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

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

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

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

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

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

There's never been a better time to be a web designer. It's a field that is expanding quickly and now is the perfect time for you to get in. 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 for just $29 (approx. £22)—and use the coupon code CYBER70 to save an additional 70% off! Behind the scenes of your favourite apps and websites, there are tons of gears turning. While a pretty coat of paint is nice, a true designer also understands what is happening behind the curtain. You can master every aspect of design with the Learn to Design Bundle. This collection of courses 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 look great and function perfectly. You'll get 57 hours of lessons across in 9 courses with tons to learn! The courses of the Learn to Design Bundle usually retail for $1,209. You can get this bundle on for just $29 (approx. £22)—and can save an additional 70% off the retail price by using the coupon code CYBER70 at checkout! View the full article

It's Cyber Monday and we're seeing amazing deals for designers and illustrators everywhere – not least from Wacom, which has smashed the 35% savings we saw over Black Friday with an incredible set of new Cyber Monday deals. We’ve got them all here, below – and for the best deals on any of your favourite Wacom products that aren’t included in today’s announcement, don’t forget to check our round-up of the best cheap Wacom Cyber Monday deals. So what’s up for grabs? First up, our biggest Wacom UK deals – or jump here for the best US Wacom deals... Best US Wacom tablet Cyber Monday deals Remember, all purchases above £50 get free shipping. And if these Wacom deals sell out or end, then check out the prices below to find a deal on a range of different Wacom tablets – our handy tool scours the major outlets to bring you the best advertised prices from major retailers. Also, our Best Wacom tablet Cyber Monday deals 2017 post also has plenty of great offers to keep you entertained. Happy shopping… Related articles: The best Amazon Black Friday deals The best drawing tablet Review: Wacom MobileStudio Pro View the full article

Most of our day-to-day design work involves choosing images, and most of the time the go-to is photography. But could you be missing a trick? Illustrations can be a great way to bring your designs to life and add distinctiveness and individuality to your designs, encouraging a greater level of emotional engagement in your audience. Pop Art background by bulentgultek That’s especially the case in the era of Instagram and Snapchat, where we’re constantly bombarded by our friends’ photos... but illustrations far less often. So when should you use photography, and when should you use illustration? In this post, we’ll look at some of the key factors to consider. Reasons to use illustrations ‘Girl who admires star sky’ by maroznc is a great example of how illustration can depict things that photography can’t 01. For fantastical scenes There are many scenarios when using illustrations in your designs is the more likely option, says Jennifer Borton, senior manager of illustrations at iStock by Getty Images. One is when you want to show things that photography simply can’t. “Illustrators aren’t hindered by real-life considerations like gravity or lighting,” she points out. “So they’re ideal for creating fantastical scenes that would be impossible to photograph.” 02. For retro appeal Other specific scenarios that favour illustrations include when you’re striving for a vintage look in your designs. ‘Man Showing Personal Computer’, by CSA Archive, taps into the recent design trend for vintage and retro styles “In the days before everyone had cameras, when photography was much more expensive to produce, many ads featured illustrations,” explains Borton. “So using illustrations today can harken back to different time periods, adding a retro flair to designs. It’s more difficult to achieve this with photography.” 03. To stand out Illustration can also be a good choice when you want to grab attention, she adds. “In markets where many similar products are available, illustrations can be a great way to help stand out from the pack. There are only so many ways to photograph the same thing but illustrators can bring a whole new perspective and style to an image.” 04. For icons ‘Education set of thin line vector icons’ by fonikum. This set could help to break up dense passage of text visually on a school’s website, for example And then of course, there are icons. “You don’t often think of it, but every little icon on a website is an illustration,” she points out. “Think of things such as ‘like’ buttons, shopping carts and email links.” The best practice here is to use vector illustrations. Because vectors are resolution-independent – meaning they’re not made up of little pixels – they can be scaled up or down to any size without losing image quality. Reasons to use photography Roasted pumpkin salad with spinach and walnut, by Lilechka75. When it comes to provoking a visceral reaction, photography normally trumps illustration 01. For accuracy There are also, of course, scenarios in which photography will be the natural choice for designers. One is where accuracy and trust are important to the aims of the design. “People trust photographs to give an accurate representation of a place, product or person,” says Borton. “So when you’re advertising a product, it is often a good idea to represent it using photography. For example, people will react better to a photo of a plate of food in a menu, as opposed to an illustration of food, because they believe that the food they get will resemble the photograph.” 02. To look professional More broadly, photography can also help to convey an image of professionalism. Images that accurately reflect reality can help persuade consumers that a company is serious-minded and responsible, which would be very important for an investment bank, for example. This image of real-world marketing strategists, by Weekend Ltd, conveys a sense of professionalism far more powerfully than a similar illustration would 03. To show off the real thing Photography can also be the natural choice when you want to convey the physical qualities of a product or service to provoke a visceral reaction. For example, a photography of a luxurious hotel bedroom will provoke the thought “Ooh… I want to stay there!” much more powerfully than a stylised illustration. Questions to ask yourself Still unsure about whether to use illustration or photography? Borton suggests you ask yourself the following questions, and your answers should help you make an informed decision. 01. How important is accuracy? For example, do you need to show the real-life product so customers will know what they’re purchasing? If so, photography might be a better bet than an illustration. 02. Will the image need to be sized for different applications? If your image is going to be appearing at multiple sizes – from billboards to brochures, watch apps to cinema screens – a vector illustration can be resized to any scale without losing image quality, so it can be the ideal solution for a variety of different uses. Birch Tree Winter Bird by filo. This is a vector illustration, so it can be used at any size without loss of quality 03. Is your design plan inspired by vintage imagery? Illustrations lend themselves well to old-fashioned designs, but it can be harder to create the same effect using photography. Find inspiration It can also help to check out some great examples of how other designers have used both types of imagery. “I adore the vintage style used for Kuoni,” says Borton. “It’s reminiscent of retro travel posters from the 1930s to 1960s. "I’m also a big fan of the Steppenwolf Theatre Company. They frequently use illustrations in their advertising, usually in a retro style. I love how, even though the styles of each illustration are different, they all tie in together through colour and composition to create a cohesive ‘look’." Check out more examples in 10 great uses of illustration in brand campaigns and 8 great uses of travel photography in branding. Special discount for Creative Bloq readers Red rocket flies: Start up concept vector of triangles by Magnilion Whether you’re looking for photographs or illustrations, iStock by Getty Images also offers you the choice of millions of high-quality, royalty-free images at a very low cost. And to give you an added incentive, we’ve teamed up with them to offer Creative Bloq readers 10% off all iStock credits. Just use code ZNKPC46N today at the website to take advantage of this incredible offer. View the full article

We’re firmly into Cyber Monday now – and it’s a fantastic time to grab a cheap Wacom tablet deal if you’re in the market for a nifty new graphics tablet. If you’re not sure where to start, take a look at our selection of the best drawing tablets of 2017. It’s packed with all the info you need to make the right purchase decision for your needs. But for cheap Wacom tablets, look no further. We’ve scooped up the best deals on Wacom's drawing tablets and accessories on this page, and will be updating it throughout Black Friday with the latest deals and discounts as they drop. As always, the best place to bag a bargain on Wacom products isn’t on the Wacom website. Instead you’ll need to look to leading retailers like Amazon, John Lewis and Currys. Staying on top of the best deals isn’t easy though – especially when you’re meant to be at work. That’s why we’re bringing them to you here. Read on for the cheapest Black Friday Wacom deals we can find on the firm's leading tablets… Wacom Cintiq 13HD Cyber Monday deals Wacom's ever-popular Creative Pen Cintiq tablet offers a high precision solution for all your graphics projects, whether in the office or at home. Weighing in at just 1.2kg, it's a highly portable device, meaning you can easily jot down sketches on the go, and with a 13.3 inch display, there's plenty of room to really express your creativity. It also comes complete with Wacom's powerful Pro Pen, featuring 2048 levels of pressure sensitivity and tilt recognition. Wacom Cintiq 27QHD Creative Pen and Touch Display Offering unparalled clarity and colour sensitivity, the Cintiq 27QHD provides true-to-life colour on a high-resolution, 27-inch display. The widescreen 16:9 display has four times the pixel density of standard HDTV, providing artists with the resolution (2560 x 1440) to handle the finest detail. Designed for drawing and painting, image editing and 3D animation, the 27QHD includes a Pro Pen, complete with a range of nibs, including felt for a smooth flow across the tablet surface. Wacom Cintiq Pro If you're after that natural pen-on-paper feel from your tablet, look no further than the Wacom Cintiq Pro. Designed for professional artists and designers who demand an intuitive, pen-on-screen connection to their work, the Wacom Cintiq Pro offers a resolution of up to 4K and a wide-gamut display, so you’ll be able to see your work in life-like detail. Wacom MobileStudio Pro Cyber Monday deals Wacom MobileStudio Pro provides an entire studio full of powerful creative tools right at your fingertips. Featuring the new sensitive, more accurate and responsive Wacom Pro Pen 2, this MobileStudio provides everything you need to create at your best, from your studio desk to on the go. Available in two sizes, 13- and 16-inches, the MobileStudio Pro has been designed specifically to meet the demands of creative professionals who want the freedom to create anywhere. Backed up by powerful Intel chips, these machines have all the muscle you need to run professional creative applications. Plus, the Wacom MobileStudio Pro 16 model come with NVIDIA Quadro graphics and on-board memory to make even the heaviest files fly around your screen. Wacom Intuos Pro Cyber Monday deals If you're after a quality drawing tablet but are on a bit of a budget, then the Wacom Intuos Pro might be just the solution. Simply connect this nifty but affordable device to your Mac or Windows PC with USB or built-in Bluetooth, install drivers, and you’re ready to start work directly in the software of your choice. The ultra-responsive Wacom Pro Pen 2 connects you to your creative work like never before, providing the perfect drawing space. Wacom Bamboo Slate Wacom Bamboo Duo stylus Wacom Bamboo Fineline stylus Wacom Bamboo Sketch stylus Related articles: The best deals on Adobe Creative Cloud The best cheap laptop deals for creatives The best Currys Black Friday deals 2017 View the full article

Cyber Monday is already here for UK shoppers and it's now just a few hours away in the US as well. Cyber Monday is your last chance to get a great deal on that thing you've been meaning to buy, or some early Christmas presents if you're feeling organised. We’re here to help designers, illustrators and artists to find the best Cyber Monday 2017 deals on all the things we like to use for work and play. Whether you're based in the US or the UK, you'll find the best creative hardware and software Cyber Monday bargains below! US: best Cyber Monday deals UK: best Cyber Monday deals Cyber Monday 2017 falls on 27 November this year. While Black Friday is all about deals on both the high street and online, Cyber Monday was originally dreamt up by savvy marketers as a way to sell more of their wares online, back when online shopping wasn’t as prevalent as it is today. According to the experts, Cyber Monday sees a wider range of deals across individual retailers. That means it's less about one-off discounts, and more about lower prices generally. Of course, if stores need to shift stock they’ll follow-up Black Friday discounts with further reductions on Cyber Monday – so expect one-off deals too. So where are the best Cyber Monday deals for creatives, and how can you beat the competition to get your hands on them? That’s where we can help. We’re updating this page now and throughout the day, so bookmark this article for all the latest UK and US deals on creative kit. From hardware – laptops deals, iPad deals, monitor deals – and creative software deals to cameras, smartphones and more, you’ll find the best Cyber Monday 2017 deals right here. Cyber Monday 2017: retailer links Cyber Monday UK: Amazon Cyber Monday | John Lewis Cyber Monday | Currys Cyber Monday | Argos Cyber Monday | Tesco Direct Cyber Monday | eBay Cyber Monday Cyber Monday US: Amazon Cyber Monday | Walmart Cyber Monday | Target Cyber Monday | Kohl's Cyber Monday 2017 | eBay Cyber Monday 2017 | Best Buy Cyber Monday 2017 US: Best Cyber Monday deals 2017 If you’re like us, you’ll have your eye on some creative kit already. Here are the cheapest and best Cyber Monday deals we've found in the US on our favourite products… (Head here for UK Cyber Monday deals .) US: Laptop, desktop, tablet Cyber Monday deals US: Best Wacom Cyber Monday deals 2017 US: TV and monitor best Cyber Monday deals 2017 US: Camera best Cyber Monday deals 2017 US: Smartphone Cyber Monday deals 2017 UK: Best Cyber Monday deals 2017 UK: Laptop, desktop, tablet Cyber Monday deals UK: Best Wacom Cyber Monday deals 2017 UK: TV and monitor best Cyber Monday deals 2017 UK: Camera best Cyber Monday deals 2017 UK: Smartphone best Cyber Monday deals 2017 Creative software Cyber Monday deals 2017 Design resources best Cyber Monday deals 2017 Best creative kit deal trackers Related articles: The best Amazon Cyber Monday deals 2017 The 6 best smartphones for designers in 2017 5 best laptops for video editing in 2017 View the full article

There are loads of amazing Black Friday deals to be had today, but with payday just around the corner you might not have the cash available to nab yourself a sweet bargain. There's no need to miss out, though; while we're relentless in our mission to point you in the right direction for epic savings on high-end tech, we're also keeping an eye out for those of you with a little less cash to flash. That's why we've been on the lookout for a budget selection of Black Friday deals that'll delight even the most impecunious designer. Everything here is yours to grab for under /£50£50; get a move on so you don't miss out! US Black Friday deals under $50 UK Black Friday deals under £50 Related articles: The best Black Friday deals for designers The best Amazon Black Friday deals for designers View the full article

If you've always wanted to get your hands on one of Microsoft's popular Surface Book, then now's the time. In an incredible Black Friday deal, the powerful laptop is currently on sale with a whopping 47% discount, meaning you can get your hands on one for less than $800! Prefer Apple devices? Here are the best MacBook Black Friday deals View the full article

There have been lots of impressive deals for designers and creatives this Black Friday, but one of the most impressive we've seen is this iPhone X Black Friday deal from Mobiles.co.uk. In fact it's so impressive there's really no competition. If you're after a saving on an iPhone X, look no further. You can now get the iPhone X with 32GB of data for £47 a month with a £190 upfront spend on Vodafone. When you break down the numbers, that comes to a cost of £1,318 over the course of the two year contract. Or to put it another way, you'll save £70 compared to the next cheapest tariff and with 27GB more data! Our friends at TechRadar say that this iPhone X offer won't be beaten. Take a look at the best Black Friday mobile phone deals 2017The iPhone X raised eyebrows when it was launched thanks to its staggering price tag, so this offer will come as a welcome relief to designers hoping to pick up the device for a slightly more reasonable sum. Don't let it pass you by though, this iPhone X deal will expire at the end of Cyber Monday. The best iPhone X deal for Black Friday 2017 Related articles: The best Amazon Black Friday deals 2017 The best Cyber Monday deals View the full article

It's Black Friday today, and as well as the hundreds of incredible deals we've found for designers and artists, we have something else for you, too... Behind the scenes of your favourite app or website, there is a developer keeping everything running smoothly. If you want join the ranks of developers and create and maintain services people love, grab the Ultimate Front End Developer Bundle. It's on sale now for just $39 (approx. £30)—plus save an additional 75% off when you use the coupon code BFRIDAY75 at checkout!! The Ultimate Front End Developer Bundle is the perfect starting place for an aspiring web developer of any skill level. This collection of eight expert-taught courses can help even a total beginner learn how to code with the most important languages in web development, from JavaScript to HTML5 and CSS3. As you work your way through this great collection of courses, you'll start to bring your dream designs to life as you work through 48 hours of actionable lessons. You can get the Ultimate Front End Developer Bundle on sale for just $39 (approx. £30), 96% off the retail price! That’s a massive savings on a bundle that could help you launch a new career—and you can save even more when you use the coupon code BFRIDAY75 at checkout to save an additional 75% off! Creative Bloq deals This great deal comes courtesy of the Creative Bloq Deals store – a creative marketplace that's dedicated to ensuring you save money on the items that improve your design life. We all like a special offer or two, particularly with creative tools and design assets often being eye-wateringly expensive. That's why the Creative Bloq Deals store is committed to bringing you useful deals, freebies and giveaways on design assets (logos, templates, icons, fonts, vectors and more), tutorials, e-learning, inspirational items, hardware and more. Every day of the working week we feature a new offer, freebie or contest – if you miss one, you can easily find past deals posts on the Deals Staff author page or Offer tag page. Plus, you can get in touch with any feedback at: deals@creativebloq.com. Read more: View the full article

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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