest In August, another web titan released a new logo that pushed things forward without throwing the baby out with the bathwater. Without as much as a blog post, Pinterest sneaked out this new logo , which swaps the script lettering of the previous design for a new, more formal wordmark cast in Neue Haas Grotesk. While there was no official explanation of the new identity, some have speculated that the website, which is popular for lovers of craft, scrapbooking and interior design, is trying to attract a broader audience, particularly amongst men. Others have suggested that the quite different fonts of the new wordmark and the (unchanged) icon work poorly together, presenting a brand that’s unsure of its identity. You can read the full brand guidelines for the new logo here. 07. Converse One of the biggest design trends of 2016 was the revival of old brand identities by the likes of NatWest, Kodak and Co-op. And there was a bit of that in this year’s new logo for Converse . “The star chevron has been in use since the '70s and we wanted to make it a major part of our identity,” Adam Cohn, VP global brand design told Cool Hunting. “So the idea was: ‘Let’s leverage an icon that’s part of our heritage that’s also representative of moving forward. The challenge was getting our name in the mix so we had to develop a new wordmark.’” That wordmark, based on heavyweight sans-serif fonts, was created by combining of four or five different past versions of the logo, harking back to lettering from the 1920s and 30s. The reaction from the design community was mixed, though. Opinion was divided on the unusual angling of the star, and there wasn’t exactly a chorus of praise for the new wordmark either, with its apparent inconsistencies and questionable kerning. It’s important to note, though, that this new logo was designed (in-house) to represent the Converse company; the well-known Converse All Star/Chuck Taylor brand logo is not affected by the redesign and remains intact. 09. Mozilla Mozilla is the global non-profit organisation behind the Firefox browser, and it harnessed the spirit of open source when it came to its new logo, released this January. Beginning in June 2016, Mozilla worked with London-based agency johnson banks to develop the new identity. But rather than doing so behind closed doors, it let the design community follow along each step of the way, on this blog. Most notably, the new logo incorporates the colon and forward slashes of a URL to reinforce the idea that the company is at the heart of today’s internet. While the previous design used FF Meta, for the new wordmark Mozilla collaborated with Dutch type foundry Typotheque to create a custom slab serif font, Zilla (which is free and open to all to use, by the way). Clean and clear, Zilla was intended to evoke Courier, which was used as the original font for coding back in the day. You can learn more about the thinking behind the new Mozilla logo in this blog post. 02. Calvin Klein Underwear brand Calvin Klein aimed to go back to the future with its latest new logo, which was released this February. Swapping the lowercase letters of the previous design for all-caps, the new design was announced by the company as: “A return to the spirit of the original; an acknowledgement of the founder and foundations of the fashion house.” The new logo was created by Calvin Klein’s in-house creative team, led by chief creative officer Raf Simons, in collaboration with famed British art director and graphic designer Peter Saville. 03. Aldi With a 50-year history behind it, German supermarket chain Aldi is today represented in nine countries with more than 5,600 branches and around 124,200 employees. In March, it released a new version of its logo, designed by German consultancy Illion Markensocietaet. 10 great examples of web design portfolios for 2017The new design gives the stripes of the old logo more flow, coherence and three-dimensionality. There’s also been a colour change, a refinement of the border and a new curved typeface. In contrast to current trends, then, the new logo represents a move away from the aesthetics of flat design, rather than towards them. You can read what designers had to say about the new Aldi logo here. 04. South by Southwest 2017 Held annually in Texas since 1987, South by Southwest, aka SXSW, remains one of the world’s coolest music, film and interactive festivals, and has helped turn the city of Austin into a major hub for tech and design. While the logo changes every year, this year’s logo from Foxtrot was something of a departure from the usual colourful, cartoony lettering of previous logos, such as the 2016 design. Monochromatic and utilitarian, this new sans-serif wordmark was designed to be much more flexible within an overall identity system. It could also be said to reflect the relative importance the digital side of the festival has assumed in recent years. You can see more of Foxtrot’s branding for SXSW 2017 here. 05. Euro 2020 The Euro 2020 logo was released in AprilIn April, the organisers of European’s biggest soccer tournament released this new logo, created by Y&R Branding Portugal. Normally, logos for the Euro championships showcase the host nation in some way: the 2016 logo for example, represented France’s art tradition. But in 2020, the competition will be played across all corners of Europe for the first time, in 13 host cities. The new logo celebrates this by using the metaphor of a bridge, bringing together fans and players across Europe, represented as happy, colourful, waving figures. 07. Action for Children Action for Children is one of the UK’s largest children’s organisations, running centres, fostering and adoption services. This new logo by johnson banks, released in April, takes a quite radical approach by setting the name of the organisation within a statement: ”How Action for Children Works”. This concept stemmed from an idea originally expressed by the client – that they should ‘demonstrate the difference’ they make to children’s lives. “Rather than simply hiding behind a ‘new logo in the corner’, this forces the organisation to always show how they work, and the difference they have made,” explain the johnson banks team in this blog post. It also helped provide a clear direction when johnson banks created a series of powerful posters for the charity. “From almost the first layouts, we were able to talk about and illustrate the vast breadth of what they do – something that they struggled to do before.” 08. Paraguay The new logo for Paraguay was released in AprilIf you’re a developing country that wants inward investment, you need to project an image of economic dynamism and high growth. If you’re a developing country that wants to promote tourism, you want to emphasise the vast, unspoilt natural beauty within your borders. With its first-ever country branding campaign, Paraguay has set out to combine the two, based on the idea of an “economically fertile” country. The logo was developed by Uma Studio for Bloom Consulting (strategy) and Kausa (advertising). They explain that the symbol represents three elements: a flower, representing growth; the sun, representing wealth; and a gear, representing the opportunities offered by Paraguay. You can see more of the new branding here. Related articles: The 7 best logos by design agencies in 2017 8 great graphic design portfolio sites for 2018 7 hot illustration trends of 2017 View the full article

There are plenty of Black Friday deals jostling for your attention today, so to make shopping a little easier, here's our round-up of the very best MacBook Black Friday deals for 2017 – which we'll be adding to around the clock. The good news is, there are some incredible bargains to be had. So to help you navigate, we've split the deals here into UK and US sections, so you can find what you're after, faster. A good laptop makes the world of difference for a designer. With a MacBook you know that you're getting a high quality device. And it doesn't matter if you go for a refurbished model – which some of the laptops on this list are – because they still deliver the same standard of performance. So without further ado, start scrolling through this list of the best MacBook Black Friday deals out there. The best MacBook Black Friday 2017 deals UK The best MacBook Black Friday 2017 deals US The best Black Friday deals for designers The best Amazon Black Friday deals for designers View the full article

Wacom has announced huge Black Friday savings in the UK and Europe on a number of its industry-leading graphics tablets. We’ve already seen big cuts on Wacom tablets in the run-up to Black Friday, but this is the first time we’ve seen a flagship model reduced. So what’s up for grabs? Take me to the Wacom Black Friday deals£150 off the Wacom MobileStudio Pro 13-inch Save £13 on Wacom Intuos Draw (small) Save £13 on Wacom Intuos Art (small) Save £9 on Bamboo Ink You'll find all the Wacom Black Friday deals here. And remember, all purchases above £50 get free shipping. Happy shopping… Related articles: The best Amazon Black Friday deals The best drawing tablet Review: Wacom MobileStudio Pro View the full article

Black Friday 2017 officially starts at midnight tonight – but in fact, it's already here. We're working around the clock to bring you the best Black Friday deals for designers, illustrators and artists, right here, as the world's biggest retailers unleash their campaigns. Here's how it works. The majority of the big Black Friday deals from large retailers will begin to go live from early evening today. A torrent of online deals will then be sparked at midnight, most of which will expire or sell out before the end of the day – so if you see a product you want, at a price you like, it's good advice to grab it. Bookmark this page to get the best Black Friday deals for designers, artists and creatives as soon as they appear. You can either scroll through the bargains using the UK and US links below: Best Black Friday deals: UK Best Black Friday deals: US Or, you can browse specific hardware, software or design resource deals using the quick links above. Alternatively, if you prefer to scroll through the major retailers' Black Friday sales directly, you'll find links to the biggest UK and US outfits below. Black Friday 2017: retailer links Black Friday UK: Amazon Black Friday | John Lewis Black Friday | GAME Black Friday | Currys Black Friday | Argos Black Friday | Tesco Direct Black Friday | eBay Black Friday Black Friday US: Amazon Black Friday | Walmart Black Friday | Target Black Friday | BestBuy deals | Costco deals | Kohl’s Black Friday | eBay Black Friday | Toys R Us Black Friday The best UK Black Friday deals of 2017 And we're live! Whether you’re a freelancer, in-house designer, studio owner or student, here are the very best Black Friday deals for designers, illustrators and artists in the UK... (If you're looking for US deals, head here.) 01. Mobile phone Black Friday deals in the UK All the best prices on the best phones go live on Black Friday itself, which is also a great day to pick up SIM only deals. Keep your eyes on Mobiles.co.uk, Mobile Phones Direct and Carphone Warehouse. Here are the best options so far... 02. Desktop, tablet, laptop Black Friday deals UK If you're looking for Black Friday deal on tablets, laptops, a 2-in-1 tablet PC or a desktop, here's where you'll find the best ones. 03. Wacom Black Friday deals in the UK We'll bring you all the best Black Friday deals on Wacom tablets and accessories as soon as they appear, right here. 04. Camera Black Friday deals in the UK 05. TV and monitor deals in the UK 06. Studio / smart home Black Friday deals UK The best US Black Friday deals of 2017 Based in the US? Great! We have all the best Black Friday deals for designers, illustrators and artists in the States right here. Whether you're looking for hardware, software or other creative resources, we've got you covered – from laptops and tablets to cameras, Adobe deals, Apple bargains and a lot more. We've even got mobile phone, TV, monitor and smart home Black Friday bargains, too. You can scroll through the deals – or use the quick links on the right. Happy searching… 01. Mobile phone Black Friday deals in the US 02. Desktop, tablet, laptop Black Friday deals US 03. Wacom Black Friday deals in the US 04. Camera Black Friday deals in the US 05. TV and monitor deals in the US 06. Studio / smart home Black Friday deals US Creative software Black Friday deals Design resource Black Friday deals We've teamed up with our friends at creative resource companies around the world to bring you the best Black Friday deals on everything from Adobe plugins to design books. We're sworn to secrecy on some of them, so we can't tell you any more than this until the big day – but we're excited! In the meantime, here are the best early Black Friday deals for designers and creatives that we can share... Black Friday deal tracker Related articles: The best Amazon Cyber Monday deals 2017 The best Currys Black Friday deals 2017 View the full article

If there's one area of design that's sure to provoke divisive opinions, it's fonts and typography. Logo designs and rebrands can succeed or fail based on their choice of font, but what is it about typography and wordmarks that gets people so riled up? The answer is that there's a lot more to typography design than meets the eye. In fact there are a range of rules and technical terms relating to the construction and make up of fonts that most people simply don't know about. To help demystify the technical codes surrounding fonts, The Logo Company put together this stylish infographic that clearly explains the alphabet of typography terms. So give it a read, and next time you see a designer complaining about an ugly ball terminal or a scruffy tittle, you'll know what they're talking about. How many of these terms are you familiar with?While some of these terms – the arm, crossbar and stem, for example – could probably be deciphered by themselves with a bit of careful thought, others are more bafflingly named. A font's counter, for example, is nothing to do with how many times something happens, but the open space inside a letter or number. Some of our favourites are 'spur' (because it reminds us of the spurs on a cowboy's boots) and 'tittle' (because it sounds funny). This is a small but helpful selection of the key typography terms, to help demystify it for you. If you'd like more information about these terms, or would like to learn the other type rules and terms (such as what a fleuron is, and why leading is called leading), check out our in-depth guide to Typography rules and terms every designer must know. The glossary of typography within that article is well worth bookmarking. Related articles: 56 best free fonts for designers Futura: The Typeface book review Getting more from the grid View the full article

Some of the world's most exciting artists have collaborated with The Art of Ping Pong on an artistic and noble use for table tennis equipment – covering ping pong bats in interesting designs and illustrations and auctioning them for charity. Back for a fifth year, The Art of Ping Pong brings creatives together to raise money for charity, and this year it's helping the young adult cancer support group Trekstock. Since 2013 its charity auctions have raised over £15k. 27 talented artists have got involved with The Art of Ping Pong 2017 For 2017, The Art of Ping Pong has roped in help from more artists, illustrators and designers than ever before, with 27 creatives signing up to raise money for Trekstock. Artists include established greats such as George Hardie, who created the artwork for Pink Floyd’s The Dark Side of the Moon, and newcomers such as Mr Doodle. The online auction started on 26 October, but you have until 30 November to pick up specially made artwork and raise money for a worthy cause. Algy Batten produced and created the event, and this year he's kept things fresh by adding two mini ping pong tables painted by Charlie Oscar Patterson and Mr Doodle to the online charity auction. On top of ping pong tables, you can also get your hands on eight specially made T-shirts, thanks to a partnership with Everpress. Artists have also created bespoke ping pong paddles for the auction, which you can explore by clicking left to right in the gallery below. The full list of contributors also includes: Yoni Alter, Mr Bingo, John Booth, Emma Brewin, Fred Butler, Alison Carmichael, Sebastian Cox, Marina Esmeraldo, Emily Forgot, Kev Munday, Neasden Control Centre, Nous Vous, Zuza Mengham, Stina Persson, Saskia Pomeroy, Pref, Benedict Radcliffe, Gemma Shiel, Adam Simpson, Sam Taylor, Louis Trew and Celia Washington. If you're in the area, there will be a closing party for The Art of Ping Pong on 29 November at Below One Fifteen, 115 Curtain Road, Shoreditch, London. Related articles: Cheeky Arse Vase supports HIV charity The secrets of a creative approach to charity Top designers create unique poster designs for charity View the full article

Creating illustrations for an event is a fantastic creative challenge that involves telling stories with your drawings that feed into the event's narrative, adapting your illustration style and working closely with the client to set the tone of the event with your artwork. I'll share my experience of illustrating for the Green Man festival, as well as my tips for illustrating for events. Christmas offer: Save up to 49% on a subscription to Computer Arts While exhibiting at the Pick Me Up graphic arts festival in London last year, I was spotted and chosen as a candidate to create illustrations for Green Man's promo materials in 2017. I had known about the festival for quite some time and was jealous of the people who had illustrated it in the past. So I was really stoked when I got the email. It's a dream project, and a lovely portfolio piece. Aart-Jan Venema's initial sketch for the Babbling Tongues area of Green Man The overarching theme in the brief was 'discovery'. The client wanted the illustrations to reflect the spirit of the festival and the inquisitive nature of its attendees. The brief also called for the illustrations to explore the unique, weird and wonderful things the festival has to offer. The imagery could have a historical reference or be more abstract. It could show an imagined world, or artefacts that lie beneath the Black Mountains of Wales, where the festival is. Other possibilities included a fictional parallel universe. The client also wanted a little humour and some dark undertones added to the mix. 01. Know when to change your idea The final image My clients had liked the hand-painted pieces I exhibited at Pick Me Up, and we considered that choice of media. However, in the end it just wouldn't have been practical for a huge project like this. I thought up plenty of characters, doing lots of crazy things, but one of the guidelines was that I should focus on the environment and strange objects rather than characters. The client didn't want the images to look too 'childish', or too 'human'. Consequently, one of the key challenges was to change my mindset and use objects and plants to deliver the narrative, looking for ways to give them character. I came up with lots of masks and helmets to add visual appeal. A real lifesaver was the book Art Forms in Nature by Ernst Haeckel, and from it, I discovered new ways to draw scenery. I also received a huge 'inspiration' folder from Green Man. 02. Define the style early on This mad scientist illo is for Einstein's Garden, the stage with everything from comedy and music to theatre and science The advice I'd give others trying to tackle artwork for a major event is to create a test piece, show it to people and find out where you can go from there. Make lots of changes until everyone is completely happy. With a solid framework, it's much easier to work quickly. If the style is established early on, you don't have to revisit the question with each piece. 03. Adapt your idea for different uses Venema enjoyed creating fantasy cars for his characters to arrive in for the car park illustrations For the website I had to do the area illustrations. For this I had to make up a whole world, which we could use as a basis for all the other outings as well. The tickets were a different thing. Because there's so much info and text that needs to be readable, I had very limited space to really draw something. The wrist bands were woven in about eight colours, and Green Man was really keen on lots of details, so it was a challenge to get as much information as possible on a really small surface too. For the parking permits, I had to get cars in the mix. It was fun to see in what kind of cars my characters would attend the festival. 04. Experiment with tools and colour The poster representing the Mountain's Foot area – the main stage at the foot of the Black Mountains Each image began with sketching in pencil. I drew lots of versions until everything felt right so I didn't have to worry about composition when painting the illustration. Usually I work in Procreate on an iPad Pro, but for this job I switched to a Wacom Cintiq and Photoshop. My first versions were really textured to resemble my painted work, but in the end we went for a fairly simple version with only one texture. The colours were set by Bread Collective and Green Man, and I added the blue. Usually I wouldn't use a palette like this, but I'm pleased I was forced to and can now see myself using it again. The main feedback I received was to go 'weirder' which turns out to be a lot harder than making things more 'normal'. It was refreshing to push myself to the limits, though. I learned a lot doing this project. For one thing, I was able to create a really consistent series of pieces, and have my work carry the look of an entire festival. I'm very happy with it. If I had to do it again, I would make my PSD files a bit cleaner, which would have saved time when preparing them for the animator. The best Wacom Black Friday deals (UK) The best Wacom Black Friday deals (US) Creative software Black Friday deals This article was originally published in issue 270 of Computer Arts, the global design magazine – helping you solve daily design challenges with insights, advice and inspiration. Buy issue 270 here or subscribe to Computer Arts here. Special Christmas offer: Save up to 49% on a subscription to Computer Arts for you or a friend for Christmas. It's a limited offer, so move quickly... Liked this? Read these: 10 top learning resources for illustrators How to break into children's illustration 7 biggest illustration trends of 2017 View the full article

With the advent of mobile games and indie video games, there's been a big influx of illustrators and animators getting into 3D art. This has created a trend of cel shaded objects in 3D space, bringing a whole new aesthetic, depth and dimension to 2D-style art. Thanks to this trend, a feature in Cinema 4D that has existed for years is now seeing a resurgence. Using Cinema 4D's powerful Sketch and Toon module, you can transform your 3D artwork into a cartoon-like illustration with just a few clicks of a button. The flexibility of the Sketch and Toon module lets you experiment with different 2D cel shading styles and have it react to lights in your scene. Building designs or characters in 3D gives you greater flexibility, as you can simply rotate the object in 3D to turn the face, rather than using complex rigs. Simple things like this makes Cinema 4D a powerful app not only for 3D artists, but for 2D illustrators and animators as well. Download the files for this tutorial, and follow these steps to create an illustrative 2D-style cartoon character in Cinema 4D. 01. Add cel shader Just use the Luminance channel to avoid diffuse shading (click the arrows icon to enlarge this image) Begin by creating a new material to create the cartoon texture. Turn off both the Color and Reflectance channels. We'll be using the Luminance channel because we don't want any type of diffuse shading. We're looking for nice flat shading for our model. Navigate to loading the cel shader into the Luminance channel. 02. Choose your cel shading colours Set up the colour gradients you'll need (click the arrows icon to enlarge this image) The cel shader works by using a gradient to apply materials across the surface of your object. The more you move a colour's gradient knot to the right, the more of that colour will be represented on your model. You can add or remove colour chips to get the colour combination you like, whether tritone, duotone, or any other combination. 03. Create a light Use Infinite Light to get the right look (click the arrows icon to enlarge this image) Let's create an Infinite Light with Hard Shadows enabled for a cartoonish directional light and sharp shadows. Infinite Lights act like a massive light source, such as the sun. To change the direction that the light is being cast, all you have to do is rotate the Infinite Light. 04. Use lights to drive cel shading Uncheck Camera to control how the light drives the cel shading (click the arrows icon to enlarge this image) By default, the cel shader uses the camera or your default view as the point of the light source (Camera box checked on). To be able to use a light in your scene as the cel shader light source and to accept shadows, you just need to uncheck Camera and check on Lights as well as Shadows. Now you have total control over how the light is driving the cel shading across your object. 05. Experiment with gradient interpolation Different types of gradient interpolation can deliver interesting results (click the arrows icon to enlarge this image) By using the different types of gradient interpolation by clicking on the arrow next to Diffuse, you can adjust how each colour blends into another one, and also discover some interesting stylised diffuse shading beyond just using no smoothing between each colour. For example, try adding contrast by spacing some knots closer together than others. 06. Add stylised grain Activate the Bump channel to further stylise your cel shading (click the arrows icon to enlarge this image) You can further stylise the look of your cel shading by using the Use Bump feature to add some grain. First of all, you must activate the Bump channel and load up a noise shader. Smaller noises work best for fine grain. 07. Use Bump Try different Bump strengths and noise types (click the arrows icon to enlarge this image) For the Bump channel to act upon the cel shader, click the Use Bump checkbox. You'll see the Bump channel breaking up the cel shader and adding stylised grain to your material. Experiment with the Bump strength in the Bump channel as well as different noise types. 08. Render settings Avoid the Gauss filter, as it'll ruin your image's sharpness (click the arrows icon to enlarge this image) When rendering out cartoon shaded objects, it's important to maintain a sharp, vector-like quality to renders, especially if you plan to composite the image in After Effects with vector layers. Typically you would render out using the Gauss (Animation) filter because it prevents flickering for some animation, but it also blurs your image. To maintain image sharpness, choose filters such as Cubic (Still Image) or Sinc. This article was originally published in issue 227 of 3D World, the world's best-selling magazine for CG artists – packed with expert tutorials, inspiration and reviews. Buy issue 227 here or subscribe to 3D World here. Related articles: How to create hair in Cinema 4D Tips for turning a 2D cartoon into a 3D concept 30 inspiring examples of 3D art View the full article

You can learn how to draw manga art like Mina Petrovic's Mad Hatter with these tips Learning how to draw manga art is no easy feat. It has a very distinct style, and sometimes it can be hard to get started without knowledge of the basic principles. Even if you read a lot of manga comics yourself, you may find it difficult to pick out the subtle differences that make each of your favourite artists unique, and therefore find it challenging to develop your own manga drawing style. Artist Mina Petrovic, better known as Mistiqarts on YouTube, has made it simple for you, with these clear and concise tips on how to start sketching a manga character. Petrovic's tutorial channel boasts over 80,000 subscribers, and she also penned manga drawing book, Manga Crash Course – so you're in good hands. 01. Draw manga eyes First, get the eyes right"Distance between the eyes is the most important part – always make enough room to fit a third eye between them," says Petrovic. "For this style, in both genders, nostril size is best to be as minimal as possible." Click above to see her video tutorial on how to draw various styles of Manga eyes. 02. Draw sleek lines Sleek lines are key when drawing manga"Line art represents half the style – with thin, smooth lines as the main visual trait," Petrovic reveals. "It is always a plus if the clothing details are as frequent and as suitable for the character." Petrovic uses a lightbox to trace her initial sketches and create bold, sleek lines. Petrovic uses a lightbox to trace initial sketches"Shading is also a part of the linear, and consists of smaller black shades, and big black surfaces, usually behind the character," she continues. Linear textures feature in manga-style illustrations"Textures are simplified, in a form of parallel lines, also a part of the line work," Petrovic says. 03. Manga colouring Getting skin colour right is tricky"As for colouring, some areas are covered in colour only at the shaded parts, for example, light skin," Petrovic adds. "Areas with or without full colour need to have at least two shades for each colour, to mimic a 'cell shaded' look from anime." Mimic the cell shaded look when colouring"Leaving out white edges up front, for leather objects and clothes, is a trick to save up on colour, and get a cool effect," says Petrovic. Leaving white areas is a neat way to add reflections to shiny, bent fabric"By leaving out white areas in the middle of a bent fabric shape, you get a smooth, satin-like feel to it," says Petrovic. 04. Final touches to your manga art Get the small details right"Even the smallest details are in need of careful decorating," Petrovic advises. "When doing a pattern on the clothing, make sure the pattern is following the shape of the character's body." White outlines again add that manga touch to clothing"And lastly, white outlines can make all the difference, by marking all the objects and parts of the character which are closest to the observer." For more information on manga, including tips and tricks, as well as full tutorials, check out our sister title Manga Artist. Check out more of our art posts: How to draw a face How to draw a head Get better at figure drawing How to create manga-style hair in motion How to paint fantasy beasts How to paint scales Create character art with maximum visual impact How to draw and paint - 100 pro tips and tutorials How to choose the right drawing tools View the full article

You're reading Black Friday Deal: 70% OFF Designmodo Shop and Market!, originally posted on Designmodo. If you've enjoyed this post, be sure to follow on Twitter, Facebook, Google+! The Black Friday sales on Designmodo are underway! Enjoy our 70% off sale, where you can get the most popular tools for website creation at discounted prices. We have dropped the price of all our popular products — Slides 3 (framework), Qards 1.5 (WordPress Plugin), Startup 2 (bootstrap framework) and others! And we’ve cut prices for all items […] View the full article

HP said dozens of enterprise-class printer models will receive a patch for an arbitrary code execution vulnerability sometime this week. View the full article

We are pleased to announce that tickets are now available for Vertex, a brand-new event from the makers of 3D Artist and 3D World. This one-day event will take place on Tuesday 13 March 2018 at Olympia, London, so grab your ticket now! Just like how a vertex connects everything, this event will bring the CG community together for practical inspiration and fantastic networking opportunities. This special event assembles experts from every industry and discipline in CG, from games and VFX through to VR, covering character concepting, real-time creation and more. You’ll be able to boost your skills with leading industry artists and learn from the world’s best creative studios no matter which area you specialise in. Keynote speaker Christopher Nichols is founder of the Digital Human League and director of Chaos Group Labs Expert speakers You’ll get hands-on advice and tips and hear about the newest developments at top talks, including a keynote from CG industry veteran Christopher Nichols (founder of the Digital Human League and director of Chaos Group Labs). Brett Ineson, president of Animatrik, North America’s largest independent motion capture stage, will discuss the future of virtual production in light of the latest developments in real time 3D technology, while Sébastien Deguy (founder and CEO at Allegorithmic) will discuss how Substance and other ‘augmenting’ tools are empowering today’s 3D artists’ workflows. We have even more amazing speakers that we will be announcing soon, so make sure you sign up to our newsletter, keep an eye on social media channels using #vertexconf and Like the Vertex Facebook page for more announcements. Adam Dewhirst from The Mill will teach a Creature creation masterclass Learn new skills in workshops There will also be engaging workshops, including one from The Mill’s Adam Dewhirst who will show his process for character and creature creation, from initial concepts to modelling, texturing and preparing for production use. Glen Southern will take us on a journey through VR creation, in VR, with Oculus Medium, and Bader Badruddin (series animation director at Blue Zoo), meanwhile, gives us an expert masterclass in animating a character shot in a small amount of time without sacrificing quality. Saddington Baynes’s CEO Chris Christodoulou and senior digital artist Marc Shephard will also teach the technical processes that sit behind mass customisation with a focus on tools such as Maya and Nuke that help invigorate imagery. And there’s even more to be announced soon! Portfolio reviews and recruitment fair On top of this amazing insight you can get involved in the portfolio review sessions, fascinating evening panel, and unmissable networking event. There’s even a recruitment fair for aspiring and professional artists and an expo area to showcase the latest in technology and software. What’s more, there will be an ‘Ask an Artist’ area to help you troubleshoot your technique woes one-on-one with pro artists. Tickets to the exhibition area are free, with access all areas tickets priced at £49 or just £25 for students. Don’t miss out! Find out more and get your tickets now at www.vertexconf.com. View the full article

Getting into the games industry used to be an expensive business, but if you have the skills and dedication, the good news is that you can now get a foot on the ladder while working from home without having to splash a whole load of cash. It used to be that if you wanted to use a third party 3D engine to build your gaming masterpiece, you'd need to pay out plenty of money; at least, you would if you wanted a decent one with up-to-date features. But with the rise of the indie gaming sector, the big names in 3D engines have realised that it makes a lot of sense to put their tools into the hands of anyone who wants to use them, so that they can reap the rewards later. All four of these engines are available to download right now, and you can save even more money by finding some free 3D models to use in them. Of course if you use them to create a successful commercial game then you may have to pay out further down the line, but they're all an ideal way to learn your game development skills. 01. Unity Unity's the leader in the free engine stakesThe leader in free software for game development, Unity was available for free before anyone else and benefitted massively, becoming a mainstay of the indie game community. Not the most artist-friendly engine. 02. Unreal engine Unreal Engine is a great choice for artistsEpic Games' engine is powerful and offers a user-friendly, node-based system, and is now free. UE is the choice engine for artists wanting to avoid coding and focus on real-time rendering and scene creation. 03. Stingray Stingray lacks power but comes with plenty of assetsNot as powerful as Unreal or Unity, Autodesk's entry into the market is easy to use and comes with pre-made assets to adapt and use, meaning coding can be minimal. 04. Lumberyard It's early days for Lumberyard but it has a good pedigreeAmazon's entry into the sector is still in beta and is based on the powerful Crytek CryEngine. The bugs are still being ironed out, but this could fit neatly between Unity and Unreal Engine. This article originally appeared in 3D World issue 213; buy it here! View the full article

Artists are acutely aware that there's always a more talented painter or illustrator than themselves out there somewhere. We've already seen 20 phenomenally realistic pencil drawings that have left us green with envy. In terms of realistic technical painting skills though, we'd be hard-pressed to find a contemporary artist who can top the works of Young-sung Kim. The artist, who is based in New York City and Korea, has set the internet on fire recently thanks to his incredibly lifelike oil paintings that have got us rubbing our eyes in disbelief. Check out some examples of Kim's paintings by clicking left to right in the gallery below. And yes, just to remind you one last time, they really are paintings, not photographs. As you can see, animals are a recurring subject in Kim's work. By pairing creatures like lizards, frogs and snails with manmade objects such as forks and spanners, Kim is making a point about our society's impact on wildlife and the environment. Thanks to their unbelievable levels of detail, Kim's oil paintings can take anywhere between three and 10 months to create. The wait is worth it though, and not just for us as viewers - Kim's paintings can fetch for anything from £8,000 to £100,000 each. Almost as amazing as Kim's work are the comments from the "anyone can do that" brigade, who have doubted the artist's undeniable talent. These include the old favourites such as "it's just tracing" to "you could photo that in two seconds". Meanwhile some critics have questioned whether or not Kim has really painted these masterpieces, given that most photos only show him signing his name. To these naysayers we say check out the video below of Kim in action. It's one of many videos he's posted to his Twitter profile that show him creating his paintings from scratch. See more of Kim's incredible work by visiting his Instagram page. Related articles: How to paint outdoors How to get harmonious colours in paintings How to paint convincing reflections View the full article

For this workshop, I'd like to show you a really fun way to sketch characters from just your imagination. I'll be showing you how to create Photoshop brushes to mimic the traditional brush pen and marker techniques used by professionals. I'll start with a texture brush to sketch in the lightest values, building the gestures and form of the character. During this early stage I'll also go over some techniques to follow when producing cover art work and layouts. I'll then move on to the darker values, bringing in details from the lighter sketch form. Once the details are in place I'll show how to use economical brush strokes to describe a lot of visual information in a short amount of time. And then, once we have the most information about the character down on the canvas, I'll go over quick ways to adjust colour and cool details within minutes. This is when I'll experiment with shapes within the form and silhouette. Paying attention to the overall design will make everything look unified and, quite frankly, cool! 15 concept art skills to power up your illustrationFinally, I'll apply the final touches of quick overlay sketching to give the sketch a watercolour feel, which will introduce variety and depth to the character. Hopefully, by the end of the workshop you'll be inspired to create your own fun characters! Download the custom brushes for this tutorial. 01. Bash out some thumbnails Get the ideas flowing by banging out some thumbnails I like to start an illustration or character concept by doing small, quick thumbnails to extract ideas out of my head. That means good and bad ideas. It's normal to have old images floating around in your head from something you once saw or inspired you. My method of leaving those mundane images or ideas behind is to bust out a bunch of little sketches, to get the best ideas possible on the canvas. 02. Narrow down the choices Once you've done a pile of thumbnails, pick out the best For this workshop I produce just a few thumbnails because the idea is relatively simple: a woman and her dog. But if you're just starting out, I'd recommend doing a pile of thumbnails – say, 50. It may seem like a lot, but you'll be glad you did and you'll become a better artist for it. These two thumbs have something that we're looking for so, I take pieces from both and mix them up. 03. Finalise the sketch Do a final sketch before moving on to the illustration proper By taking elements that will work for the cover and combining them, I can demonstrate the general layout and idea that I'm going for. This helps to convey the attitude and overall gesture for the woman with the dogs. Now I'm ready to move on to the final illustration. 04. Start the painting stage Start by laying down a neutral skin tone I start my final illustration by laying down a neutral skin tone. You can see on the left of my image that I have a basic value colour palette laid out within easy reach, from which I'll use the Eyedropper tool in Photoshop to pick from. I use one of my custom brushes at this stage – it's an angle brush that works like a real marker pen, and helps me achieve interesting-looking and dynamic angles. 05. Sketch in facial details Sketch the face in using a darker tone Working from light to dark is a good – and traditional – way of working. Using the previous value and shape block-in, I create a new layer above and start sketching in with a burnt sienna colour (a nice, neutral choice). This brings out the details of her eyes and smile. I restrict myself to just drawing in the smaller details for now. 06. Block in larger elements Increase the brush size and block in larger elements On a new layer above the rest, I Ctrl+click the layers below to make a selection. Pressing Ctrl+H hides the selection outline. Then I increase the brush size and block in larger details such as her dress and boots. I'm asked to give the dogs a mechanical appearance, so I apply a grey tone to them. 07. Add darker tones for form Bringing in darker tones helps to bring out more of the form Just like before, I start a layer above the rest, load the selection, hide the selection and now I have a palette to erase and paint on. I'm starting to bring in the idea of the character design now. I toy with a punk rocker look, but notice that it's bringing out more of the form as well. By using the palette brush with broad strokes I'm also able to introduce more details to the robot dogs. 08. Make the character pop Adding some yellow really brings things to life I feel that the black dress makes my character look a little dark, so using the steps before I create a new selection. With that selection I create a new layer and change the mode to Color Dodge. Using the same brush as before I put down large strokes with yellow to make her pop a bit. This technique enables me to control the amount of saturation and opacity in the piece. 09. Bring in sharp edges Start cleaning up the edges to make them nice and sharp Now that I'm close to finishing off this concept piece , I compress all visible layers below and press Ctrl+Alt+E to merge the visible layers into a new layer at the top. I turn off all lower layers, take a Round opaque brush and start cleaning up the edges, to bring in nice, sharp edges. 10. Spot errors Walk away from your nearly-finished work for a bit so you can look at it again with fresh eyes Now I know I have my final form and I think everything is just about done, I like to walk away for a little bit, maybe 30 minutes or so, and then come back with some fresh eyes. This helps me to look at objects anew and perhaps notice something 'off' that I didn't see previously. In this case I feel that there's too much contrast in the character, so I apply a little lighter grey value on a new layer that's set on Lighten mode. 11. Add the final touches to the concept A few finishing touches can make all the difference I'm now happy with this fun chick and her cool bot dogs. I want to add a little sketch vibe to the background to create more of a traditional look. This helps unify everything. Finally, I use these steps to apply a little film grain to the character. I create a new layer, fill it with 50 per cent grey, apply the Noise filter, set the layer to Soft Light and reduce Opacity to 15 per cent, then load the selection of the character and mask it out. 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 become a better concept artist Concept design tips for artists How to break into movie concept art View the full article

Last week, we headed to London’s Oval Space to learn more about the latest game-changing updates to Adobe Creative Cloud at Adobe’s Creative Meet Up. Joined live by thousands of artists and designers from around the world, we watched as Principal Manager of Creative Cloud Evangelism at Adobe, Rufus Deuchler, walked through some of the most exciting news from Adobe MAX, Adobe’s annual creativity conference. A series of stellar speakers then took to the stage to share their best tips and tricks for making it in the creative industry. Headlined by Nick Knight OBE - one of the world’s most exciting photographers - the event also saw the likes of trailblazing art director Kate Moross and talented print designer Kelly Anna fire up the crowd as they walked through their ground-breaking projects. If you couldn't make it, fear not. You can watch what happened at the Meet Up right here. So what did we learn during this epic evening of creative inspiration? A lot. Here are our top insights from Adobe’s 2017 London Creative Meet Up – and remember, if this inspires you to get creative, you can try a free trial of Creative Cloud over on the Adobe website. 01. Creative Cloud is smarter with Sensei All of the new features and updates announced at Adobe MAX are powered by Sensei, Adobe’s mind-blowing artificial intelligence and machine learning platform. Addressing the issue of ‘content velocity’ – the industry’s ever-increasing need for more content – Sensei helps designers and creatives go from concept to completion much faster, using the power of advanced technology and deep learning to accelerate the creative process. “Sensei represents the blending of art and science in our DNA,” Deuchler told the audience in London. One thing’s for sure: this is the future of the creative industry - and we’ll be seeing a lot more of it soon. 02. Adobe XD is out of beta Adobe’s revolutionary tool for UI and UX designers is out of beta - and it’ll change your life if you design websites or apps. Letting you easily prototype and wireframe your projects on interactive artboards, Adobe XD is an all-in-one cross-platform solution that delivers the speed, precision and quality you need to go from static comps or wireframes to fully interactive prototypes in minutes. 03. Lightroom CC is a cloud-based tool Adobe’s all-new cloud-centric photo service Lightroom CC lets users edit, organise, store and share photos from anywhere. One of its most impressive features – powered by Sensei, of course – automatically applies searchable keywords to your images, without you having to tag them. Looking for a brilliant old photo of your dog that you didn’t bother tagging? Or a particular shot from a shoot that you didn’t tag? No problem. Type in your keywords and Sensei will find it. Amazing. 04. Adobe Live is packed with learning opportunities Launched on Behance, Adobe LIVE is a live-streaming channel where Behance community members can learn from and inspire each other. “Adobe streams eight hours of creative learning content every day, Tuesday to Thursday,” said Deuchler – and this is pegged to expand to 24/7 programming in 2018. 05. All you need is a business card and a website “Everything else you can catch up on later,” explained Kate Moross. She was talking about working for yourself – and explained how this is exactly how she started out in the industry. With clients including Nike, One Direction, Vogue and more - and a host of awards to her name – it’s fair to say the Studio Moross founder seems to know what she’s talking about. 06. Naive is cool Why? “Being naive gives you advantages, and means you haven’t been affected by trends,” said Moross, who also encouraged the audience to “make ugly stuff”. She explained that by taking time to explore less visibly attractive aesthetics, it’s possible to break down the trends we can find ourselves surrounded by every day – and unleash our true creativity. 07. Always look first Talented print designer Kelly Anna had practical tips to offer, during her time on stage at the Creative Meet Up. “Look up and focus on your subject,” she advised. “If you do, technique will follow after.” 08. We’re no longer photographers Celebrated creative Nick Knight provided a fascinating insight into his ongoing debate about photography and image-making. “I take pictures on my phone, broadcast them globally, instantly... I can make them into a 3D sculpture if I want. Let's free ourselves from this idea that we're photographers,” he urged. “I had to come up with another name for it, and all I could come up with was ‘image-making’,” he added. “Photography was great, but it isn’t what we’re doing now.” 09. The internet feels like punk felt in the 1970s If we had to pick one takeaway from Nick’s talk, it would be the importance - and value – of taking a DIY approach to creativity. Thanks to the internet, we don’t need a middleman like a magazine to sell our images or get our names out there anymore. “It feels like we can do it ourselves,” he said. Hear hear. Inspired? Head over to the Adobe website to download a free trial of Creative Cloud – and start creating right now. Related articles: 7 insane tech sneaks from Adobe Max 2017 The best Black Friday deals 2017 View the full article

We've rounded up the best Christmas gift ideas for freelancers. We've got gifts in four price ranges, from under £20/$25, right up to over £150/$125, for big spenders. You can't go wrong with a book – we've got an innovative monograph, a colour harmoniser, and a rallying cry. There's a sweary poster to boost motivation when times are hard. There's a gadget to monitor posture and prevent committed freelancers from turning into hunchbacks. And, for when all else fails, there's a robo-kettle to make the tea. Gifts for freelancers under £20/$25 The Rolling Stones tongue-and-lips logo is one of the greatest pieces of design of all time. It features on this limited edition series of Moleskines. The range includes covers made from the key elements of your average Keith Richards outfit: silk, denim, velvet, and leather. It's perhaps the coolest Moley collaboration ever. Satisfaction guaranteed. Design legends Mirko Ilic and Milton Glaser argue the case for activist graphic design in this new expanded edition of The Design of Dissent. Tony Kushner's foreword says there has to be "some galling truth … imprisoned beneath the surface of public discourse." This is what really gets the activist designer going. Through a series of over 500 images – Occupy Wall Street, Black Lives Matter, Donald Trump – the book examines those galling truths in a book that acts as a "testament to the power of imagery but also as an urgent call to action." In The Complete Color Harmony: Pantone Edition – a new, completely revised edition – Leatrice Eiseman (executive director at the Pantone Color Institute) talks you through a different colour "mood" in each chapter, all based on and matched to with Pantone colours. It is the brand's "most comprehensive colour reference to date" and a must for every serious designer's desk. Gifts for freelancers under £50/$75 Easily the worst of all first-world problems is Headphone Wire Tangle and the inevitable Headphone Wire Tangle Rage that follows. Sort that out with one of these: a personalised, handmade, solid oak headphones stand. It also has space for phones, cards, keys, and an "optional secondary hidden message." Interesting. 05. Classic Advice Print Price: $30'Believe in your f****** self. Stay up all f****** night. Work outside of your f****** habits. Know when to f****** speak up. F****** collaborate.' And on and on it goes in all its beautiful, foul-mouthed wisdom, a print that is the work of the US-based company called, unsurprisingly, Good F****** Design Advice. If your freelancer is easily offended, buy the f***** a different f****** gift. One of the most influential designers of his generation, Paul Sahre was always going to do something a bit different in his monograph: this "part memoir, part art book, part meditation on creativity" features personal essays, artwork, and stories from a 30-year career at the top of his game. Sahre shares the moments that have "informed his life as a designer and artist, and proves that humour and meaning can be found anywhere, if you're only willing to look." Gifts for freelancers under £100/$125 Your average freelancer sits like a geriatric chimp with a lumbar spine condition. Help them sort it out with this little gadget. Lumo Lift Posture Coach and Activity Tracker tracks posture, steps, distance, and calories burned. Vibrations from the sensor "gently remind you" to sit up, to stand up straight, and to generally stop slumping and start moving more. It works with an app on your phone, which is free. The Smarter iKettle, as we see it, has a couple of key benefits. It means you don't need to waste valuable procrastinating time waiting for the kettle to boil and you can cut back on the amount of money you spend at that cafe down the street. It's simple: remotely boil your iKettle from anywhere using an app on your phone or tablet. Late, great designer David Hicks (1929–1998) wowed the English was revolutionised the world of interior design. Whether you're interested in that particular field or not, it shouldn't effect your enjoyment of this book. Hicks documented every moment of his life in 24 volumes of scrapbooks. It includes notes, drawings, and photos of clients (Jackie Kennedy, Grace Kelly, Andy Warhol), all put together lovingly by Hicks son. A fascinating read. Gifts for freelancers over £100/$125 GQ and Vogue recently featured this leather travel wallet. It includes a powerbank charger and cable, a foldaway plug set, and 32GB memory stick – plus room for your own gadgets, notebooks, passport and travel tickets, all that suff. It comes with gold foil or blind embossed initials and is made with "butter-soft Spanish leather and Italian suede lining." The Prynt Case lets you print photos from your smartphone. You attach your phone to the case, press the shutter button to take a shot, and print out the photo in seconds. It doesn't need ink cartridges either. It's good way to make moodboards, to get ideas and inspiration laid out in front of you, rather than flicking through images on your phone. Hawthorn of London hand-makes high-end backpacks that are "built to last a lifetime" using tough 18oz waxed canvas, organic cotton, and proper leather. This model has a several cool features, the best of which is that the zip is on your back, so the only way to open the bag is to take it off. It comes in a few different colours and is naturally water resistant, to keep your laptop and gadgets dry. View the full article

Four years ago I taught myself to create vector art in Adobe Illustrator, and became a vector contributor for micro-stock agencies like Shutterstock, Adobe Stock, 123RF and Vectorstock. Recently, I discovered CrazyTalk Animator 3, and even though I don't have a background in animation, I found it easy to use to animate my characters. You can start with a PSD design, make a few quick modifications so it fits the CTA format, and bring it to life quickly and easily. The results look professional and it saves loads of time compared to other animation methods. Photoshop Creative ranked the tool 8 out of 10, commenting: ”Overall CTA3 is a very good tool to create nice, smooth two dimensional animations…” In five hours, I can create a whole family of characters based on one initial character. In this tutorial, I'll show you how to animate a character with CrazyTalk Animator 3. I like creating 2D characters in a traditional flat design as it gives me more leeway for quick changes, but these techniques can be adjusted and applied to any style of character. Let's get started! 01. Customise your characters 20-25 minutes The first step is to modify your character designs so they'll work with the CTA3 format. My original character – which comes from Shutterstock – has six body parts. We need him to have 10 parts to work in CTA3, so I edited the design as shown in the image above. I tend to use Adobe Illustrator for tasks like these. 02. Adjust the character layers 2-5 minutes In order to animate the character, we need to locate all the bone joints. This is simple to do if you follow the PSD template provided for CrazyTalk Animator 3 Pipeline. You can download the template here. Make sure your character's hips are located in the same position as the dummy hip. Carefully place body parts into the right template folder. Then delete the dummy and rearrange layers by relocating the hand and feet folders on top of the arm and thigh folders, respectively. 03. Edit your joints Around 5 minutes Focusing on the head part, and again following the CTA3 template, relocate the labels and joints into the right positions. Move the baselines (shown here in red and blue) close to feet, and at this point hide the hips and hand so you can focus on the arm and leg parts. Make sure the all end joints are close to the end of the image sprites. Then move on to finish relocating the rest of the joints on torso and hand parts. All done! Now you can save the character's PSD file. 04. Bring the PSD character to life 20-30 minutes Open CTA3 and click on the 'Create G3 Free Bone Actor' button. The character will appear in the Composer Mode, as shown in the image above. Now we can play around with our animated character by using the preview mode and clicking on the bones to move or rotate different parts. Let's go back into the Stage Mode, and apply some motion effects from the motion library. Save and rename the actor, then get your G3 character ready to animate. As you can see, from start to finish this process took around 40 minutes. In order to animate a group of six to eight characters it will take approximately four to six hours or less, as I can work quicker for the later characters. View the full article

What could be a better gift for the creative in your life than a design magazine subscription? Our range of magazines cover all areas of design, from illustration to web design, and 3D art to graphic design, so there's something for everyone, regardless of their skill level. What's more, there are currently some amazing Christmas deals across all of our design magazines. This means that you can save up to 49% on some magazines for yourself or as a gift. To start claiming these savings, all you have to do is head over to the MyFavouriteMagazines store. When you subscribe to one of our design titles you can expect up to 13 issues from the magazine per year. They're the gift that keeps on giving! Packed with value and expert insight, the full range of design magazines, which you can explore below, are just what the designer in your life is looking for. All of these magazines are sister titles to Creative Bloq, which means that their articles and features are all written by experts in their field. Related articles: The best Amazon Cyber Monday deals 2017 How to get the best Cyber Monday deals 2017 View the full article

You're reading Imbalanced Layouts Offer Different Patterns to Adopt, originally posted on Designmodo. If you've enjoyed this post, be sure to follow on Twitter, Facebook, Google+! For a long time, web interfaces were the places where balance, proportion and symmetry were considered to be the signs of good taste and attributes of great design. Everyone was struggling to achieve complete harmony and equilibrium of details. But the situation has changed. There were many attempts to embrace chaos. These days we witness […] View the full article

Never mind about illustration trends: learning how to accurately draw animals is the first step to designing your own fantasy creatures. Nature offers an amazing variety of solutions, shapes, colours and sizes, all designed to solve the challenge of survival in different way. You'll find that drawing and studying animals will provide plenty of inspiration that can be incorporated into your artwork. How to draw a horseTo help you get started, I'm going to show you how to draw a bear. I always start by working quickly and using broad, light pencil marks to find the animal's gesture. This is especially key when drawing from life, where animals move about as you draw. So, get your best pencils at the ready as I reveal how to draw a bear in five simple steps. 01. Start with a light sketch Keep your arm loose and move quickly – this is the messy stage! I begin with a light sketch – I don't want to make any solid marks or bold lines yet, I'm just finding the shapes of the animal's form. I will break this initial sketch into a wire skeleton and shapes to start. This is the foundation of my study. 02. Draw through forms Build up the form with repetitive, fluid strokes to keep the drawing full of motion As I begin to build up my drawing, I'll draw through forms. This means that I'm not worried about forms covering each other, but rather I begin to see through them. This helps to keep the drawing fluid and keeps me aware of where the forms are overlapping in space. I'm also looking for landmarks, such as the scapula and knee caps, to help me locate the anatomy of the animal as it develops on the paper. 03. Find the muscle groups Locating the joints and major muscle groups helps to keep the sketch accurate This is where my experience in drawing real-life animals frequently comes to help. I'm able to locate and find a variety of different muscle groups based on both my previous studies and memory. However, I'm always sure to really look at my subject so as not to miss out on what's actually in front of me. Locating the joints and major muscle groups can also help with fur placement and rendering later on. 04. Introduce form and value Adding in some value can help to turn the formNow that I've got a solid blueprint in place, I can begin to add in some quick values. Here, I'm imagining a light source above the bear. This is where heavier lead comes in handy. I tend to alternate from HB and B lead, but you can use what you’re comfortable with. I'll draw with these heavier pencils to nail in those lines, and flesh out the forms of the muscle groups, too. 05. Flesh out details Add fur in correlation with the muscle groups to keep the animal from looking flatNow I can begin to suggest a few details here and there. Every animal has a different set of proportions and small details that make that species unique, and every species has unique individuals. It's important to pay attention and really see what's there. I'm also interested in adding in markings or any other distinguishing textures or features in this step. Related articles: How to draw and paint – 90 pro tips and tutorials How to draw a dragon 100 amazing Illustrator tutorials View the full article

Running a successful studio is not just about the quality of your work – you also need to be able to juggle your resources effectively to make sure you're working to your full potential. We talked to the resource scheduling experts at Resource Guru to find out their top 10 tips for managing a busy studio successfully. 01. Don’t treat people like robots Be realistic with your project planning and remember that people don’t work on billable projects from 9am to 6pm every day – meetings, breaks, and other distractions will limit the time they can actually spend working. Even the most dedicated workers need to stop for a cup of tea occasionally. 02. Don't neglect existing projects Maintaining existing client projects can take a surprising amount of time. If you don’t have a separate support team, then put aside some time each week for someone to take care of any issues that may arise. This has the added bonus of keeping existing clients on-side. 03. Get a helping hand with dedicated tools Use tools to support and streamline management tasks. Keep your team up-to-date using dedicated resource scheduling software. One option is Resource Guru – a tool dedicated to helping you effectively allocate the people, equipment and online resources in your studio, to free you up so you can focus on the creative stuff. 04. Avoid over-allocating your resources Pushing your team members too hard is a recipe for disaster. While there may be a short-term gain, over long periods this leads to burnout and high staff turnover. If it’s unavoidable, make sure to set a regular time to review and reprioritise the overbookings. 05. Don’t forget about time off Holidays and other types of leave will have an impact on your projects. It's easy to forget about this, but it can have a significant impact on your workflow. Make sure leave management is integral to your resource scheduling. 06. Monitor resource utilisation Keep an eye on your resource utilisation rate. An under-utilised team is less profitable, while consistent over-utilisation quickly leads to burnout. Your aim is to find the sweet spot in the middle, where no one's tearing their hair out and no one's left twiddling their thumbs. 07. Don't just throw resources at a problem Nine women can’t make a baby in a month. Remember that simply throwing more resources at a problem won’t fix it. Onboarding new team members takes time, so it’s much better to spend time planning how you’ll be using your resources before a problem arises. 08. Set realistic expectations Missed budgets, milestones and lead times will quickly sour your relationship with your team, and your clients. Saying 'no' to a client is difficult, but promising something you know isn't possible is even worse. 09. Keep your team focused Help minimise distractions for your team. The time lost to context-switching is greater than it may appear, and even a few 'quick chats' about unrelated issues can have a negative impact on your projects. Create an environment in which your designers can focus 100 per cent on the task at hand, before moving on to the next task. 10. Keep your team happy Make sure you’re aware of when your designers are being made to work overtime or if they haven’t been assigned to a project they were promised. A happy studio is a more productive (and profitable!) studio. View the full article

As the end of the year approaches, it's a good time to take a look back at the biggest illustration trends of 2017 – and to forecast what we expect to be the most exciting illustration trends of 2018. Of course, the best illustrators have their own distinctive art styles, and when commissioned they'll work towards fulfilling the creative brief as specified by the client. But none of us exist in a vacuum, and looking back over the past year, it’s possible to identify common themes across some of the best new illustrative work that we've seen. Whether you decide to put your own stamp on these and push your work in an unexpected direction, or you prefer to avoid popular trends at all costs, it's helpful to know where the industry's at – particularly when it comes to justifying your creative decisions to clients. Here, then, are some of the hottest illustration trends of 2017 that we’ve noticed over the last 12 months... 01. Playful colours When Ana Jacks created the visual language for the Facebook event House of Us, bold colour was at the forefront In 2017, illustrators haven’t been shy in using bright and playful colours to bring their work to people’s attention. It’s an illustration trend that can be seen everywhere in editorial illustration, from the eye-catching hues of Berlin-based visual artist Siggi Eggertsson to the chaotically colourful pattern-collages of Hamburg-based illustrator Max Knicker. It’s also evident in the more “out there” work too, such as the eerie, goblin-like characters of Londoner Alex Gamsu Jenkins and the psychedelic imaginings of Belgian illustrator Ellen van Engelen. Not to mention the vibrant trad-children’s book stylings of Brazil-based Jana Glatt or the uncompromising female character studies of Daiana Ruiz. There are some who raise colour almost to the level of a special effect, as can be seen in the zesty, humorous scenes of Anka Bara, the in-your-face character studies of Isle of Man-based illustrator Ana Jaks (above), and the distinctive and evocative work of Madrid and Barcelona-based artist Josea Roda. And it’s an illustration trend that’s set to continue into 2018, predicts illustrator Fiona Wade, creative collaborator with Brown&co. “I think the trends in illustration next year will be summed up by one word,” she says. “Colour. Bold, intense, saturated, colour. Lots of it. “Colour will be used as a concept all on its own – becoming a feature, rather than simply background information in a picture. Particular colours that will be popping up in both illustration and fashion prints will be pastel ice-cream shades and rich jewel-like teals and golds.” 02. Female empowerment Hamburg artist Helena Ravenne is known for her images of female empowerment From the Weinstein scandal to controversy over the gender pay gap, gender issues have rarely been out of the headlines in 2017. And illustrators haven't been shy in bringing forth their perspectives on issues of female empowerment and solidarity. New York-based designer and illustrator Amber Vittoria is among those challenging the societal assumptions placed on women through her defiant work, based around physical traits such as body hair, overtly extended limbs and rounded features. Melbourne-based illustrator Jordyn McGeachin, meanwhile, is focused on normalising notions of women’s sexuality. Less confrontational but just as powerful is the work of Polish designer and illustrator Weronika Anna Marianna, which explores the “wild and sacred sides” of women, or that of Hamburg-based illustrator Helena Ravenne (above) who recently launched a series called Girls are Back in Town, celebrating talented and strong women. And it’s not just about individual efforts, but collective action, too. For example, 2017 also saw the launch of Women Who Draw, an online community of female illustrators, artists and cartoonists, with the aim of increasing their visibility and give them a stronger voice worldwide. It’s currently 2,700 creatives strong, and counting. 03. Absurdity and surrealism Felix Decombat’s interactive homepage at felixdecombat.com is the trippiest thing we’ve seen this year The world of 2017 has felt like a place where, for good or bad, anything can happen and increasingly, anything goes. So it’s not surprising that we’ve seen increased visibility this year for strange and unusual illustration styles. These include the delightful head-scrambling lunacy of German illustrator Sebastian Schwamm, the delightfully deconstructive visions of Ottowa comic artist Michael Haddad and the futuristic and weirdly subversive stylings of French illustrator Felix Decombat. Also well worth checking out are the the gruesomely spaced-out sci-fi works of Norwegian illustrator Derek Ercolano, the hilariously surreal work of Russian illustrator Andrey Kasay and the jagged, dysmorphic characters of Oslo-based illustrator and animator Steph Hope. 04. Anxiety and alienation The Weather of the World, by Yann Kebbi for the New York Times It’s been a year in which all the old norms of politics, society and culture seemed to be crumbling, austerity gathered pace, the distance between citizenry and their representatives widened, and even nuclear war seemingly became a possibility. This sense of global anxiety and alienation was reflected in the work of a number of illustrators. For example, French artist Yann Kebbi took the ideas of catastrophe and fracturing as the inspiration for a number of impactful pieces, including one for the New York Times, shown above. And similarly, New York illustrator, printmaker and comic book artist Evan M Cohen’s Noise series portrays the stress, fear and delusion of modern life in stark monochromatic scenes. Ominous and disturbing, the work of Brooklyn-based illustrator Minju An takes delight in the deconstruction of body parts, while German artist Max Guther draws on the influence of Bauhaus architects to hold up a dispassionate mirror to the empty banalities of modern existence. Elsewhere, Illustrator Noa Snir’s series Disorder explored a variety of common psychological problems through dramatic black and white linocuts. 05. 1990s retro The 90s influence is strong in the work of Igor Bastidas In uncertain times, there’s always safety and comfort to be found in the familiar. For a long while, we’ve all been indulging in 1980s nostalgia, but 2017 saw that finally start to give ground to 1990s retro. Yes, it’s finally time to look back longingly on the last decade of the last century, and leading the pack is Miami-based illustrator and animator Igor Bastidas, whose work for MTV, Converse and Cartoon Network highlights his love of clean lines and solid colours. Other exponents of the 90s vibe include Rotterdam-based illustrator Xaviera Altena, whose work is peppered with 90s pop culture references, and Amy Sutton, who’s strongly influenced by the vibrant colours of 90s cartoons. 06. Japanese style Part of Andrew Archer’s Edo Ball series, which combines images of basketball and Japanese art Whether its traditional Ukiyo-e art, anime-style art or artworks inspired by Japanese culture, cities and fashions, one 2017 illustration trend to have continued developing is that of Japanese influence. Take for example Edo Ball, a series by New Zealand-born, Melbourne-based illustrator Andrew Archer inspired by “basketball, culture, Japan and Ukiyo-e art” (above). Or there’s The Tokyoiter, a spoof illustrated series of tributes to covers of The New Yorker and The Parisianer, established by British illustrator Andrew Joyce, French art director David Robert, and Japanese illustrator and creative director Tatsushi Eto. The Japanese influence is also central to the work of Nick Alston, a British illustrator based in Tokyo; Karan Singh, an Australian artist and illustrator in Amsterdam; Polish watercolour artist Mateusz Urbanowiczs; and many more besides. 07. Digital meets hand-drawn This 2017 illustration trend isn't new. It's been around for years now – but with mobile creative tech continuing to take over the market, it's set to become one of the strongest illustrations trends of 2018, too. “Above everything else I’ve seen this year, it’s been illustrators mastering elements of the iPad Pro to sketch and draw in a way that speeds up workflow,” explains Jamie Clarke, who designs illustrative type and lettering and edits the typography blog Type Worship. “In the lettering world there’s a digital hand-drawn style that's wedging itself comfortably between vector artwork and paper-drawn,” he continues. “Those who are really getting to grips with it, such as the Oregon-based designer Jordan Metcalf, are allowing the technology to influence the final piece.” The lines between hand-drawn and digital are also being blurred in the work of Chinese freelancer Samuel Chen, who creates digital work that looks like it’s been crafted traditionally. Similarly, Austrian illustrator Nanna Prieler's work is based in physical media but looks like it includes digital elements. Related articles: 8 design industry trends for 2018 5 free apps that can boost your creativity 5 uses for stock images you might not have thought of View the full article

Intel released eight patches for vulnerabilities in remote management software and firmware that could allow local adversaries to elevate privileges, run arbitrary code, crash systems and eavesdrop on communications. View the full article

If you're looking to bag a Black Friday deal on a Surface Book, Surface Pro or any other model from Microsoft's fantastic Surface family, then you've come to the right place. We're collecting all the best Microsoft Surface Black Friday deals right here, throughout Black November, as soon as they appear. So far, the best savings we've seen have arrived in the form of Black Friday Surface Book deals. That's because the Surface Book – our laptop of the summer – was recently replaced by the stunning Surface Book 2 and retailers are looking to shift their older stock. We gave the Surface Book five out of five stars when we reviewed it. It's powerful, flexible and has a stunning screen – so if you don't mind buying an older model, there are some incredible savings to be had. And if you're in the market for more creative hardware generally, don't miss the following articles: Best cheap laptop deals, Best monitors for creatives, The best Wacom tablet deals, 6 smartphone deals for designers, and our exclusive Adobe Creative Cloud deal. Read on for the best Black Friday Microsoft Surface deals to be had right now... 01. Surface Book 2 Black Friday deals At 15-inches, the beautiful new 2-in-1 Microsoft Surface Book 2 introduces a larger form factor to the original Surface Book. This is currently the world’s best 2-in-1 laptop: it’s incredibly powerful, with a dazzling 13.5-inch PixelSense display, and boasts a battery life up to 17 hours. It’s also incredibly flexible – with laptop, tablet, studio and view modes – and lightweight to boot. Prices are unlikely to come down much, but if there are any Black Friday Surface Book 2 deals to be had, you’ll find them here. 02. Surface Book Black Friday deals The first iteration of the Surface Book remains an impressive model – and with huge Black Friday price cuts likely while stocks last, Microsoft's first-ever 2-in-1 laptop makes an irresistible prospect for creatives. With an innovative Performance Base that delivers crisp, vibrant graphics and up to 16 hours of battery life, if you can get your hands on the Surface Book you won't regret it. 03. Surface Pro Black Friday deals Thanks to a powerful Intel Core processor, the Surface Pro delivers great speed and performance that previous models. This has lead to Microsoft describing it as the most powerful Surface Pro ever. With all this power under the hood, the new Surface Pro provides users with a smooth experience to help them stay productive. It can also switch between laptop, studio, and tablet modes easily to keep up with your demanding workflow. Ultra-light and versatile, the Surface Pro gives users the best of Microsoft at their fingertips. 04. Surface Studio Black Friday deals With an impressive 28" PixelSense Display, the Surface Studio is specially designed for the creative process. Capable of switching and adjusting to follow how you work, the Surface Studio is powered by Intel® Core™ processors and an NVIDIA® GeForce® dGPU to help bring your work to life. Paired with the Surface Dial, the Surface Studio is changing how creatives are working for the better. 05. Surface Laptop Black Friday deals The beautifully designed and crafted Surface laptop matches its elegance with its performance. Boasting a vibrant 13.5" PixelSense Display with immersive touchscreen, the Surface Laptop gives users more room to get creative. Available in four colours to suit your style (burgundy, platinum, cobalt blue and graphite gold), this laptop packs the best of Windows and Office. Related articles: The best Amazon Cyber Monday deals 2017 5 best laptops for video editing in 2017 The best drawing tablet for illustrators and artists View the full article