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Google announced a public bug bounty for Google Play that brings developers and researchers together to find and patch flaws in popular apps. View the full article

Try this little experiment... think of a creative industry that doesn't rely on a laptop computers as an essential tool. We've racked our brains and can't think of a single one. But new laptops can be expensive, so now and then you need a discount or a special offer to help you out. Having the right laptop for you can make a significant difference to your professional life. It can be the difference between pain-free, powerful processing, and a sluggish machine that takes an eon to upload your images. The degrees between dull, murky screens and dazzling displays that let you create eye-catching illustrations. And ensuring you avoid erratic touchpads that are virtually impossible to control. You could simply head to Amazon, find the most expensive laptop it sells and buy that – you're unlikely to be disappointed. But this new guide to the best laptop deals on the market will help you save a packet, and we'll update it regularly so that you see the best current deals – whether on Black Friday or not. We also dispel the myth that a cheap laptop is a synonym for a bad laptop: as well as the very best laptop deals on the market now, we've highlighted competent computers that you can buy on a budget all year round. A disclaimer before we start: the list of laptop deals below may contain some Chromebooks (laptops that have no software besides Chrome, relying instead on the G Suite of apps and browser-based tools). We know that Chromebooks will be no good for graphic designers needing Photoshop or 3D artists needing to render models, but they have their place as a cheap second machine for composing emails, invoicing and other less intensive tasks. Best laptop deals to buy in the US today Best laptop deals to buy in the UK today Next page: The best cheap laptop deals While special offers may give you great discounts while they last, they can also be fleeting and easy to miss. The following laptops offer excellent value for money all year round. When you've found the laptop that you like the best, click on the prices that our Hawk price comparison tool has found to see the best deal today. It's no surprise that the Yoga Book's main asset is flexibility. And we're not just talking about the rotating hinge that lets you use this laptop like a chunky tablet. You get to choose between Windows 10 or Android operating systems depending on what best suits your work, and the capacitive interface can be used as a keyboard or a drawing pad. It's great for sketching and the handsome screen is complimentary to your creations, too. Read TechRadar's Lenovo Yoga Book review We're not going to pretend that the Pavilion x2 is the perfect companion for editing videos and creating masterpieces, but if you need a dirt cheap laptop for research and admin tasks then this HP PC fits the bill. The HD display and surprising amounts of power mean that it punches well above its weight considering the eye-catching price tag. And the tablet mode means that you can flick through image galleries and videos in comfort. Read TechRadar's full HP Pavilion x2 review OK, so maybe this isn't everybody's definition of a 'cheap laptop'. But head to the Apple Store for your purchase, and this is the most affordable laptop you'll find. That makes it well worth mentioning here, considering the brilliance of Apple's pre-loaded programs, which have helped to make Apple products the go-to devices for creatives all over the world for the last couple of decades. This iteration has an upgraded processor and more RAM than previous versions, as well. Read TechRadar's full MacBook Air review Related articles: 5 best laptops for video editing Our favourite laptops for graphic designers Best laptops for using Photoshop View the full article

Over the past two weeks, Rich McCor, Thomas Kakareko and Nathalie Geffroy have been venturing across the US on an epic road trip, and they've finally reached their destination: Adobe MAX in Vegas. Last time we touched base, the creative trio had just started off on their journey. Since then, they've been continuing to push their creative boundaries with the help of Adobe's full suite of tools. Rich McCor worked his magic on US landmarks McCor – whose playful style uses paper silhouettes to transform famous landmarks – turned Phoenix's Souper Salad Restaurant into a beautiful bride, and Kakareko used his talent for dramatic landscapes to capture some moody on-the-road shots. One of Thomas Kakareko's signature moody landscapesThe challenge of documenting their trip in style was made much easier by the all-new Lightroom CC – announced at Adobe MAX. The tool is now based in the cloud, making it simple for the trio of creatives to organise, edit and share their impressive photography wherever they were. Edits are automatically synced between devices, too, so they could work on their photographs on a laptop during their downtime, then finish off any edits easily on their smartphones whilst on the road. Nathalie Geoffroy used Lightroom CC to make precise edits to her stunning photographyA new colour range and updated masking tools also enabled the creatives to make precise edits to their work, to produce stunning images such as the shot by Geffroy above. Over the weekend, the #RoadtoMAX17 team explored Zion National Park, a nature preserve that is instantly recognisable thanks to its steep red cliffs. They then hit the road for one final time en route to their final stop in Las Vegas, where they’ve been showing off their work at Adobe MAX – The Creativity Conference – which ends on Sunday. View the full article

To produce a successful rebrand, or even to stand a chance of making it onto our prestigious list of the 10 best logos ever, you need to follow the advice of the professionals whenever it pops up. Texas-based graphic designer Armin Vit chronicles thousands of new brand and identity projects every year through Brand New, a division of design firm and publishing enterprise Under Consideration, which he co-founded with his wife, Bryony Gomez-Palacio. The ex-Pentagram designer has reviewed hundreds of thousands of the world's biggest and bravest branding projects, so who better to explain exactly what does – and doesn't – make the perfect branding? We caught up with Vit to find out what makes a standout logo. Here are his five top tips… 01. Do the gut reaction test Armin Vit on stage at Kyoorius Deisgnyatra. Photography: Genevieve Vanspall"The first thing I look for when evaluating a new logo or branding project is an initial, aesthetic, gut reaction: do I like it?" Vit explains. "If I don't – if it requires a lot of explanation to make it make sense – then I won't enjoy it. But from the get-go, if it looks good, smart and well-constructed, then I'm at least interested." 02. Does it work? The Airbnb logo is certainly different"I then look a lot at execution: how it works; how it might work in different contexts. I compare it to what they had before and what other companies in the same industry have. Does it stand out? Does it blend in?" He explains. "I thought the Airbnb logo was really interesting. They were confident in their process and designers. "Nowadays most icons are taken: the Nike swoosh is taken, the Apple apple is taken – so coming up with a little symbol that can stand for something as big as Airbnb was really impressive." 03. Good logos make sense YouTube revealed new logo recently that emphasised the play button "Next, I look at every part of the explanation available from the client or designer. If the idea's good, you read the explanation they give you and think yeah, that makes sense. "When a logo's good, it's instantly clear and there's a solid, simple explanation behind it." 04. Have courage Google took a huge leap with its redesign in 2015"What's the most common pitfall I see brand identity work fall prey to? Sometimes a project doesn't stand out. Either the designer or the client doesn't have the courage to do something different. Or if they chose to do something similar, they didn't have the commitment to it very, very well. "The 2015 Google logo redesign was really fantastic. Not so much the word mark, but when you look at the whole system behind it and the care that went into it. "It's a giant company taking a huge leap, going a completely different direction but somehow managing to maintain that quirky DNA they had. That sort of thing stands out regardless of the haters." 05. Take a step back The iconic London Underground logo is one of our 10 best logos ever "The key piece of advice I'd give to a designer or studio tasked with a rebranding project is: when you present your work for the first time, make sure you've looked at it from an outside point of view. "Everything might make sense to you because you've been involved in the process. But designers and clients can get too involved in their own processes, and forget to step back and see how others are going to perceive it. Take a step back and ask: is this right? Does this work?" Related articles: 7 classic logos that should never have been changed 25 logo design tips from the experts 21 outstanding uses of colour in branding View the full article

Try this little experiment... think of a creative industry that doesn't rely on a laptop computers as an essential tool. We've racked our brains and can't think of a single one. But new laptops can be expensive, so now and then you need a discount or a special offer to help you out. Having the right laptop for you can make a significant difference to your professional life. It can be the difference between pain-free, powerful processing, and a sluggish machine that takes an eon to upload your images. The degrees between dull, murky screens and dazzling displays that let you create eye-catching illustrations. And ensuring you avoid erratic touchpads that are virtually impossible to control. You could simply head to Amazon, find the most expensive laptop it sells and buy that – you're unlikely to be disappointed. But this new guide to the best laptop deals on the market will help you save a packet, and we'll update it regularly so that you see the best current deals – whether on Black Friday or not. We also dispel the myth that a cheap laptop is a synonym for a bad laptop: as well as the very best laptop deals on the market now, we've highlighted competent computers that you can buy on a budget all year round. A disclaimer before we start: the list of laptop deals below may contain some Chromebooks (laptops that have no software besides Chrome, relying instead on the G Suite of apps and browser-based tools). We know that Chromebooks will be no good for graphic designers needing Photoshop or 3D artists needing to render models, but they have their place as a cheap second machine for composing emails, invoicing and other less intensive tasks. Best laptop deals to buy in the US today Best laptop deals to buy in the UK today Next page: The best cheap laptop deals While special offers may give you great discounts while they last, they can also be fleeting and easy to miss. The following laptops offer excellent value for money all year round. When you've found the laptop that you like the best, click on the prices that our Hawk price comparison tool has found to see the best deal today. It's no surprise that the Yoga Book's main asset is flexibility. And we're not just talking about the rotating hinge that lets you use this laptop like a chunky tablet. You get to choose between Windows 10 or Android operating systems depending on what best suits your work, and the capacitive interface can be used as a keyboard or a drawing pad. It's great for sketching and the handsome screen is complimentary to your creations, too. Read TechRadar's Lenovo Yoga Book review We're not going to pretend that the Pavilion x2 is the perfect companion for editing videos and creating masterpieces, but if you need a dirt cheap laptop for research and admin tasks then this HP PC fits the bill. The HD display and surprising amounts of power mean that it punches well above its weight considering the eye-catching price tag. And the tablet mode means that you can flick through image galleries and videos in comfort. Read TechRadar's full HP Pavilion x2 review OK, so maybe this isn't everybody's definition of a 'cheap laptop'. But head to the Apple Store for your purchase, and this is the most affordable laptop you'll find. That makes it well worth mentioning here, considering the brilliance of Apple's pre-loaded programs, which have helped to make Apple products the go-to devices for creatives all over the world for the last couple of decades. This iteration has an upgraded processor and more RAM than previous versions, as well. Read TechRadar's full MacBook Air review Related articles: 5 best laptops for video editing Our favourite laptops for graphic designers Best laptops for using Photoshop View the full article

We're constantly amazed by all of the cool new open source projects; if you look around there's almost always a blinding open source alternative to whatever pro software you need for your web design work. With so many exciting projects out there, we had our work cut out trying to decide on our favourites. From source code editors to JavaScript app builders to web font tools and more, here are 13 great examples of the superb work that's being done to make the web a better place. 01. React Native React Native is like React, but for native mobile appsReact Native enables users to build native mobile apps using only JavaScript. It's similar to React (the popular JavaScript library for building user interfaces), except its building blocks are native components rather than web components. With it, users can creative rich mobile UIs that are indistinguishable from apps build using Objective-C, Java or Swift. However, it does combine nicely with those three, so if you want to drop down to native code to optimise certain components, that's fine too. The project is incredibly popular on GitHub, with around 1,500 contributors. (You might want to also check out these 20 JavaScript tools to blow your mind) 02. Yarn Is Yarn the new NPM?Offering 'ultra-fast, mega-secure, super-reliable' dependency management, open source project Yarn is a competitor to node package manager. Features include the ability to reinstall packages without an internet connection, an efficient request queue that promises to maximise network use, and a flat mode that helps you avoid duplicate dependencies. 03. Pattern Lab A suite of tools for working according to atomic design principlesPattern Lab is a suite of tools designed to help you build sites using the principles of atomic design. That means breaking interfaces down into smaller parts, and operating within a UI design system that you've built to suit your purposes. Atomic design and Pattern Lab are both the brainchild of Brad Frost, and have blossomed in popularity since they launched. 04. Visual Studio Code An open source project from MicrosoftThis free, open source code editor from Microsoft has a slew of great features that make coding quicker. There’s a function called IntelliSense that provides smart completions; built-in Git commands; debugging from within the editor and much more. In September 2017 there was a significant update to the project, with the addition of macOS touch bar support, integrated terminal performance, and automatic import suggestions. 05. Font Awesome Awesome indeedFont Awesome is indeed awesome: 675 (at the time of writing) icons contained within a single font, constituting "a pictographic language of web-related actions". Icons are infinitely scalable, so they look the same at any size, and you can style them with CSS. It works well with all frameworks and screen readers, and doesn't require JavaScript. (You might also like these 40 top free web fonts) 06. Bootstrap Makes frontend web development faster and easierBootstrap is a frontend component library to help you build responsive, mobile-first projects using HTML, CSS and JavaScript, and one of the most popular open source projects on GitHub. Bootstrap was launched by Twitter in 2011, but as it grew, its creators Mark Otto and Jacob Thornton decided to move it to its own open source organisation, and the project separated from Twitter. Bootstrap has a small footprint, Less integration and compelling visual design. There is a web-based customiser that you can use to tailor it to your open source project: components and jQuery plugins can be added or removed by ticking checkboxes, and variables can be customised using a web form. There's a 12-column responsive grid, typography, form controls and it uses responsive CSS to work with mobile browsers. One of our 14 great free Bootstrap themes might come in handy here, too. 07. Brackets A modern text editor for designing in the browserAn open source project that began its life at Adobe, Brackets is a lightweight and modern code editor focused on web technologies. Crafted specifically for web designers and frontend developers, it boasts a collection of innovative features, including inline editors that let you open windows into the code you're working on rather than jumping between file tabs, and a live preview the offers real-time connection with your browser. (You might also like these 3 handy Chrome extensions for frontend developers) 08. The Accessibility Project A11y makes accessibility more approachableThe Accessibility Project is an open source project committed to making web accessibility easier for frontend designers and developers to understand and adopt into a daily workflow. The project started in mid-January 2013 in response to a general feeling among developers that core accessibility concepts, features and code examples are overly difficult to extract. The project has three core tenets. It aims to be digestible (offering short, easy to understand pieces of content), up-to-date (in line with the latest standards) and forgiving (because people make mistakes, and web accessibility is tricky). At the time of writing, 102 people have contributed to The Accessibility Project and it has become an invaluable resource for any developer looking to make their sites more accessible to all. 09. Laravel Make beautiful code with Laravel Laravel has revolutionised PHP development. A free, open source project, it pitches itself as the framework for web artisans – in other words, people who value code that's elegant, simple and readable – and it helps teams and individuals build well-made applications quickly. There's a big community and collection of resources around Laravel (for example, the Laracast screencasts) and it's one of the most popular PHP frameworks in use today. 10. Grunt Grunt, the JavaScript task runner Grunt allows you to automate common tasks using JavaScript. You can perform mundane, repetitive tasks such as minification, compilation, unit testing and linting with almost zero effort. And because Grunt is extensible, if someone hasn't already built what you need, you can easily author and publish your own Grunt plugin. Grunt has dramatically lowered the barrier to entry for web developers by providing a common interface for the tasks in their build process. The extensive plugin ecosystem and easy configuration format makes it possible for anyone on the team to create a modern build process – designers included. 11. Ember.js Make ambitious apps with EmberEmber.js bills itself as "a framework for creating ambitious web applications". One of the biggest features is its data binding; objects in Ember can bind properties to each other, so when a property changes in one object, the other is kept in sync. Another interesting feature is Ember's the ability to define functions on an object that you can then treat as properties. Hence, if a model has a first and last name, you could create a function to define a person's full name, and have it treated as if the model has a full name property. The feature most likely to draw you in is that Ember automatically updates its views when data changes – saving you a lot of work. 12. AngularJS AngularJS: HTML enhances for web appsAngularJS extends the vocabulary of HTML for declaring dynamic views in web apps. It takes a slightly different approach to Backbone and Ember by doing data binding directly in your HTML. It also uses just plain JavaScript for its controllers, meaning there's no need to extend other objects as you have to do in other frameworks. The data binding means data in views is automatically updated when the data changes, but also Angular makes it effortless to bind forms to models, meaning a lot of the code you typically write to link a form to creating a new instance of a model is not needed. Its data binding is bi-directional. By moving a lot of the binding directly into the HTML, Angular leaves you with much leaner controllers and less JavaScript to write. It might take a while to get your head around, but this approach is really powerful. 13. Ghost Ghost, an open source blogging platformBlogging platform Ghost turned heads when it was successfully funded through Kickstarter, surpassing its original request of £25,000 and eventually bring in over £196,000 in funding. The open source project is now maintained by non-profit organisation the Ghost Foundation plus some independent contributors (273 people have contributed to the project so far). Ghost has a unique purpose in providing bloggers with a simple interface that allows them to write and publish their content without dealing with the complexity of traditional platforms. It's free as a package you can download and install to your own web server, but if that's too much hassle and you're willing to pay, there are pro hosted versions. Read more: How the web industry is coping in uncertain times Get started with web accessibility The pro's guide to UI design View the full article

Yesterday the UK saw its first advert for sanitary products that actually features 'blood'. The Blood Normal campaign from Bodyform was much-needed, but there's still more to be done in the world of period product advertising. Branding for sanitary products has always been, well, a bit pants. The packaging is usually garishly bright and the ads show young, attractive women rollerskating, climbing mountains and gallivanting around in white trousers. And then there’s the unnatural-looking blue liquid that is poured onto pads, as if menstruating were some sort of strange science experiment instead of a bodily function that roughly half the world’s population experience monthly for an average of 40 years of their lives. I don’t know who came up with the idea of equating having your period with a magical burst of energy I don’t know who came up with the idea of equating having your period with a magical burst of energy, but given that most women I know don’t want to rollerskate or wear white trousers on a normal day, let alone when they are leaking blood, I seriously doubt it was a woman. And as anyone who’s grown up with these products can attest, using them doesn’t make you feel any better. They don’t make cramps go away or stop you feeling moody or tired. In recent years, some of the shame and embarrassment around menstruation has lifted as women have opened up about the subject in the public domain. In 2015, Rupi Kaur caused a viral sensation by Instagramming a ‘shocking’ picture of her, fully clothed but sporting a period stain; Olympic medalist Fu Yuanhui confessed that her period may have affected her performance in 2016; and the classification of sanitary products as ‘luxury goods’ has been debated in UK Parliament. Some brands have listened; some are even leading the conversation. Always Both big players in the UK sanitary towel market, Bodyform and Always, have taken steps to bring their campaigns in line with modern attitudes. Always claims it is ‘on a mission to boost girls’ confidence’. Its Black Pencil-winning Like a Girl campaign showed how girls’ perceptions of their abilities nosedive once they hit adolescence; a new (and nauseating) ad is about embracing failure. While the points it’s trying to make may be valid, equating confidence with sanitary towels is questionable. And the brand’s past and persistent message that no-one should know you’re menstruating has also arguably played a part in girls’ negative self-image. Bodyform In 2016, Bodyform ran a campaign with the strapline ‘no blood should hold us back,’ which showed actual women bleeding, albeit because they were doing sport. The significance of showing quite graphic images of blood in an ad about menstruation should not be underestimated. Another Bodyform ad saw a woman putting a sanitary towel in her pants, in a toilet, for the first time ever. In line with old-school period ads, she was also a trapeze artist in a white leotard. But the ad suggests this was her job, and not something she just felt like doing because her uterus was shedding its lining. Yesterday's Blood Normal advert finally showed a blood-like liquid in a sanitary towel for the first time (a corn syrup and dye mixture rather than blood, for health and safety reasons, but still better than blue water), as well as blood running down a woman's leg in the shower. The message in this new campaign, apparently gleaned from the company's research that found 74% of people wanted to see more honest representation of periods in adverts, is "Periods are normal. Showing them should be too." Mooncup One company that has never been shy about what it’s offering is Mooncup, whose marketing for its reusable menstrual cups has typically (and sensibly) focused on the environmental and economical benefits of using its product. Its latest ad takes a different approach. A humorous and a clever play on traditional stories of men rescuing women, it has a killer strapline: ‘periods, without the drama’. But the ad’s message and story is not very clear if you don’t know what a Mooncup is, which many don’t. Thinx Thinx's packaging makes it clear where its tampons are goingIn the US, innovative alternatives developed by and aimed at millennial women are disrupting the market. Thinx sells ‘period panties’ – a revolutionary idea in itself – plus tampons that come in blood red boxes depicting an image of a vagina, with the slide off outer layer revealing a picture of a tampon underneath. Its adverts describe the realities of periods in a clear and engaging way, and have been praised for breaking taboos left right and centre. FLEX The packaging for FLEX’s menstrual disc takes a more luxury approachThe owners of FLEX, which sells a menstrual disc that can be worn for ‘mess-free period sex’ also deserve kudos for daring to mention ‘sex’ and ‘period’ in the same sentence. FLEX’s sleek black, gold and white packaging is more akin to expensive sex toys or make-up than ‘feminine care’. But at $45 for three months' worth, that mess-free period sex does not come cheap. Period Equity Branding for US charity Period Equity, designed by Pentagram’s Paula ScherAnd as Paula Scher eloquently reminds us with her simple yet effective branding for US charity Period Equity, periods are not luxuries. LOLA The packaging for LOLA’s mix and match products is simple and chicReflecting that its products are necessary basics, without making them look unattractive, LOLA’s organic tampons and pads have a simple and chic feel. In the US, they also come delivered to your door in customisable boxes, taking into account that not every period day requires the same product. Fémme Pearlfisher's campaign for Fémme was sensitive to Chinese consumersWith similar muted colours to LOLA, Pearlfisher’s branding for Chinese tampon company Fémme is feminine, delicate and discreet, and was developed after extensive research of taboos around using tampons in China. The differences between Fémme and products in the West highlight the fact that different approaches are needed in different cultures. These are all steps in the right direction, but we need to go further. We need more branding that educates everyone about periods – men too. We need more different types of menstruating humans represented in period ads that contain words such as ‘vagina’, ‘bleeding’ or ‘stain’. We need campaigns showing that this natural process, which sustains human life, is not something to be ashamed of, but that not being ashamed doesn’t necessarily mean we want to go on zipwires or climb mountains. And we also need to clear up once and for all, that there is absolutely nothing blue about menstrual blood. This article originally featured in Computer Arts issue 271. Buy it here. Read more: 7 classic logos that should never have been changed Why controversial UKIP logo falls on the branding sword How to challenge brand stereotypes View the full article

You don't have to wait for Black Friday 2017 to score a bargain. For today's daily deal, we've got you a great discount on the distraction-eliminating writing app, BlankPage. There are tons of word processors to choose from, but sometimes you just need to get down to the craft and do away with the bells and whistles. BlankPage is a lightweight and powerful tool for writers that provides a perfect workspace to just write. Get a lifetime subscription on sale today for 94% off the retail price – and take an additional 20% off when you use the coupon code SOFTWARE20 at the checkout. BlankPage is an absolutely essential tool for any writer. This word processor provides everything you need to write the way you want to and nothing more. This app helps block out all of the distractions on your computer, from items on your messy desktop to websites that steal your attention, and helps you stay on task by helping you set and meet daily writing goals. Work in the quiet and controlled environment you need to get things done with BlankPage. You can get a lifetime subscription BlankPage on sale now for just $24.99 (approx £19). Reduced from the full retail price of $499, that's a saving of 94% off the retail price for a handy app that makes writing easy. Plus, you can save an additional 20% off by entering the coupon code SOFTWARE20 at the checkout. Grab this great deal today. About Creative Bloq deals This great deal comes courtesy of the Creative Bloq Deals store – a creative marketplace that's dedicated to ensuring you save money on the items that improve your design life. We all like a special offer or two, particularly with creative tools and design assets often being eye-wateringly expensive. That's why the Creative Bloq Deals store is committed to bringing you useful deals, freebies and giveaways on design assets (logos, templates, icons, fonts, vectors and more), tutorials, e-learning, inspirational items, hardware and more. Every day of the working week we feature a new offer, freebie or contest – if you miss one, you can easily find past deals posts on the Deals Staff author page or Offer tag page. Plus, you can get in touch with any feedback at: deals@creativebloq.com. Related articles: The best Black Friday deals 2017 20 tools to make your team more productive 55 best free fonts for designers View the full article

The news keeps on coming from Adobe MAX 2017. We've already heard from the premiere creativity and design conference that HP has edged further into the creative space with the launch of a Surface rival, and now Adobe has announced a collaboration with Coca-Cola. Called Cola x Adobe x You, the campaign sees Coca-Cola provide the world's largest creative community with full access to its unique brand assets, including the Coca-Cola Spencerian script and the Coca-Cola dynamic ribbon, to create your own designs with. As part of the partnership, 15 creative professionals from Spain to Germany, South Africa to Japan, have developed an inspiring selection of art based on the Coca-Cola assets. But now that the assets have been opened up, everyone is invited to create their own art inspired by Coca-Cola, using Adobe Creative Cloud. Get Adobe Creative CloudWhat's more, for every submission received by 17 December 2017, Coca-Cola will donate to the Special Olympics. Birgit Palma's illustration is subtle but effective“With this collaboration, we’re pleased to bring Adobe’s global creative community together for the opportunity to participate in a brief with an influential brand such as Coca-Cola,” says Jamie Myrold, vice president of design at Adobe. “Every submission contributes toward our shared vision of designing for good, which is at the forefront of what we do every day.” The collaboration has been driven by the pair's shared values of design, quality and brand integrity. In an increasingly multi-sensory world, Adobe and Coca-Cola want to challenge the design and creative communities to reimagine what it means to push themselves to the limits. Tia Huang used Coca-Cola assets to create this adorable feline illustration“Design has been at the heart of Coca-Cola for 130 years," says James Sommerville, vice president of global design at The Coca-Cola Company. "With Tokyo 2020 as the stage, we are thrilled to collaborate with Adobe, and share our most beloved visual assets with designers and creatives everywhere. Whether you’re an established pro, or an aspiring artist, this opportunity is for everyone.” If you want to take part in Coke x Adobe x You, simply head over to the campaign's site and download the Coca-Cola brand assets to get started. From there, you'll need to create your art on an Adobe Creative Cloud app (Photoshop, Illustrator, InDesign, After Effects and now Lightroom, among them) and share your masterpiece on Instagram, Behance or Twitter with the hashtag #cokexadobexyou. The campaign is a perfect chance for creatives in graphic design, photography, motion graphics, 3D, or illustration to share their work and help contribute to a worthy cause, so be sure to get involved. [Header image by Kouhei Nakama] Related articles: 95 top Photoshop tutorials 21 outstanding uses of colour in branding Branding pros share how they nail brand voice View the full article

When learning how to draw a still life artwork, it's important to create interest and engage the viewer with a variety of flavours. Colourful sprinkles on a doughnut like this will certainly catch the eye, but what makes someone stop and continue engaging with the piece? If you're working realistically like this, research and the process of acquiring the objects is a vital first step. In this case that meant a visit to the best doughnut shop in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan, Huron Bakery. Looking at the contrasts between your props should guide the still life set-up. If something is dark, put it against something light, and vice versa. Play pattern against solid areas and look for repetitions to move the eye across the composition. Once the objects are organised, pick up a camera to look at viewpoint and cropping. Taking a photo is an alternative to sketching thumbnails, and does the double duty of providing a reference from which to work. You never know when a hungry kid will run into your studio and grab that carefully positioned doughnut! Keep the still life set up in position as you draw it, allowing you to go between your photo and real life objects to observe and develop accuracy of colour and depth. Watch the (rather long, sorry) video above to see how this doughnut still life was created, or follow the steps below to help you create your own deliciously textured pencil art. To create this artwork I used Prismacolor Premier (wax-based) coloured pencils on 100lb Vellum Bristol paper. My X-ACTO knife also came in useful for lightening areas of the waxy pencils. 01. Sketch your preliminary drawing Develop a contour drawing using a pencil, not graphite With a coloured pencil that will blend into the form, develop a contour drawing of the subject on Vellum Bristol or similarly heavyweight paper. I avoid using graphite as it can show through the transparency of the coloured pencils and overly grey or darken tones. If you worry about mistakes, or naturally use a sketchier line, consider working out the drawing on separate paper and transferring it to the final Bristol surface with a light box. 02. Capture patterns in the wood Create the darker wood patterns with Burnt Ochre and Light Umber Colours will vary for other varieties of wood, but here I start by creating the darker pattern of the wood grain with Burnt Ochre and Light Umber. Look for differences in edge and tone. The lower-right corner is darkened with a layer of Tuscan Red to begin establishing a reference point for the image. 03. Establish local colour Add a gradient across the table surface With normal pressure, apply beige and Yellow Ochre pencils over the entire table surface to create a gradient of light to midtone (left to right). I also add Clay Rose to the shadows and some of the stripes in the wood grain. To darken some of the cast shadows, I repeat step 2, while adding dark brown to the mixture. I layer dark green over the corner to increase its value range. 04. Build dark tones Avoid pure black for creating darker tones A layer of Indigo Blue completes the dark values of the lower corner. Rather than using black, layers of Tuscan Red, dark green and Indigo Blue create a far more complex tone. The wood grain becomes more visible and the cast shadows darken through the application of Yellow Ochre or Burnt Ochre. A colourless blender helps smooth the shadow tones. In the light areas of the wood, I burnish with cream and Yellow Ochre, solidifying the gradation of light on the table. 05. Draw white shadows Burnishing the paper bag with white helps smooth the tones Putting a layer of Cloud Blue down before the other shadow colours on the bag creates a barrier between the paper and the layers of Jade Green, Clay Rose and Greyed Lavender that I mix into the bag shadows. Reflected from the surrounding wood and orange juice tones, light applications of peach, light peach and cream warm up the grey side plane of the bag. Burnishing the bag with white helps smooth the tones. I work with the cream and Greyed Lavender pencils to create depth inside the bag and reveal a little translucency as it rests on the wooden table. The doughnut shadows on the napkin reach a darker contrast through layers of dark brown, Dahlia Purple, Clay Rose and Greyed Lavender. 06. Add paper textures Treat each dot on the napkin as an illuminated bowl Using 30% Cool Grey, Jade Green, Greyed Lavender, Cloud Blue and touches of cream, I develop the high key values and planar changes on top of the bag. Cream neutralises the lavender colour a little and warms up the halftones. With the napkin, I first look at the light affecting the whole surface. I create a gradient across the napkin (from top to bottom) with cream, Greyed Lavender, Cloud Blue and 30% Cool Grey. Using Greyed Lavender, Cloud Blue and 10% and 30% Cool Grey, I add dots to the napkin. View each as an illuminated bowl, working with dark on one side, drawing around the outside with grey and lavender, leaving a highlight opposite the dark. 07. Shape the glass Cover the highlights in white in case you need to scrape off excess dark tones later Focusing on the darkest shapes in the base of the glass, I draw with Dark Umber, 50% Warm Grey and a touch of Blue Indigo. To save the white highlights, I outline their shapes with 20% Warm Grey and add a layer of Goldenrod around them, which becomes an undertone for the base. Mixtures of Jade Green and 20% Warm Grey can dull the Goldenrod slightly as needed. Increase the pressure and burnish with white to finalise the smoothness of the tones. I place small moments of higher saturation colours (Light Cerulean Blue, orange and Light Aqua) along the edges of the bright highlights to capture the prism effect of the glass. Moving to the rim of the glass, I outline the contours with dark green and Light Umber. Follow the inner edge to the outer edge and watch your contours twist across the rim. The highlights are covered in white to aid in removing any dark tones that encroach on the shape too much. This is done with an X-ACTO knife if necessary, by lightly scraping the wax from the surface of the paper. The white pencil creates a barrier between the paper and the dark colours. Be sensitive to the quality of the edge. Sharp, firm, soft, or lost edges can all happen along the rim. I do not want a uniform colouring book outline and try to let the line stay responsive to the subject. 08. Create the juice surface Take care to capture the various tones in the juice surface The rim is darkened with more pressure and the green neutralised with Steel Grey, Jade Green and Light Umber. Goldenrod and Sand is used to develop the yellow tones seen in the rim. With the orange juice, I note that the surface layer has a ring of cooler temperature surrounding a slightly more saturated middle. To develop that subtle contrast, I use light pressure with 10% Cool Grey blending with Yellow Ochre around a middle of Sunburst Yellow. Canary Yellow is the base layer and Burnt Ochre the darkening pencil as the juice in the lower half of the glass develops. Goldenrod, Yellow Ochre, Sunburst Yellow are laid over top to create the gradation down the glass. I burnish the juice with Yellowed Orange. Note the higher saturation between the liquid level and darker tones. Sand is used to create the translucent brighter tone at the liquid level. 09. Plan for reflections Draw the doughnut reflection lightly to start off... I draw the reflection of the doughnut in the glass very lightly with Goldenrod to ensure the contour edges blend into the darker ground. I lay down Goldenrod, Burnt Ochre and Sunburst Yellow to begin the rendering, 10% Cool Grey and Sand are used on the tall reflection to the left side of the glass. 10. Colour the reflection ...then work in the details, being careful not to overdo it Filling in the reflection, I introduce small colour variation to the sprinkles. It is important to keep them all within the yellow-orange colour space of the orange juice. Too much hue contrast and the sprinkles will no longer read as reflections on the glass surface. 11. Create the doughnut undertone Draw in your doughnuts' undertone in Tuscan Red Using Tuscan Red, I lay in an undertone that begins to establish the local colour and value contrast on the doughnuts. While I can render a little more form on the left doughnut, I opt for a flat two-value contrast on the more complex sprinkle doughnut. 12. Put the icing on top Divide the highlights, midtones and shadow areas of the icing To achieve the subtle variations of colour in the icing, divide the highlights, midtones and shadow areas. I use dark brown and Burnt Ochre pencils in the midtones, and Terra Cotta and orange when more warmth and saturation is needed for the form. Where it needs to go really dark, Indigo Blue and dark green fill out the last step or two of value range. For the cooler temperature colours, I take a 30% Warm Grey to neutralise the saturation of the Tuscan Red. The warmer (more orange) halftones around the middle also have white applied to smooth over the texture. Greyed Lavender and Sienna Brown or Jade Green work well to dull the saturation of the Tuscan Red in the highlight areas. Use a colourless blender to smooth the chocolate, especially when beginning to contrast with the cake texture. I also begin laying orange and Goldenrod over the cake part to establish an undertone that mixes with subsequent shading. 13. Use strong transitions for shine Focus on making strong transitions from the midtones to the highlights Like darker skin tones, there are fewer light halftones on the chocolate surface. I focus on making strong transitions from the midtones to the highlights, and finalise the rendering of the left doughnut. The second doughnut is next in line to receive additional form and shading with the Tuscan Red pencil. For more contrast, I also darken the corner behind the glass with dark brown and Sienna Brown. 14. Finish off the icing Finish off the icing before you start on the sprinklesReferencing the colours and contrast on the completed doughnut, I bring the sprinkle doughnut's chocolate icing to a conclusion with Tuscan Red, Sienna Brown, dark brown, Indigo Blue, Burnt Ochre, Clay Rose, Slate Grey and 20% Cool Grey. 15. Put the sprinkles on top Take plenty of breaks while working on those sprinklesI develop the cake part of the doughnuts with orange, Sienna Brown, Burnt Ochre, Light Umber, Dark Umber and Goldenrod. To create the sprinkles, I use Tuscan Red, Poppy Red, magenta, Deco Yellow, Canary Yellow, Clay Rose, 30% Warm Grey, True Green, Parrot Green, Indigo Blue, Hot Pink, Blush Pink, and Jade Green. Using a highlight or shadow tone on each sprinkle provides a cylindrical form, but can be mind-numbingly tedious. Be sure to take breaks and give each one some attention. Scratching highlights out with an X-ACTO knife (sgraffito technique) is an option, or you can draw around the highlights and save the white of the paper. This article originally appeared in Paint & Draw issue 10. Buy it here. Related articles: How to blend coloured pencils Sharpen your still life painting skills Drawing techniques: 7 fundamentals of pencil drawing View the full article

When it comes to apps, the world still seems obsessed with iPad apps, although Android apps have gained a lot of ground, especially across Europe and Asia. But as creatives, many of us still spend most of our time on our Macs. So it's worth catching up on the best OS X apps that can boost our creativity and make our work easier. There's a lot of creative software out there, though; so if you have a favourite Mac app we've missed, please tell us about it on Facebook or Twitter. 01. Tayasui Sketches Tayasui Sketches brings the art of drawing to OS XFree Sketches has long been a popular drawing tool for creating art on the iPad, iPhone and Android tablets. So we were excited to see makers Tayasui extending its with the release of Sketches for Mac. Taking on the likes of ArtRage in providing a realistic drawing experience on the Mac, Tayasui Sketches comes with built-in stylus support, as well as full interconnectivity with its companion iOS and Android apps, enabling you to work on a drawing across all your different devices. Available to download for free from the Mac App store, Tayasui Sketches comes with a range of preset canvas sizes, and you can also customise your own, with textures including Plain, Fine Grain, Small Grain, Watercolor, Le Grand Bloc, Torchon and Canvas. Featured tools include pens, an eraser, a smart ruler, a colour eyedropper, cutter and smudge tools, and a range of dry and wet brushes. You can work with layers and there's infinite undoes. See Tayasui Sketches in action in the video above. 02. RightFont Create custom font lists and more with RightFont$49.95 Do you have a ton of fonts scattered across your Mac and other devices? Do you waste a lot of your time sifting through long lists of fonts, trying to remember which ones you prefer for different uses? Then you might find this Mac app will save you a lot of pain and frustration, by organising and visualising your fonts in a more practical, intuitive way. RightFont is a lightweight font manager that helps you preview, sync, and organise fonts stored in any location without installing them. You can quickly browse through all installed fonts to see how they look at all available weights, filter fonts by classification (sans serif, serif, script), width or weight, as well as setting up custom font lists for particular tasks. RightFont works as a standalone app, and can also integrate with Sketch and Adobe's Creative Cloud software. See RightFont in action in the video above. 03. WordPress Mac app The WordPress Mac app offers a speedy, clutter-free experienceFree WordPress, one of the world's biggest publishing platforms, has been around for some years now, but its maker Automattic has continued to work towards greater ease of use. And to that end, it launched this Mac app. The new desktop app, which also comes in Linux and Windows flavours, was released in November 2015 to accompany a big revamp of WordPress.com, with its beautifully clean interface. The Mac app is more or less that new website in a wrapper, or as Automattic puts it, "a desktop app that gives WordPress a permanent home in your dock". By bundling the entire site as a local copy, you basically get a faster, more streamlined experience, although some features do pull you back to the browser, for example to view your admin panel. But in general, if you spend a lot of time working on your WordPress sites on the Mac, this free app is a no-brainer to download. 04. Quitter Give distracting apps an auto-timeout with Marco Arment's QuitterFree Marco Arment is the co-founder of Tumblr and creator of Instapaper and Overcast, so anything he works on is always worth a look. And this Mac app from Arment, which offers a way to cut out distractions and focus on creativity, definitely fits into that category. Quitter does one thing and does it well: it auto-quits your most distracting apps after a period of inactivity. For instance, if updates from your Twitter client tend to drag you away from productive work (and let's face it, whose doesn't?), you can ask Quitter to quit or hide the app after a specified length of time, which is set to 10 minutes by default. Of course, Quitter is not the first ever app to offer this kind of service. But it's free, easy to use, and from such a respected source that it's already been a big hit within the Mac-using community. See it in action in the video above. 05. Lingo Lingo can save you hours hunting for lost visual assetsOnce you've got your fonts organised thanks to RightFont, maybe you'll want to address the mess of assets cluttering up your Mac? That's where Mac app Lingo comes in, offering you an easy way to organise photos, illustrations, icons, colours and any other visual assets. Lingo enables you to drag and drop (or copy and paste) any asset from Photoshop, Sketch, Illustrator or Slack directly into it, for saving and retrieving later. You can tag assets to enable easy keyword search, and it's easy to share assets with the rest of your team too. Again, this is not the first Mac app to offer asset management. But it comes with a great pedigree, being a child of the icon aggregation website Noun Project. And it's had thumbs-up reviews from the teams at Airbnb, Dollar Shave Club and Snapchat, where it's quickly become part of their regular workflow. You can see Lingo in action in the video above. 06. Sparkle Website builder Sparkle makes it easy to work with third-party fontsFrom free Now on version 2.2 with touchbar support, Sparkle is certainly a solid visual web design app. And one way it scores big is by making it easy for you to incorporate third-party fonts into your site. So if you need to build a quick website and typography is important to you, it's worth giving the free trial a go. This free version gives you one site with up to three pages, with a larger site available for a one-off payment of £38.99 or an unlimited number of sites costing £74.99. See Sparkle in action in the video above. 07. Adobe XD The Creative Cloud is taking on sketch with wireframe and prototyping app Adobe XDAn all-in-one tool for UX designers, Adobe XD (short for experience design) has been making big waves since its release last March. The company's response to the rise of Sketch, Adobe XD is currently free to use for Creative Cloud customers, but doesn't actually feel much like a normal CC app. Like its rival, XD has a very stripped down, minimal interface (its toolbar has just seven buttons), which makes it easy to pick up and run with. Far from the learning curve involved with the likes of Photoshop and Illustrator, then, you can start churning out wireframes and functional prototypes in minutes. You can see Adobe XD in action in the video above. Related articles: 5 best agency side projects of the year The student guide to working at a top agency 6 rock-solid ways to improve your graphic design portfolio View the full article

HP has edged further into the creative space with the launch of the HP ZBook x2, a detachable PC that serves as a direct rival to Microsoft's Surface range – in particular, the newly released Surface Book 2 model. The best laptops for graphic design 2017Announced here at Adobe Max 2017 (alongside a slew of Creative Cloud innovations) the ZBook x2 is billed as the “world’s first detachable workstation”, and operates in four modes: Tablet You can sketch on the go using the device's Wacom EMR pen and HP Quick keys. Detached A bluetooth keyboard means you can keep working when the device is detached. Docked You can view and edit your work on dual 4K displays using the HP ZBook Dock with Thunderbolt 3. Laptop The HP Zbook x2 comes with an integrated 160-degree stand and full-sized keyboard. The idea, says HP, was to build a tablet that would provide the creativity of a tablet and stylus – and the power of a computer. Rather than using one device for sketching and then another for heavier creative work (3D modelling, or big-file work in Photoshop, for example), designers and artists can streamline their workflow using solely the ZBook x2. HP ZBook x2: screen First, let’s talk about the display. There are two detachable screen options – both 14-inch diagonal, 4K multitouch IPS displays; with an optional 10-bit, one billion-colour, 100% Adobe RGB DreamColor display. HP calls it “the world’s most advanced detachable PC display” – and it certainly looks impressive here at Max. Anti-glare touchscreen technology promises to let creatives work in any lighting conditions, while Wacom technology drives the stylus, which delivers 4,096 levels of pressure sensitivity, tilt support and "almost zero latency”. The pen sports six buttons with three functions each, and you'll never need to charge it because it doesn't have a battery. Six times faster The HP ZBook x2 runs on Windows 10 Pro or Windows 10. It comes with either seventh or eighth-generation Intel Core i5 or i7 CPUs, and up to 4.2 GHz of Intel Turbo boost, plus 32GB RAM over dual channels – that’s twice the memory capacity of any other HP detachable PC. According to HP, the Turbo Drive storage is up to six times faster than SATA SSD, and up to 21 times faster than traditional HDD storage. Battery life is also claimed to be up to 10 hours, with ultra-fast recharging capabilities (50 per cent in 30 minutes). Unsurprisingly, it isn’t the sleekest or the smallest tablet you'll see, sitting at 0.6 inches/15mm thick, and weighs in at 3.6lb/1.7kg. Prices for the HP ZBook x2 start at $1,749, with a release date scheduled for December. Related articles: The best drawing tablet 2017View the full article

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The two key words in the field of art illustration are principles and technique. Principles are aspects such as composition, structure and expression. These are realised through your technique. Technique has a lot in common with effect – and effects can sometimes blind us to the cause of things. Knowing what causes light and shadow – beautiful contour shapes, strong visual impact – makes our work stand out. This workshop will demonstrate both aspects in harmony, and encourage you to develop an all-round approach to drawing. 01. Composition Use straight lines to create a powerful silhouetteAlthough this article is an exposition on Tarzan's anatomy and illustrated completion, my first instinct is to talk about composition. This is the important stage of the figurative procedure. I start with straight lines to create a powerful silhouette of Tarzan in action impacting the picture plane. This is the groundwork for dynamic anatomical placement. 02. Skeletal synthesis Simplify the skeletal stuctureThe skeletal realisation is the next consideration. Here I've simplified the bone groupings: the black line gestures symbolise only one bone count. The elongated rectangular elements symbolise only one bone count. The elongated rectangular elements symbolise a two-bone grouping. The arms, legs, feet and hands are asymmetrical, whereas the skull, rib cage and pelvis are symmetrical. 03. Skeletal detail Add in more detailThe previous construction has paved the way for this literal rendition. The important factor is to compare the asymmetric with the symmetric bones. I've labelled the most important bones in this diagram. You'll see later why the understanding of asymmetry and symmetrical play an important part in realising our anatomical Tarzan. 04. Anatomical synthesis Consider the relevant muscle groupsOnce again I'm starting with the general groupings of the muscles with an idea of realising the detailed aspect. Notice the tumbling asymmetry of the muscles that run along the asymmetric bone beneath. Note also the solid symmetric muscles that lie upon the symmetric bone mass, and how this affects the contour of the figure. 05. Anatomical detail Build up the musclesFrom the general to the particular is a compositional principle. The muscles have their own compositional dynamic. Here, I've labelled the most important muscle groupings. The Latin names may seem a bit exotic, but I would point out that remembering their unique shapes is more important that their Latin names. 06. Tarzan linear Draw in your contours based on what lies underneathNow try and relate the previous diagram with the outline contours of this Tarzan rendition. Take your time and appreciate the asymmetrical and symmetric forms. I'd like to point out a certain phrase of observation called looking for "counter curves". Notice that because of the asymmetric arrangement of the muscles from the top of both arms to the wrist, how the curves are different on both sides. This also applies to the legs. I emphasise this because in my life-drawing/anatomy instruction experience, people have a tendency to draw the arms and legs symmetrical, with the curves being equal on both sides. 07. The sculptural aspect of Tarzan To explore light and shade, reduce the figure to shapes once againIn preparation for the light and shade illustration of Tarzan, this geometric construction aspect gives an example of three-dimensional action that's possible with the character. So far we've considered the contour-linear features. Compare this diagram with the one in step 2 (Skeletal synthesis). In particular, look at how the rib cage and pelvis can be reconsidered to suit the scene. 08. Sculptural energy A 'slinky man' can be a great technique to loosen up your figure drawingThis is a diagram of the life that's present in the life drawings of Tarzan. If you think in these terms as you're drawing Tarzan then you'll preserve the vitality of the rendering. I call this method the Slinky Man Rendition, for obvious reasons! It's based on the geometric perspective of the previous stage. This is also a great loosening-up experience for drawing the human figure. After a while you'll find that when you're drawing from life, you'll think of this expression in your mind while drawing what you see. 09. Chiascuro rendition Break down planes into areas of light, shade and shadowChiascuro means the drama of light and shadow in the picture plane. The rendition of Tarzan's form can be reduced to three tones: light, shade, shadow, plus an accent tone (refer to the diagram). 10. Finished illustration Bring all the elements together in the final compositionHopefully this piece speaks for itself. I've used all of the nine-stage principles to realise this finished Tarzan illustration. Note also how I've used the jungle vignette behind, suggesting the jungle but not too much so that it overwhelms the figure. Finishing this piece, I sketch in the figure and the background with a HB Staedtler pencil, then accent the shadow parts using a Tombo ABT NIS brush pen. For softening the tones into shade and shadow I complete the image with a Caran d'Ache black crayon. This article originally appeared in ImagineFX issue 94. Read more: How to draw movement: 16 top tips Draw a figure in under five minutes Get better at figure drawing View the full article

You're reading Qards – Responsive Page Builder Plugin for WordPress, originally posted on Designmodo. If you've enjoyed this post, be sure to follow on Twitter, Facebook, Google+! Qards is a WordPress tool with a variety of pre-designed cards that you can combine together in order to create the website that best matches your needs. You focus on content, the purpose of your website and the story you want to tell. Leave the rest to us. View the full article

In this month's roundup, we look at London through the eyes of artists old and new, with a must-see exhibition and a must-read book, both focusing on the English capital in paint. One of the all-time great comic book artists, Dave Gibbons, shows you how he does what he does. We also check out his favourite tool. And a new book takes a surreal look at a surrealism, mixing fact and fiction to dazzling effect. 01. This Is Not A Biography A thought-provoking look at Magritte's artRene Magritte, the surrealist who may or may not have painted a pipe, inspired this collaboration between author Vincent Zabus and artist Thomas Campi. Charles Singular, the book's protagonist, buys a hat that once belonged to Magritte. "What follows," goes the blurb, "is a hallucinatory journey through Magritte’s imaginative landscape, a place where facial features mutate, the crescent moon appears in unexpected places, and answers prove frustratingly elusive." The book is a playful but thoughtful look at Magritte's art and artistic process. 02. French artists in London See London through the eyes of the French ImpressionistsMonet, Tissot and Pissarro all feature in this new exhibition at the Tate. In the 1870s, artists fled the Franco-Prussian war by crossing the channel and setting up shop in London, and their work is said to offer "a fascinating insight into how London was perceived by the visiting French artists". This show maps the many connections between French and British artists, their patrons and art dealers. The exhibition begins the beginning of November and runs right through to January. 03. London in Paint This book shows how artists have represented London over the decadesThis new book by Tate offers an in-depth look at London in paint, with 100 paintings from the 17th century all the way up to present day, works by Constable, Turner and Monet, as well as lesser-known contemporary artists like David Hepher and Lisa Milroy. This diverse collection takes in views of St. Paul’s, the Thames and Tower Bridge, all contextualised with anecdotes about the art and the artists. Just as interesting are the quieter moments, the street corners and residential squares. It's a fascinating look at an ever-changing city. 04. Draw like Dave Gibbons Graphic novel tips from a comic masterDave Gibbons teaches you scriptwriting, page layouts, lettering, cover designs – everything you need to create your own comic. You're learning from the best here: Gibbons drew Watchmen, one of the best-selling graphic novels of all time, and in 2014 became the UK's first Comics Laureate. The book includes scans of original artwork and work-in-progress, looks at both hand-drawn and digital techniques, and how Gibbons layers text for editing, creates effects, and prepares artwork for print and online. 05. Dave's favourite pen A pro pen for a reasonable price tagDave Gibbons' pen of choice is the Mangaka Flexible Fine. Once dry, its water-based pigment ink is smudge-proof with watercolours and alcohol-based markers. The flexible, fine brush tip is smooth and fluent, so it's suitable for beginners as well as pros, and gives good clean lines whether pressed firmly or lightly. These pens are nice to hold too – has a good weight to it – plus they're priced very reasonably. Choose from fine, medium or sepia versions. Buy Dave's pen, draw like Dave. We're pretty sure that's how it works. 06. Sketch Now, Think Later A busy schedule is no reason not to get sketchingIn his new book, artist and urban sketcher Mike Daikubara explains how you can find more time to draw. "Many people give up on their potential hobby (and artistic outlet)," Daikubara writes, "because they feel they just don’t have the time to lay the groundwork." The Boston-based creative says anyone, even those with limited time and no previous experience, can make sketching a part of their daily lives. 07. Daikubara's pen This pen features a bent nib to create brushlike lines Daikubara prefers to sketch with the Fude pen made by Japanese manufacturer Sailor. "At first glance," he writes, " the bent nib almost seems broken. It's quite surprising how this small bend allows the pen to create brushlike lines, but with more control than a regular brush." (Those who want to get really geeky about supplies may also be interested to know Daikubara uses Noodler's Lexington gray ink.) 08. The geometry of sewing Stitching is all about geometry, reallyNatalie Chanin makes their point that all stitches are based on geometric grid systems. By using grids as guides, she says, we can all learn to stitch seemingly elaborate patterns. Her books features illustrated instructions for more than 100 stitched designs, from the most basic to the most complex, photos of the right and wrong sides, and guidelines on modifying stitches once you become more advance. The book includes two reusable plastic stitching cards, die-cut with the grids of every stitch in the book. You practise by stitching through the cards, or use them as stencils to transfer grids to fabric. 09. Stitch Lover set This kit is packed with stitchy lovelinessThe ‘Stitch Lover’ craft box is aimed at both beginners and pros. It contains: a mini ‘Eat. Sleep. Stitch. Repeat’ cross-stitch kit, ‘Sew Happy’ ribbon, embroidery thread and fabric, novelty buttons, a set of needles, a length of blue satin button trim and other sewing room-inspired loveliness. It has been put together by Stitch Kit, a maker who is a regular contributor to craft magazines, and is hand-packed, using only quality, light-fast materials. 10. 365 Days of Art Try out different media and techniques over the course of a yearLorna Scobie is a London-based designer and illustrator. 365 Days of Art is a daily journal that features a range of activities – everything from calligraphy and tonal drawings, to mastering portraits and perspective. Its aim is to encourage you to try different media and techniques, whether you're a novice, hobbyist, or professional artist. Scobie says it's all about freestyling and experimenting, which is "guaranteed to stir your imagination and put a little creativity into every single day." Related articles: How to paint fantasy beasts How to mix shadow colour in paint Can pro artists achieve mindfulness through art? View the full article

Organizations running PeopleSoft exposed to the internet should pay attention to a remote code execution vulnerability patched in the latest Oracle Critical Patch Update. View the full article

The updates keep on coming from Adobe's creative conference, MAX 2017. We've already seen how Adobe Sensei is bringing machine learning to the table to increase the data-handling capabilities across Adobe applications, plus the launch of cloud-centric photo service Lightroom CC which is set to make editing and sharing images easier. But what about Adobe's core tools like Photoshop and Illustrator? Don't worry, they haven't been left behind. The 17 best Adobe Illustrator pluginsNew innovations and performance enhancements have been revealed today for Photoshop CC, Illustrator CC, InDesign CC, Premiere Pro CC, and After Effects CC, along with greater integration with Adobe Stock. With plenty of products and updates to get through, let's crack on and look at what all the enhancements have in store. Photoshop CC Newcomers are guided through Photoshop with a Learn PanelThe latest updates to Photoshop are geared towards making it easier for beginners to pick up the platform for the first time. Adobe started rolling out ease-of-use improvements earlier in the year with the launch of the curvature pen tool, and now they're building on this with a new learn panel which provides interactive tutorials directly inside Photoshop, complete with tips to help you navigate each step. Photoshop CC now also offers significantly expended photography support. By integrating Lightroom Photos into the start screen, users can save themselves time when working with mobile images they've synced via Lightroom CC. The all-time number one request of Photoshop users - improved brush preset management - has finally been addressed as well. These improvements give users the ability to save tool options such as opacity, flow, and blend mode in a brush preset, making the whole painting experience smoother than before. Topping off the updates to Photography CC are an even more accurate Select and Mask tool, brush stroke smoothing enhancements, and an improved integration with Adobe Stock images that lets users find images directly within the properties panel. Illustrator CC The new Property Panel makes tools easy to findAs Illustrator turns 30 this year, Adobe's focus has been on improving the tool's core experience so designers can easily create stunning graphics. We've seen some of these features like an Image Crop tool already, but with this latest release Adobe is looking to take things even further. The standout feature in this upgrade is the updated Essentials workspace which includes a new Properties Panel. By showing users the controls they need, when they need them, Adobe claims that the Properties Panel is so revolutionary that you'll wonder how you lived without it. By organising all panels into one locations so that users can access them quickly and easily, this is one update that's sure to be welcomed by designers that like working in a clutter-free environment. For example when you use the Type Tool to insert a text frame, the Properties Panel automatically displays controls for character attributes so you can change the size, leading, or kerning there and then. What's more, if you draw a shape, the controls for the colour or stroke will be displayed by the Properties Panel. It's hoped that the Properties Panel will improve a user's efficiency, but if it's not suited to how a person works they can always revert back to previous configurations. InDesign CC Find fonts based on style with the latest InDesign CC updateAdobe's efficiency drive continues with the latest updates to InDesign CC. With the new enhancements, users will be able to easily convert posters and books to digital magazines, ebooks and interactive PDFs. Other improvements to the industry-leading page-design app include the ability to add endnotes and table annotations. Endnote numbering, formatting and layout can also be controlled, plus there's the option to directly import endnotes from Microsoft Word. Rounding off the InDesign updates are object-style enhancements, paragraph borders, and the ability to manage text in Creative Cloud Libraries. Finally, additional enhancements make it easier to work with type. Fonts can be filtered via the Character Panel plus you can search for them based on visual similarity. Premiere Pro CC Create immersive environments easily with Premiere Pro CCThere's good news for video editors as the latest innovations for Premiere Pro CC include new collaborative workflows, immersive environments for editing VR/360, and Responsive Design controls for time and position when designing motion graphics. These updates make Premiere Pro the only NLE that allows editors to work with multiple open projects at the same time while editing teams can work on a single project simultaneously over a closed or open network. With Responsive Design functionality, users can also respond to changes in duration, aspect ratio, and frame size. These tools mean that users have the ability to preserve the integrity of keyframes (for example n intro and outro) so they are not affected by changes made to the overall clip duration. In a similar vein to Adobe's improvements to Photoshop CC, there's also a focus on making it easier for newcomers to get on board with Premiere Pro CC. This improved usability includes new key commands for working with graphics, the ability to close gaps in a timeline with just one click, and label support for Search Bins. Coach marks are also on hand to guide users through the process of creating their first sequence. After Effects CC Workflows just got streamlined in After Effects CCImproved workflow efficiency is the order of the day when it comes to the updates for After Effects CC. The latest release streamlines the ability to create data-driven graphics and delivers high-quality VR and 3D results. And thanks to GPU performance enhancements, After Effects CC does this faster than ever before. One of the most exciting new features puts viewers into the centre of the action with either 180 storytelling to full 360 VR. A new VR Comp Editor in After Effects transforms equirectangular 360 footage into familiar, flat rectilinear images. Meanwhile a new Extract Cubemap in After Effects simplifies motion tracking and object removal in 360 video while the new VR Converter lets you switch on-the-fly between different immersive formats so you can ensure your final content will play well on any platform. On top of this, users can design immersive motion graphics experiences, using the new Create VR Environment feature, including camera positions -with or without live-action footage. Thanks to performance and navigation enhancements, users can render layer transforms, motion blurs and more effects on the GPU. Keyboard Shortcut Mapping allows you to quickly find, adjust, and customise keyboard shortcuts using a visual map like the one used in Premiere Pro. And with the help of the enhanced Start screen and New Composition and New Composition from Footage buttons, creatives can get down to work that much quicker. Related articles: Review: Adobe Creative Cloud 2017 Adobe launches revealing video series by artists Sell work even faster with Adobe Sign View the full article

As part of Adobe MAX 2017, today Adobe has launched its all-new cloud based photography service Lightroom CC. Like the rest of Adobe's announcements, Lightroom is one of the next generation of Creative Cloud products powered by Adobe Sensei. The 17 best Adobe Illustrator pluginsBuilding on the original Lightroom, which was launched over a decade ago and went on to become the industry’s leading desktop application for editing and organising photography, Lightroom CC is an update built with smartphones in mind. Aimed at professionals and enthusiasts, Lightroom CC is a more accessible, cloud-based photography service that allows users to edit, organise store and share their images from wherever they are. With a streamlined user interface, Lightroom CC gives photographers the ability to edit in full resolution across mobile, desktop and the web. Edits made on one device automatically synchronise their changes across other platforms, making it easier to keep track of updates. Searching for images is also made easier with Lightroom CC as it automatically tags photos with searchable keywords to save users the hassle of doing it manually and sifting through thousands of assets later down the line. Edits will be synchronised across different devices“As the leader in digital photography, today Adobe is unveiling Lightroom CC, our next generation photography service,” said Bryan Lamkin, executive vice president and general manager, Digital Media at Adobe. “Lightroom CC answers photographers’ demand for a deeply integrated, intelligent, cloud-based photography solution.” Lightroom CC capabilities Easy-to-use scales make editing a doddleLightroom CC is built on the same imaging technology as Photoshop and its predecessor, Lightroom. As well as new streamlined interfaces with easy-to-use sliders, presets and quick adjustment tools, Lightroom CC comes with a host of nifty capabilities for photographers to sink their teeth into. These include: Back-up cloud storage - Lightroom CC has scalable storage options for safe and secure back up of full resolution photos – including raw files. You'' never have to worry about backing up assets again. Built-in sharing tools - Lightroom CC makes it easy to share photos directly via social media and to create custom Lightroom web galleries that can be shared via link. Photographers can also share their work through new Adobe Portfolio integration with Lightroom CC. Adobe Sensei machine learning - Adobe Sensei’s machine learning technology automatically apply searchable keywords to objects in photographs – making organisation in Lightroom CC effortless. On top of this, Lightroom CC comes with support for mobile on iOS and Android, including built-in search functionality and keyword support. For web users, Lightroom CC also gives users the option to manage a public gallery page. Enhanced integration with Adobe Portfolio enables subscribers to easily import collections and publish their best shots to a customised Portfolio website in just a few clicks. Speaking of subscriptions, photographers can choose from three options. The all-in-one plan offers the full benefits of Lightroom CC along with Photoshop for £16.64/month excl. VAT, but it's also available at £12.48/month excl. VAT for the first year for existing Creative Cloud Photography customers. Alternatively, Lightroom CC has been added to the existing Creative Cloud Photography plan with an additional 20 GB of storage to help users get started on the new service. This plan remains at £8.32/month excl. VAT. There's also the all new Lightroom CC plan which includes Lightroom CC, Lightroom for mobile and web, Adobe Spark with premium features, Adobe Portfolio, and 1 TB of cloud storage for £8.32/month excl. VAT. Finally, there's the Lightroom Mobile plan for users that don't need a desktop solution. This is available with 100 GB for iOS (£4.49/month) and Android (£4.39/month). Related articles: Adobe launches revealing video series by artists Review: Adobe Creative Cloud 2017 Sell work even faster with Adobe Sign View the full article

It's a big day designers as Adobe has unveiled the next generation of updates at its creativity conference MAX 2017. Spearheading the new Creative Cloud feature updates announced today is Adobe Sensei, Adobe's artificial intelligence and machine learning platform. By embedding Adobe Sensei across the entire system of Creative Cloud applications, creatives will be able to go from concept to completion faster than before and effectively design at the speed of thought. Sensei-powered features also bring advanced technology and deep learning to the table to help accelerate the creative process. The 17 best Adobe Illustrator pluginsFour brand new applications also make up the latest Creative Cloud update, including Adobe XD CC for experience design, Adobe Dimension CC for 2D to 3D compositing, Character Animator CC for 2D animation, and the all-new cloud-based photography service Adobe Lightroom CC. On top of these applications, Adobe has also unveiled updates to existing products such as Photoshop CC, InDesign CC, Illustrator CC, and Premiere Pro CC. Meanwhile, the Adobe Stock service continues to be expanded. The next generation of Creative Cloud includes mobile app and website prototyping tool Adobe XD CC“Adobe continues to lead the creative revolution, driving modernisation and innovation that will accelerate the creative process across all platforms and devices,” said Bryan Lamkin, executive vice president and general manager, Digital Media at Adobe. “Today, we unveiled a new generation of Creative Cloud, with a wide spectrum of capabilities—from new experience design, 2D animation and 3D rendering apps to an all-new, cloud-based photography service. These tools enable creative professionals and enthusiasts to express themselves and reach their full creative potential anytime, anywhere, on any device.” Adobe Sensei Adobe Sensei can anticipate your next creative moveAdobe is bringing its decades of creative knowledge to the table with the launch of Adobe Sensei. The machine learning platform is capable of harnessing trillions of content and data assets, including high-resolution images and customer clicks. This enables Adobe Sensei to image match from across millions of assets and understand the meaning of documents. For users of Adobe tools and platforms, this means that Adobe Sensei is capable of anticipating their next move. By understanding the images that creatives are working with, Adobe Sensei can recreate elements in photos where they don't exist thanks to context provided by nearby pixels. This greater working knowledge of assets and images also allows Adobe Sensei to re-create fonts, identify objects in images, and recognise faces. Photos can be tagged with searchable keywords that mean users can use Adobe Sensei to quickly and easily sift through albums containing thousands of images. And thanks to being able to recognise facial landmarks such as eyebrows and lips, expressions can be changed in just a single click. Let Adobe Sensei analyse huge amounts of data for youAdobe Sensei also makes it easier to work with text based documents. Capable of transforming paper into editable digital documents, Adobe Sensei automatically includes the right fonts, creates form fields and even cleans up signatures. Marketers will also be able to benefit from Adobe Sensei as it can handle huge amounts of data and analyse the numbers you've given it to process. This could help marketers identify a new audience they should target and highlight any changes that are emerging in their market. Adobe Sensei also helps with the legwork of targeting a new audience by creating specific messages that will resonate with potential customers. Next generation Adobe applications Creating web and app prototypes just got easier with Adobe XD CCAlongside the launch of Adobe Sensei, a batch of new creative Adobe applications round off the MAX announcement. First up is Adobe XD CC, a tool that caters to the needs of designers working on prototyping mobile apps and websites. This all-in-one cross-platform solution has been developed in partnership with the design community through a public beta to deliver the speed, precision and quality designers need to go from static comps or wireframes to fully interactive prototypes in minutes. Thanks to the ability to switch easily from design to prototype more inside the app itself, creatives can work without interrupting their ideas. Interactions and transitions can be dropped in whenever you want, plus everything can be shared with teammates and stakeholders to test the look and feel of a design. By giving designers the freedom to draw, reuse, and remix vector and raster artwork to create wireframes, screen layouts, interactive prototypes, and production-ready assets all in the same app, Adobe XD CC gets rid of the speedbumps that currently trouble UX designers. Create textures on 3D assets with Adobe Dimension CCMeanwhile, Adobe Dimension CC gives designers the power and flexibility of 3D with the ease and simplicity of working with 2D. Thanks to a range of texture tools and assets, graphic designers are able to quickly create and iterate on photorealistic 3D images to create branding and packaging in real world settings. This is sure to make the lives of product designers easier as it allows them to whip up concepts faster than before. Bring 2D art from Photoshop and Illustrator to life with Adobe Character Animator CCTopping off the new applications Adobe Character Animator CC. Having previously been in beta, today's launch of the 2D animation tool helps bring still image artwork from Photoshop or Illustrator to life. The tool has already been showcased by the likes of Homer Simpson during primetime entertainment slots, but now it's available for everyone to enjoy. With new features including pose-to-pose blending, new physics behaviours and visual puppet controls, Character Animator CC allows designers to animate their art by acting out movements through a webcam. Voices can also be recorded and lip synced with a microphone. And thanks to Adobe Sensei, facial expressions and motions can be tracked in real time. Along with Adobe's photography service, Lightroom CC, there are also updates and enhancements to their flagship applications. These Creative Cloud updates are now available to desktop software. Head over to Adobe's Creative Cloud price page to choose a plan that's right for you. Related articles: Adobe launches revealing video series by artists Review: Adobe Creative Cloud 2017 Sell work even faster with Adobe Sign View the full article

There's never a better time to get your start as a designer. Whether you want to build apps and websites just for fun or you want to turn it into your profession, the Learn to Design Bundle can teach you how to get your start. Grab it on sale right now for just $29 (approx. £22), and use the coupon code BUNDLE50 at checkout for an additional 50% off! There is a lot going on behind the scenes of the websites and apps you use every single day. You can learn how to understand how those gears under the hood of those services all work together with the Learn to Design Bundle. Packed with more than 57 hours of lessons across nine courses, this collection can teach you everything from the fundamentals of UX and UI to the coding languages like HTML5 and CSS3 that make the web and mobile apps function. The courses of the Learn to Design Bundle usually retail for $1,209. You can save a huge 97% off that price right now. That means you pay just $29 (approx. £22). It’s a great price to get your start as a designer, so grab it today. Make sure you use the coupon code BUNDLE50 at checkout to save an additional 50%! 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

Podcasts are a great way to find out what's going in the design world while you commute, work out at the gym, or take the dog for a walk. For those who've always wished they could turn on their radio and listen to people chatting about design, this post lists 12 informative, fun, and thought-provoking podcasts that every designer should be listening (and subscribing) to. If web design is your thing, here's a list of the 18 best web design podcasts. 01. Design Matters Debbie Millman offers thought provoking conversations with credible designersDesign Matters with Debbie Millman is a long-running audio podcast featuring industry-leading graphic designers, educators, authors and thinkers from around the globe, including Marian Bantjes, Steven Heller, Seth Godin, Milton Glaser and Tim Brown. The in-depth, thought-provoking conversations between Millman and her guests offer lots of insight from experienced and credible designers. The conversation is often warm and inviting, which makes Design Matters great to turn on whether you're working at your desk, relaxing at home or on your daily commute. With over 50,000 downloads a month on the iTunes Store, Design Matters is one of the most popular design podcasts and a must-listen for any serious designer – and it has a pretty gorgeous website to boot. The complete archives, dating back to 2005, are available at DesignObserver.com. 02. The Design of Business | The Business of Design This podcast is run by Design ObserverRecorded at Yale School of Management, The Design of Business | The business of Design is hosted by Design Observer's Jessica Helfand and Pentagram's Michael Bierut. In it, they explore how design works within complex organisations to shape decisions, ideas, products, and more. Guests include clients from many industries and designers in a range of fields. 03. The Reflex Blue Show Donovan Beery talks design with great guests in The Reflex Blue ShowHosted by Donovan Beery, a designer living and working in Omaha, Nebraska, The Reflex Blue Show is a podcast that covers graphic design, design, pop culture, web design, and the people working in the creative industries. Now in its 10th season, with more than 170 episodes for you to work through, it's featured a huge selection of guests over the years, including Val Head, Jessica Hische and Stefan Sagmeister. 04. Resourceful Designer Want to nail the business side of design? Hit up Mark Des CotesIf you're interested in the business side of graphic design, Mark Des Cotes' Resourceful Designer is a must. With over 90 episodes recorded so far, it's aimed at helping home-based graphic designers and web designers streamline their business, with plenty of advice, tips and resources to help you get things right. Each episode covers a specific theme, such as home office essentials, tips for mastering your emotional intelligence, how to save money, dealing with deadlines and what to do when you mess up a a project. And as well as the podcast, Resourceful Designer also has an in-depth blog plus a useful list of design resources. 05. Adventures In Design Adventures in Design features entertaining and informative industry gossipJoin graphic designer Mark Brickey (Hero Design Studio)as he brings some youthful enthusiasm to the roster of design podcasts. The 'Shop Talk' interview segment features banter between Brinckey and his friends in the design and illustration world and often makes for some highly entertaining – and yet still informative – design gossip. 06. Mac Power Users Make your Mac go faster with Mac Power Users' useful tipsIf you're designing, there's a good chance that you're sitting in front of a Mac. David Sparks and Katie Floyd of Mac Power Users are here to offer you some 'fully-charged discussion' and help you get the most out of your Mac and other Apple technology. The podcast features great tips and tricks for your Mac and covers a wide range of topics such as optimising your machine's performance and repair, web automation, remote access, iOS, and more. 07. Greyscale Gorilla Greyscale Gorilla covers motion graphics in a way that's light-hearted yet informativeIf you're looking for a light-hearted, yet professional podcast related to Cinema4D, After Effects and design in general, The Gorilla, aka Nick Campbell, fronts a podcast that's definitely worthy of subscription. Rather than interviews, Greyscale Gorilla focuses around interaction with live listeners via the podcast chat room. During each show, Nick shares valuable insight into the world of motion graphics and gives great advice on topics including productivity, work ethic, design inspiration, how to land a job and even advice on your demo reel – all the while interacting and answering questions live from the listeners. Greyscalegorilla is a great podcast for anyone from veterans of C4D and Mograph all the way to students looking to get some great industry advice from a seasoned professional. 08. The Deeply Graphic Design Cast The Deeply Graphic Design Cast covers a different topic each weekAimed at freelancers and in-house designers alike, each episode of The Deeply Graphic DesignCast tackles a different topic related to graphic design, from finding better clients to designer fails to advertising your work. There are five hosts, who work as creative directors, studio owners and graphic designers in a variety of different locations, which gives a great range of perspectives. They offer up tips and tricks in the 'Do Yourself a Favour' segment as well as answering listeners' questions. 09. The Accidental Creative This weekly podcast features interviews with artists, authors and business leadersWeekly design podcast The Accidental Creative is hosted by Todd Henry – who describes himself as 'an arms dealer in the creative revolution', and has written a number of design books. The show aims to help listeners build practical, everyday practices that ensure they stay efficient and effective in their life and their work. It features interviews with artists, authors and business leaders. 10. Typeradio Head to Typeradio if you are into type as well as designThe Typeradio podcasts cover both type and more general design. Typeradio is, in fact, a Micro FM broadcast and an MP3 internet radio stream as well as a podcast station, and they broadcast questions, answers, performances, events and talks online - plus on stage too. Read more: 23 great web design podcasts Is it time for designers to leave Twitter? 50 design agencies to follow on Twitter View the full article

This new release of Painter has many new features that will make the digital artist quiver in anticipation. Let’s start with the Thick Paint option. This set of painting tools goes beyond the Impasto painting tools that were present in earlier versions of Painter. They accurately mimic the look and feel of traditional oil and acrylic paint. You can pile on the paint, push it around, carve into the paint, scrape the paint, and realistically blend the colours and strokes. Selection brushes can be used to create complex selections, to help you paint interesting shapesThe default brushes have been inspired by their traditional equivalents and Corel says that the brush variants have been created by artists familiar with traditional media. One wonders how they were designed in previous versions. Still, the brushes are flexible, with new options for blending underlying brushstrokes and variable opacity. Thick Paint can be enhanced by changing the direction, intensity, colour and number of light sources that interact with the canvas. Elsewhere, you can now paint using Texture Cover, Source Blending or the new 2.5D Texture Brushes. Texture Source Blending builds depth using textures. Texture Cover uses the colours found in the active texture, or you can choose any colour to be used while painting. Interestingly, the new 2.5D Texture brushes build subtle and dimensional textured surfaces using the active texture. With these brushes you can change, scale and transform the texture at any time while painting. The enhanced Drip and Liquid brushes enable you to blend paint in a number of waysAnother new feature, Texture Synthesis, enables you to pick an area of a document or texture and reproduce it at a larger scale. When synthesising a new texture, the selected area of the original texture is randomised across the new document, creating something unique. You’re not limited to using textures: the brushstrokes in a document enable you to create a new texture. The resulting image can be used as any other texture or as a layer in your painting. You can add texture to a painting or rendered 3D model using the Thick Texture brushesThere are a number of smaller, but welcome new features, too. The Enhanced Drip and Liquid brushes work on an empty layer to blend a colour with an oil paint-like transparency or paint using the colours from underlying layers. Random Grain Rotation will rotate the active paper texture with each brush stroke, giving a natural look. Here’s an example of thick paint using the grainy Real Bristle Oils fl at variantThere’s also a redesigned Natural Brush library, and you can create your own selection brushes using any dab-based brush variant. Finally, new cloning capabilities give you the ability to adjust the size and shape of clone sources as you paint. There have also been a number of background and interface tweaks, making the program easier to use. Overall, Corel’s done well in updating Painter so that, more than ever, it brings the worlds of traditional and digital art closer together. This article was originally published in ImagineFX 151. Buy it now. Related articles: Create portrait art in Corel Painter 8 inspiring digital art portfolios and why they work 6 best digital art tools of 2017 so far View the full article

You're reading A Guide to Payment and Invoicing Tools for Designers/Developers, originally posted on Designmodo. If you've enjoyed this post, be sure to follow on Twitter, Facebook, Google+! For freelance designers and developers, managing payments and invoicing is an unavoidable consideration and form a key aspect of running a small business. As such, it’s important to use effective tools and platforms to handle both aspects. Luckily, we are in an exciting era which is seeing more innovation and competition in these areas than […] View the full article