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Character design is an art. Swiff is the story of a dirt-hating extraterrestrial who is travelling in space. He breaks down and crashes on Earth in the countryside. In this 'terra incognita' adventure Swiff goes looking for a compatible fuel source for his spaceship. During his quest, he finds himself face-to-face with a hyperactive little boy who is definitely going to give him a hard time. While working on the short film, I had the opportunity to use Peregrine Labs' Yeti and Pixar's RenderMan (RIS). In this tutorial, I will explain some of the key techniques used in Yeti to make the sheep's wool (fur), and an instancing solution for Maya. 29 free 3D modelsI needed to learn Yeti for Swiff, and along the way picked up some useful tricks that I hope you will find equally handy for your animated film projects. Here I will share my process for setting up and combing fur in Yeti, as well as how we created the scene for our short. 01. Prepare the terrain Click image to enlarge The first step is to establish a good cartoon environment for the character we'll create and add later on. I tend to work in a different, smaller scene to the final scene, and when I'm happy with the look of the object or terrain that I'm working on, I reimport the asset into the final scene. For the grass, I create a basic terrain in Maya and I import my own light rig, which contains multiple lighting conditions for different times of day. 02. Create the terrain and unwrap UVs Use a smaller version of the surfaceFor this terrain, as I want to work in a smaller area than my actual terrain, I create a rounded surface with just a few polygons, where I can populate some grass. Yeti uses a cache system and it can take a long time to generate if you're using big terrain. By using a smaller version of the surface, I make sure that the caching time doesn't exceed a few seconds. The goal is to define the look of the grass so there's no need to waste time on a big surface. Once I model the basic terrain, I unwrap the UVs using Maya's default tools. 03. Adding the stripes Making stripesWe wanted everything in our short film to be striped. To do this I use Ramp, Maya's procedural texture solution. I create a ramp in Maya and plug in a PxrDisney shader. It's just for preview so you can use any shader. Use the place2dTexture to repeat your ramp as much as needed. In my example, I do it directly in the ramp to add a bit of variation in the stripe width. I also connect a PxrConstant in every colour of the ramp for more control. 04. Prepare the geometry for instancing Make sure that your grass is at the centre of the worldWe decided to instance polygons in order to get more control over the look of the grass, but you can also create a fur system in Yeti and use it as grass. If you decide to use polygons, create a few bundles of grass in Maya using basic modelling techniques. There is no need to add a lot of polygons as the tiny details will get lost. You also have to make sure that your grass is at the centre of the world in Maya to make it work with Yeti. 05. Open Yeti Click image to enlarge Yeti is very powerful and offers great optimisation possibilities. It allows you to instance millions of polygons very easily. Start by selecting your terrain and go to Yeti>Create Yeti Node On Mesh. Open the Yeti Graph Editor. In order to control the stripes separately, create multiple Yeti systems corresponding to the different areas of grass. I convert my coloured Ramp to a black and white ramp in order to use it as a density map in Yeti. 06. Nodes in Yeti Click image to enlarge Next, select your Yeti node in the Outliner, and go to the Attribute Editor. You should see your terrain in the Input Objects tab. If you don't, add it. Add the objects you want to instance and make sure that they are at the centre of the grid in Maya. 07. Setting up nodes Click image to enlarge In the Graph Editor, create an Import node, a Texture node and a Scatter node. The texture node will be used to control the density of our instanced geo. In order to do so, I bake my ramp into a texture. It allows me to retouch the map afterwards if necessary. I use Nightshade Blockout to bake the Ramp. It's free and available on www.creativecrash.com. 08. Instance your geometry Click image to enlarge Once you've connected your densityMap in the Texture node, add 'density' in the attribute of the node. Create an Instance node and another Import node. Use the Import node to choose the geometry to instance and connect it to the second input of the Instance node. Set the Instance node to Element and add scale and twist variation; use the Scatter node to change the density. For more variation, add a custom attribute, create a few graphs with different types of grass and merge them. 09. Adding shaders Play with the translucence of the LMDiffuse to get a softer lookWe used RenderMan RIS for rendering. The materials available in RenderMan are physically plausible and offer great possibilities. I use a Pxr LMDiffuse as a base and connect different variations of the texture for the front and the back. Then I use a LMLayer to add a specular layer over it. I've also played with the translucence of the LMDiffuse to get a softer look. Simply assign the shader to your Yeti node to make it work with the instances. 10. Creating the sheep Click image to enlarge Select your mesh and go to Yeti>Create Yeti Node On Mesh. Do the same with Yeti>Create Groom Node On Mesh. This will create a pgYetiNode and pgYetiGroom in your Outliner. Select the pgYeti and go to the Yeti Graph Editor. Click on the Import Button and double-click on the node Yeti has created. This will pop up in a window. Make sure the type is set to Geometry, then click the button on the right of the Selection field. 11. Apply fur Click image to enlarge In the new pop up, select the object you want your fur to be applied to and click Select. If you need to manually add objects in the list, select the pgYeti, go into the Attribute Editor, under Graph>Input Objects and click on Add Object. Weirdly, sometimes the list doesn't seem to update after adding a new object. Select anything else in the Outliner and then select your pgYeti again to see the new object correctly added to the list. 12. Import your groom Keep your graph organisedSelect your pgYeti node and go to the Attribute Editor (Ctrl+A). Under Graph>Input Grooms click on Input Grooms. In the list, select the groom that you've previously created. Now, go back to the Yeti Graph Editor and click on Import. Select and double-click the new Import node. Set the type to Groom and select the groom like we did previously with the geometry. You now have two import nodes in your graph. Keep your graph organised and name your Yeti node correctly. 13. Start grooming Click image to enlarge In the Yeti Graph, create a Scatter node, connect the import_geo to the first input of the Scatter. Select the scatter and create a Grow node. If you double-click on the Scatter, you will be able to increase the density. Connect the import_groom to the second Input of the Grow. Select the Groom node in your Outliner and go into the Attribute Editor. You will find a wide range of tools that you can use to create various hair effects. 14. Populating strands Populate your mesh with strands of hairStart by pressing the + button. This will allow you to populate your mesh with strands that will be used to create the hair in the pgYetiNode. Under the Brush tab, you will find Radius and Strength parameters. Under the Strand tab, there is a slider called Initial Strand Length. Increase this a little bit if the default parameter doesn't fit what you need. Click on your mesh to populate strands. 15. Control the length Click image to enlarge You can easily control the length of your strands by going to the Attribute Paint tab. Simply double-click on the Length parameter, set the Value to the number you want and set the Mode depending on what you want. The Multiply and Randomize modes can help you create a lot of cool variations. For my sheep, I increased the length of the head area to match the original design. 16. Using the comb node Click image to enlarge It's time to create a bit of mess. Create a Comb node. Connect the Grow to the first Input of the Comb and connect the Groom to the second Input. At this stage, I play with the different tools in Yeti to create variations. Take your time, especially if your character will be seen from different angles. When I am done tweaking the strands, I add a Curl node. It creates some nice curling effects in every strand. This adds a lot of variations and makes your fur look more realistic. Next page: the final steps to creating furry cartoon characters... 17. Understanding clumping Multiple clumping effectsThe Clumping node is one of the most important nodes in Yeti. To apply the Clump, select your current network and duplicate it; create a Clump node. Play with the Density and the Length parameters on one of the networks to enhance the effect. You can play with this technique many times in your grooming network to make multiple clumping effects. Note that you can also use the Clump tool to enhance the clump effect in some areas. 18. Bend the clumps Playing with the combination of different nodesTo finish my base network, I add a Bend node (which in this case is crucial to bend the clump we previously made and get the look we want). Playing with the combination of different nodes allows you to get subtle and very cool effects. This leads us to the Merge Node… 19. The merge node Click image to enlarge In order to make the sheep look better, I create a few networks with different looks – the only thing I need to do is merge them. You can create different pgYetis and let them overlap each other but this is not the best option for my sheep. I prefer to create everything in one pgYeti network and merge them by creating a Merge node and connecting input one and two to the desired networks. 20. The Width node Click image to enlarge To complete my graph, I need to control the width of my fur. I create a Width node and put it at the end of my graph, then I am able to control the width of the base and the tip. I get pretty good results with a value of 0.07 for the base and 0.03 for the tip. There is also the Multiplier parameter if needs be. 21. Optimise your display Click image to enlarge Optimisation is obviously very important when dealing with fur. The more fur you have in your scene, the harder it will be to navigate. You can hide the Yeti Node by going into the Show Panel (Viewport) and unticking Plugin Shapes, or by using the attribute provided in the pgYeti Node. In the pgYeti, you will find a Display tab. Three parameters are available to control the display (and only the display) in the viewport: the density, the length and the width. 22. Optimise your render Sheep far from the camera don't need much densityIn the pgYeti under the Display tab, there is a tab called Render. You will find the exact same parameters as in Display, but for rendering. I like to set my density value in the Scatter node and set the render density after that. On some shots, the sheep are quite far from the camera so don't need much density. I decrease the render density accordingly. 23. Limit of the Viewport Render a couple of images at each stageThe preview of Yeti in the viewport is great but it has some limitations. At some point, you need a render to see if you’re going in the right direction. When I start the grooming of my sheep, I import my light rig and render a couple of images at each stage of the Yeti graph in order to get a better look of what my fur is going to look like. I use the PxrMarschnerHair available in RenderMan RIS to shade the fur. 24. Create the stripes Click image to enlarge The final thing to finish the sheep is to add the stripes. I could use the same techniques that I used for the grass but with fur, but there is another method. After creating a ramp with a series of stripes, I create a Pxr Manifold and I connect it to the Maya ramp. Without the Pxr Manifold, it won’t work properly. In the Connection Editor, connect the Result S (Pxr Manifold) to uCoord (Ramp) and ResultT (Pxr Manifold) to vCoord (Ramp). 25. Finish the stripes Tweak the shader to get a good lookTo last thing to do in order to make the stripes work is to add the correct information in the Pxr Manifold. Add surf_s in PrimVar S/ST and surf_t in PrimVar T. Note, if you are not using a Maya node – you want to use a texture that you painted, for instance – simply create a PxrTexture and drag and drop the Pxr Manifold in the Manifold field of the PxrTexture. Once the stripes are set up, I work more on the shader in order to get a nice look. 26. Importing the scene Create a new scene and import the main assetsNow all the assets are created, textured and shaded, it's time for me to gather them all into the scene. I start by creating a new scene in Maya and I import my main assets. I add the grass at the end of the process because it's quite heavy for Maya and not essential at this point. The important thing is to get the main elements to start the lighting. Keep your Outliner as clean as possible in order to stay organised. 27. Start the lighting Add a simple Directional Light to enhance the lighting directionThe lighting of my scene is daylight, the sun is high and some clouds are casting shadows on the ground. I create an HDR of one of our scenes that we use as a base in the main environment shot. Then I add a simple Directional Light to enhance the lighting direction. To enhance certain areas, I put some colours in the light and shadows or plug in some textures. This creates contrast. 28. Adding the grass Apply the grass to my main terrainUsing the technique that I explained before, I apply the grass to my main terrain. With my camera angle, I don't need the same density of grass everywhere. I simply split the terrain into different meshes and create a different Yeti node. I reduce the Render Density of the grass. The scene looks the same but the caching time is reduced. Optimise your scene as much as possible, especially when you are working with instances, otherwise it can become too large. 29. Placing plants The more variation you add, the better it will beIt's time to go into detail. I start by adding mushrooms all around the scene, then some plants. I also add trees in the background to add variation. The more variation you add, the better it will be. Our universe is very colourful and it was not always easy to deal with it. Most of the time, I import a simple version in Photoshop and do a couple of tests with various colours. The important thing is to keep the image clear and readable. 30. Adding rocks Make the ground more interesting by adding rocksI want to make the ground more interesting so I add more variation of colour and textures in the grass. I decide to add some tiny rocks. I've found a very cool, free script called RockGen from Creative Crash. I launch the script, choose the number of rocks, and their height and click Generate. I can now place these rocks in my scene. 31. Using spPaint3d Click image to enlarge spPaint3d is a must-use script on Creative Crash. It enables you to duplicate or instance a series of meshes on a surface. This is very useful for an environment scene like this one. It allows me to place all the clovers, the rocks and the plants randomly in a very short amount of time. There are a lot of parameters I can tweak just to add variation in the placement of my meshes. 32. Splitting your scene Splitting your scene really helps when you need to tweak particular elements separatelyIn order to have more flexibility in compositing, I split my scene into different parts. Splitting your scene really helps when you need to tweak particular elements separately. I use different render layers to split my assets and recombine them in Nuke. For the background, I create a Yeti node on the hill using the same technique as the grass. I work in a different Maya scene to keep it light. Once the hill is created, it can be reused in other shots. 33. Finishing using Nuke Click image to enlarge We use Nuke for compositing. In an environment scene like this one, I really recommend adding a bit of atmosphere (using the ZDepth as a mask) to help the legibility of your image. After this tiny modification, I use a few Grade nodes to enhance some parts of the image using the ID channel. To complete, I add a bit of vignetting, a spot of depth of field and a touch of chromatic aberration. This article was originally featured in 3D World issue 214; buy it here. Related articles: How to render a photorealistic sky Turn photos into 3D animations with Photoshop How to take your vector logo from 2D to 3D View the full article

When it comes to left-field creativity, Berlin is indisputably one of Europe's – if not the world's – most vibrant and inspirational design cities to visit. Offering a unique blend of subversive counter-culture, bustling cosmopolitan energy and harrowing historical scars, Berlin is a haven for design inspiration. So whether you're paying the German capital a flying visit, looking to move there to live or just on the hunt for some visual reference material, read on for our guide to 10 of the best off-the-beaten track creative locations in Berlin... 01. Spreepark An abandoned amusement park might sound more like the favoured stomping ground of a Scooby Doo villain than a must-see creative attraction, but bear with us. From a towering, derelict Ferris wheel to derailed go-karts peeking out from the undergrowth, Spreepark – once full of life, bright lights and laughter as the GDR's only permanent amusement park – is now a hugely surreal place to become inspired. Everywhere you look, there's a visual cue to spark off a story in your mind – whether it's toppled, overgrown dinosaur statues or colourful animal faces adorning tunnels. Formerly known as Kulturpark Plänterwald, the park was opened in 1961 and used to attract 1.5 million visitors a year, but fell into financial difficulties after reunification, and was declared insolvent in 2001. If you're passing by, you can peek through the gates into Spreepark for free – or occasionally there are events, screenings and even concerts hosted inside, if you're lucky. 02. Panke art cafe Berlin is packed with quirky arts venues, of which Panke is a great example. Offering a heady combination of art, food and music, it strives to "support edgy creativity that happens away from mainstream culture". Its café serves vegan/vegetarian food and coffee by day, and hosts events by night, while the gallery space showcases both established and emerging artists, with a particular interest in digital or net-based art and club culture. Visual inspiration doesn't stop there, as the bar is continuously redecorated by local and international artists – so you can get a fresh experience every time you visit the city. 03. Monster Kabinett If you like your artistic inspiration mixed with a dose of mechanised horror, there's no better place to do so than Monster Kabinett – a dark, unsettling showcase of hulking robots and warped, insect-like creatures. Hosted in a warehouse, it's the brainchild of the Dead Pigeon Collective and features costumed performers among the giant, moving metal sculptures. It's very literally off the beaten track: you'll find it down a suitably dank, dark alleyway off the side of a busy thoroughfare. It's an unassuming location, and you might not be sure you're in the right place until you're standing directly outside it. 04. Buchstabenmuseum Typography is part of Berlin's design heritage, as the ever-inspiring annual TYPO Berlin conference attests. And you'll find plenty of tangible examples of it in use here. With an impressive collection gathered from around Berlin and beyond, the Buchstabenmuseum – or Museum of Rescued Letters – is one of the world's first museums to collect letterforms from public spaces and display them as part of urban history. Featuring all manner of lost, forgotten and abandoned signage that's been saved from the scrapheap, this is a wonderful source of typographical inspiration. Courtesy of LucasFonts, there's even a free Buchstabenmuseum font, based on a selection of the letterforms on display. 05. Haus Schwarzenberg Street Art Alley Berlin's street art scene is legendary, from the world-renowned East Side Gallery, painted on the remnants of the Berlin Wall, right down to tucked-away alleyways that can be easily missed. One such example is Haus Schwarzenberg Street Art Alley. A narrow, unassuming passageway beside a cafe – not far from the famous art nouveau courtyards of Hackeschen Höfe – leads to a colourful explosion of inspiring murals, paste-ups and graffiti. Given the nature of great street art, the specific creations on display are constantly evolving as new murals are painted on, papered over and adapted, although Jimmy C's beautiful painting of Anne Frank, a centrepiece of the space, remains untouched. The existence of this pocket of inspiration is all thanks to non-profit arts organisation Haus Schwarzenberg, which occupies the adjacent building. 06. The Return of the Cows A quiet residential street in between the Prenzlauerberg and Friedrichshain areas of the city, Dietrich-Bonhoeffer Strasse is definitely off the beaten track by most standards. In fact, there would be no real reason to visit if it weren't for Sergej Dott’s delightfully whimsical public art installation, Die Rückkehr der Kühe – or The Return of the Cows. Peek between two buildings halfway down the road, and you'll spot a photo opportunity unlike any other: a herd of giant cows, seemingly wandering up and down the side of an apartment block. Dott has created several cow-based installations, which he calls 'Kuhunst' - a cheeky pun that will appeal to German-speakers, combining the words 'Kuh' (cow) and 'Kunst' (art). 07. Stand By Me tree An anonymous fan of Ben E. King has demonstrated their passion for his seminal love song Stand By Me, by carving the lyrics into a tree trunk in Berlin’s Tiergarten Park – turning it into a natural sculpture to inspire all who visit it. Unlike the transient, temporary nature of some of the street art featured on this list, this lyrical trunk has a pleasing permanence about it. The bark has healed, sealing the words within – and the anonymity of the creator adds to its enigmatic appeal. While the exact date it was carved is unknown, the tree first became an attraction following King’s death in 2015, and the famous chorus of the song also appeared on a nearby tree at a similar time. 08. Georg von Rauch-Haus A graffiti-daubed icon of socialist activism, the Georg-von-Rauch-Haus is an infamous Berlin squat that takes its name from a violent German anarchist and so-called 'urban guerilla' who was shot dead by the West German police in 1971. Shortly after von Rauch's death, squatters and political activists occupied a former nurses’ dormitory near Bethanien Hospital on Mariannenplatz, Kreuzberg. Attempts by the police to evict the inhabitants culminated in a major protest, which was met with tear gas and batons. With a distinctive ring of graffiti around the lower level, the Georg von Rauch-Haus now operates as a 'free-living' collective, as well as playing host to musical and cultural events. 09. Teufelsberg With an intriguing name that translates as 'devil's mountain', Teufelsberg is a former US spy base from the Cold War. It's built on top of a man-made hill outside the city, formed from the remnants of an incomplete Nazi military-technical college, as well as wartime rubble. Teufelsberg's most distinctive feature is a collection of 'randomes' – enormous listening domes, now dilapidated and broken, but still strangely beautiful – which, like so many of the locations on this list, are plastered with street art. Despite its dilapidated state, however, there's an entry fee to visit Teufelsberg as the site is now privately owned. Guided tours are also available. 10. Urban Nation Rounding up our list is a relatively new addition to Berlin's cultural landscape, having only opened its doors in 2017. Capitalising on Berlin's global reputation on the street art scene, Urban Nation is the world's first museum dedicated to all genres of urban contemporary art: graffiti, paste-ups, sculptures, acrylic designs and more. For over a decade, Urban Nation has championed street art in Berlin and helped transform the once-depressing, Cold War-era concrete cityscape by inviting high-profile muralists to make their mark. Now the organisation has its own free-to-enter permanent space, which features the works of 150 international and local artists. 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Two related Mirai variants called Masuta and PureMasuta have links to a hacker identified as Nexus Zeta. View the full article

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Over the past few years, the development of a REST API for WordPress has opened new doors for developers. Developers who had previously been limited to writing a WordPress-powered project in PHP now have more flexibility and control in how they can approach the technology stack of their website-to-be. This means it’s possible to retain all the advantages of the brilliant WordPress control panel, which is made extremely flexible by popular WordPress plugins such as Advanced Custom Fields, and have a completely custom built frontend that only interacts with WordPress when it needs to. Download the tutorial filesIn this WordPress tutorial we’ll be exploring how to implement the WordPress REST API into a simple blog app, which is currently using a local JSON file as its data source, and is built as a single-page application (SPA) using the popular JavaScript framework Vue.js. This will involve the implementation of Vuex, which we’ll use to store the data we request from a WordPress using a combination of its action and mutation methods. Once completed, you should have created a lean, simple SPA, which has all the reactivity of Vue.js, while displaying posts retrieved from and managed by WordPress. 01. Set up workspace and dependencies First things first, you should download the project’s files and open them in your preferred editor. In the console, cd into website-template and run the command below to install the project’s node dependencies (if you don’t have Node installed, do that first). We’ll be working purely in the src directory from here on out. 02. Install Vuex Next, using the command below, we’ll install Vuex, which is a state management pattern and library for Vue.js applications. This will act as a central information store for all Vue components that depend on the data we receive from WordPress API. For developers familiar with React, Vuex is heavily inspired by Flux. 03. Start development server In the console, run the command below to start the development server. This will compile the Vue.js project as it currently stands and assign it to a URL so you can access it. This is usually localhost:8080. One big advantage this brings is live reloading, so once you make changes to the app and save, the page in your browser will update itself without the need to manually reload. 04. Create Vuex store In src, create a directory called store and within it a new file called index.js. This will be where our Vuex store will be defined. Though before we get to that, we need to first make sure our Vue.js app is aware of its existence. To do this, open main.js and import the store and include it as a dependency, as in the snippet below. 05. Create store scaffolding and install Axios To help us simplify the AJAX requests our store will be making to WordPress API, we’ll install Axios, which is a Promise-based HTTP client. To do this, open a separate console window, navigate to the website-template directory and run npm install axios -- save. Next, let’s start to scaffold the store by instantiating a new empty Vuex store object. At the moment, it isn’t doing anything, but at least Vue should be aware of it. 06. Create posts state In Vuex, the state object holds application info, which in this case will be the WordPress post data we’ll grab using the API. Within this object, create a new property called posts and assign it a value of null. 07. Create getPosts action In Vuex, actions are the main way in which asynchronous requests are handled. These are typically methods defined in the store, which can then be dispatched as required by the app. In the empty actions object, let’s define one where if our posts state is still null, axios is used to perform an AJAX request to the WordPress API and return a list of posts. Once we’ve received a positive response, we’ll then resolve the promise and commit the posts using the storePosts mutation. 08. Create storePosts mutation Another concept introduced by Vuex is mutations, which are also typically methods defined in the store. Mutations are the only way to change state in a Vuex store, which allows state to be easily tracked when debugging. In the empty mutations object, let’s define the storePosts method we referenced in the previous step and make it override the post property in the state object with any data the mutation receives as payload. 09. Trigger getPosts action on load We’ve created the action and mutation methods that grab posts from WordPress API and commit them to Vuex state, but now we need to actually trigger this process somewhere. In the top level Vue.js component App.vue, add the snippet below. created() is a lifecycle hook that triggers code as soon as the Vue component is created on load, while the use of the global $store variable allows us to access the contents of our Vuex store and dispatch the getPosts action from step 7. 10. Update attribute paths The Vue DevTools extension gives you the power to debug your Vue.js app If you’re working in Chrome or Firefox and have the Vue.js DevTools extension (if not, I recommend that you do as it’s very useful), you should now be able to see the loaded WordPress posts in Base State under the Vuex tab. Back to the app, in /components/posts/posts.vue, the template HTML needs to point to this data, so let’s tweak a few of the attribute paths. 11. Update v-for loop In the posts component, there’s a Vue.js directive in use called v-for. This loops through all posts and for each one prints an instance of the post component, displaying them in a list. We need to update the path passed to this directive as it’s still using the local dummy test data. Update the v-for directive to the snippet below in order to point to our stored posts in the Vuex store. 12. Do some housekeeping A list of the WordPress posts should now be displaying. As we're no longer using the local post data, let's delete src/data. Then in the posts component, remove the posts: postData.data property in the components local data store and then the postData import. 13. Fix post author You may notice that for each post the author is showing up as a number. This is because the WordPress API returns an author ID, rather than a name. We need to use this id to query WordPress for the full author information. Let's start by creating a place to store this in our Vuex store, alongside our post info, in store/index.js. 14. Create getAuthors action As with posts, we'll create an action in /store/index.js to trigger an AJAX request to query WordPress API. Once a successful response is received, the promise will then resolve and trigger the storeAuthors mutation, which we'll create next. 15. Create storeAuthors mutation Within the mutations object of the Vuex store, create the storeAuthors mutation using the snippet below. Like with storePosts from step 8, this takes the payload its passed and sets it as the value of the authors property in our store's state. 16. Trigger getAuthors on load We need to get the author info from WordPress as soon as the app begins to load. Let's amend the top level component App.vue again and dispatch the getAuthors action in the same created() lifecycle hook as the getPosts action. 17. Create getUserName method Now we're querying WordPress for author information on load, all we need to do is define a method in our posts component which lets us pass an author ID and get a name in return. Copy the snippet below into the posts component's methods object, below the existing getSinglePost method. 18. Call getUserName method Now we just need to call getUsername. Still in the posts component, in the template, replace the author attribute’s reference to post.author so it reflects the snippet below. The author’s name should now be correctly displaying for each post. 19. Blog loading As we’re loading the post data asynchronously, there is a moment before the request completes where the application is empty. To counter this, we’ll implement a loading state that's active until the blog is fully populated. In the posts component, paste the snippet below just after the opening <script> tag to import the icons we’ll be using. 20. Add icon to components list Next, still within posts, add a reference to icon in the components objects. This makes the posts component aware of our recently imported icon component. 21. Create loading elements We now just need to add the loading elements to the posts template so it shows up on the page. Firstly, wrap the second div in the snippet around the two divs with the v-if directives to make sure no posts show up until loading is complete. Then add the first div from the snippet above it. This contains the loading icon and a v-if directive, which means it will only be visible until the point where the app is fully loaded. Once done, loading should now be implemented. 22. Update single post attribute paths The only thing left to do is to make sure single posts are correctly set up so they are using the WordPress post data in the Vuex store. The first step is to update the attribute paths in the posts component template within the v-if="this.type === 'single'" div, which handles the display of single posts. 23. Refactor getSinglePost method We also need to refactor the posts components getSinglePost method. It needs to return a promise that dispatches the getPosts action. In the follow up then function, we'll search the Vuex store's posts for an entry with a slug matching the one passed in the URL. If found, we'll copy the data to our component's local state and resolve the promise. If it isn't found, the promise will be rejected. 24. Refactor posts created() hook Next, we need to refactor the created() lifecycle hook in the posts component. If we're needing to display a single post, the hook should call the getSinglePost method from the previous step, and if its promise is rejected, send the user to the 404 'page not found' page. This is to account for scenarios where users enter a non-existent post slug in the URL. 25. Add v-if directive The final step is to add the snippet below to the post component within the v-if="this.type === 'single'" div in the template. This directive means the post will only display when the local post data made available by the getSinglePost method is populated. This is to stop Vue from prematurely rendering the component and thus causing errors. 26. Build the app Now with everything working, in the console, cancel the npm run dev command or open a new console and run the below command to generate a production ready version to upload to your own server. This will appear in the dist directory. This article appeared in issue 268 of Web Designer, the creative web design magazine – offering expert tutorials, cutting-edge trends and free resources. Subscribe to Web Designer now. Read more: 32 best free WordPress themes 10 top WordPress resources The 14 best free blogging platforms View the full article

Widespread reports of reboot issues on some Intel systems force the chip giant to pump the brakes on rolling out patches for side-channel vulnerabilities. View the full article

For designers, the start of a new year sees us setting fresh goals and pledging to experiment with a new piece of software, master a tool or technique, brush up on creative theories and knowledge, and look to land new clients. So to help you to up your design game, we're lending you a helping hand with this round-up of the best design skills, theories, and practical tips to ensure that you become a better designer in 2018. All of our guides and tutorials have been broken down into easy to navigate sections, so whether you want to improve your software skills, master a new design theory, or even start that side project you've been sitting on for ages, you'll find something here to help you on your way. Software skills Design theory Business skills Best tools Make more money Get more clients Start a side project Related articles: The best laptops for graphic design 2018 8 design industry trends for 2018 The top 20 US design studios of 2018 View the full article

If you’re creating a design portfolio, it’s safe to assume you know at least the foundational rules of good design. Yet when we work in isolation on our own portfolio, it’s easy to forget the common rules we would apply to any other client project. Sometimes we’re just too close to our own work, which almost blinds us. As a designer, a portfolio is essential to your success. But at the end of the day it’s not about the portfolio – it’s about you and your work. Instead of focusing on building the perfect portfolio, focus on finding the perfect way to share the work you’ve already created. Everything else will fall into place from there. Here’s how to ensure you don’t get in your own way, and instead create a portfolio that sets you up for success. 01. Make first introductions count A simple, straightforward intro on Violeta Noy’s portfolio, built with Semplice DO: Introduce yourself immediately with a quick paragraph that says who you are, where you’re located (if that matters to your work) and what kind of work you like to do. Show your personality but be straightforward, so the first glimpse at your website gives your viewer the context they need. DON’T: Write some generic rubbish intro that says you 'craft meaningful experiences' or 'push pixels'. Aside from being overused, phrases like this don’t mean anything to anyone and won’t help your potential employer or client understand what you do. 02. Choose the right work to include Only show the kind of work you want to be known for, like Sidney Lim DO: Curate your portfolio to show only your best work. More importantly, pick the kind of work you want to do in the future. DON’T: Fill your portfolio only with spec work or unsolicited designs. Of course the occasional unsolicited design can help show your skill when you don’t have the client work to prove it yet. But too many only shows that you’re good at working in isolation without any restraints, which is almost never the case on a paid project. If you do choose to do some unsolicited work (if you’re a young designer trying to start fresh in a new field, for example) don’t do the typical Fortune 500 redesign for a company like Nike or Apple. These companies already have fantastic assets, so it’s not showing much skill to design for those brands. Choose a smaller company that you admire instead. Show what you can do when you’re working with nothing, and that will impress. 03. Make it easy and enjoyable to look through Pawel Nolbert's portfolio site doesn’t get in the way of his vibrant work DO: Think of your portfolio as the space in a museum. Make it clean, easy to navigate and fully focused on the work itself. Design for the end user who might be viewing hundreds of portfolios a day. Make it easy for them to learn who you are and what you can do. DON’T: Design your portfolio like a work of art in itself. When we think of our portfolio like a personal project or creative outlet, we can overcomplicate or make it too playful – to the point where it becomes unusable for the person who has to view it. For example, a fancy horizontal scrolling feature might seem unique and interesting to you as the designer, but no-one clicks blindly on next/prev arrows without knowing where they lead. We tend to browse portfolios in a visual way, by clicking on what interests us. Don’t make the user work to view your portfolio. 04. Create a standout About page An informative and beautiful About page by Meryl Vedros DO: Spend time making the perfect About page. Your About page is the most important page on your portfolio. I’ve reviewed hundreds of portfolios and always navigate here first to get context before I browse. The numbers on my own website confirm it too: The About page gets more hits than any other page on my site. Do something different and memorable here that offers a real glimpse into who you are. DON’T: Get too cutesy and leave out the important information we need to know. Don’t forget your name (yes, I’ve seen portfolios where I couldn’t find any first or last name anywhere), a picture of you (a nice personal touch that makes a difference) and your main skills. And please, don’t forget to list your email address. Liked this? Read these: Craft the perfect portfolio in a day 5 quick and easy ways to fix your portfolio How to start building up your design portfolio View the full article

There's a difference between having a great idea in your head and actually bringing it to life on your screen. Graphic designers are capable of making those ideas come to life. The Ultimate Graphic Design Mastery Bundle will show you how to do just that with the help of top tools graphic designers trust. Get it on sale for just $19 (approx. £14). There are many skills that a graphic designer has to master in order to make their ideas and concepts a reality. Luckily, the Ultimate Graphic Design Mastery Bundle has courses that can help you hone your skills in some of the most important areas. Learn how to work with powerful design tools including InDesign, Illustrator, Photoshop and Affinity Designer. Plus, you'll pick up the fundamentals of design, such as typography and core design principles, so you can bring out the best in your work. The Ultimate Graphic Design Mastery Bundle is valued at over $565, but you can get this incredible bundle of courses on sale for a special sale price of just $19 (approx. £14). That's a huge saving for a bundle that will help you sharpen your skills, so grab this deal before it's gone. 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: 28 books every graphic designer should read How to get a career in graphic design: 11 pro tips 20 great resources for learning graphic design View the full article

"You can find inspiration in anything," said Paul Smith. And he's right, of course. But how about we get specific, because whether you're in a creative rut, suffering from writer's block, or just not quite cracking that brief, sometimes you need to take direct action. As Design Bridge's creative director of brand language, I have six top tips to help you to get rid of creative block and unleash your creativity. How to avoid creative burnout01. Meet your public Take your headphones off and engage with the real world for a free dose of inspiration Ok, Ok, you hate your commute, we all do. But try to see it in a different light. Take out your headphones, put down the Kindle. Listen to people's conversations, their opinions. Think about why they've chosen the shoes they're wearing, the lipstick they're applying. Take a trip to parts of town you've not ventured to before and walk among the markets and parks to bus stops and stations you wouldn't usually wait at. You won't get to grips with what motivates people in the real world by sitting at your desk. 02. Be inspired by the inspired You should always embrace your inner Bowie We've all got our secret creative crushes, and I say embrace them. If you're a sucker for Starck, or a bastion of Bowie, go all out. Buy the books, listen to the music, see the films, wear the fur coat. Sometimes it helps to have a creative middleman (or woman), because then you can trace their inspiration 'ancestry' – see what led them in certain directions and explore where they'll take you. Whenever I'm really stuck for inspiration, I'll grab Diana Vreeland's books and off I go, to the end of Prohibition for Tanqueray, or the suave gentlemen's clubs of Piccadilly for Floris. When it comes to journeying into your imagination, it helps to have a travel companion. 03. Get thee to a bookshop You can never have enough books Bookshops are as much about images as they are about words. The cover of a book is effectively a poster, drawing you in with intrigue, with beauty, with an abstract encapsulation of a narrative. The pages inside are rich with story, information or opinion. In a bookshop, you can see just what succeeds and fails in design – which covers grab you, which titles provoke, which illustrations cause your inner magpie to take flight. When first pitching to Fortnum & Mason, we said that we wanted to think of its ranges as we would editions of books, intertwining visual wit and expert storytelling. That thought (and a long-term love of her work) prompted our later collaboration with Coralie Bickford-Smith on Fortnum's honey range; through her delicate illustrations of hives, flowers and foliage, the story of each flavour is told with the same elegance seen in Coralie's beautiful work for Penguin. My favourite book haunts? Daunt Books on Marylebone High Street, Strand Books in New York, Richard Way in Henley-on-Thames and Blackwell's in Oxford. I never come out empty-handed. 04. Go shopping Shops can be an ideas goldmine; you don't even have to buy anything In our industry, the consumer is king – so behave like one. Get out into the supermarkets, the department stores, the delis. Watch how people behave in front of products, advertising, shelf wobblers. Let your eye be drawn to different finishes, patterns, typefaces, copy lines. Think about what they're saying to you. Got a brief to rebrand an eco-friendly handwash company? Head to a chemist to look at the shelves – is the colour green always earth-friendly? Or is it more clinical than that? Try to decode some of your own assumptions and behaviour. Take photos, buy things, and when you get back to your desk, make mood boards that really encapsulate what you saw. What themes emerge? You'll be amazed at what a supermarket sweep can stir up, even if your brief is for something you wouldn't even buy off the shelf. My top of the shops? Wardour News, any decent stationery shop, the whole of Whole Foods, any large Boots, John Bell & Croyden in Wigmore Street, London... I could go on. 05. Go running Going for a run can give you a great opportunity to just think I began running to benefit my waistline, but I've kept running because it's good for my mind. I run without music, and I plod along with no concern for any improvement in speed. It's the meditative process of putting one foot in front of the other that really helps me overcome any creative rut. On runs I've come up with the thrust for whole presentations, written backs of pack, come up with design routes – all without the presence of a laptop. I've won awards for the things I've thought of midway through a lap of Chorleywood Common. Running is a lesson in persistence, in self-motivation and timing – all vital in our industry, where good ideas sometimes simply have to happen on demand. 06. Let the eye travel Get out of your comfort zone and head somewhere completely diferent Nothing beats getting out of your comfort zone. Heading to somewhere where the air smells different, where the streets echo with another accent and where even the sirens have a different wail is the ultimate awakener for the creative brain. There's no way we could have created our Guinness Africa work without actually going to the bars of Nigeria. But you don't even necessarily have to go far – I defy anyone to go to Dungeness (Kent, England) and come away unmoved. In fact, take any brief, and most destinations can offer some sort of excuse for a visit. You'll never see colour quite like you'll see it in Italy. Berlin is six cities in one, each loaded with incredibly emotive stories and signage. And my heart will always belong to New York, where the subway system alone makes you think differently about design. Travel may not be cheap, but, as they say, it'll always make you richer. Of course, this is by no means an exhaustive list, but it might just prompt you to get you off your chair and into a more creative way of thinking. I've sometimes even found that not thinking about the brief for a solid hour has been the best way to refocus my mind on the task in hand. An esteemed colleague and I once brainstormed a list of our top 10 TV detectives one night when we really should have been working on a pitch, but it was the light relief we needed to then get on with the job. The fundamental thing is that when you're stuck, don't panic – take action. This article was originally published in issue 273 of Computer Arts, the global design magazine – helping you solve daily design challenges with insights, advice and inspiration. Buy issue 273 here or subscribe to Computer Arts here. Related articles: 10 inspirational design cities The 7 best New York agency websites of 2017 32 brilliant design portfolios to inspire you View the full article

As an artist, many of us are drawn to expressing ideas through character designs. I’m constantly seeking to improve, and over the years I’ve picked up some helpful tricks in designing more appealing and expressive characters. It’s important to design not only how your figures look, but also how they tell a story with their gestures and movements. This is especially crucial in the animation industry because the characters you’ll be conceptualising are intended to perform as though they were an actor in a film or TV show. Here are some tips on how to draw a more engaging character. 01. Draw a line of action A straight or curved line forms the foundation of a movement drawingEnvisioning a single line overlaying your drawing can be a simple way of creating a feeling of movement. This line of action can either be straight or curved; both can give a different feeling of movement. While a straight line is usually very fast and direct, a curved line can create a more graceful mood. However, it’s best to avoid a perfectly straight vertical line of action, which may make a drawing feel static. 02. Show what the character is thinking The character's thoughts will help to suggest their actionsJust as we imagine our favourite TV and film characters to be real, we should try to imagine the characters we create have minds of their own. If a character in a drawing is moving or acting, they should have a reason for doing so. Whether it be a broad action such as sprinting or a subtle mannerism such as twirling a strand of hair, the character being presented would most likely have a conscious or unconscious reason for doing so. Keeping this in mind will help you make your character feel more interesting and relatable. 03. Contrast straights and curves A balance of straight and curved lines brings a drawing to lifeThe contrast between straight lines and curved lines is an essential design element. A sketch made up of straight lines would feel too tense, while a drawing using mostly curved lines would lack structure. Curves are generally used to suggest the more fleshy part of the figure, whereas straights are more commonly used to imitate stable and solid segments. For example, compare the use of a straight line for a character’s back and the soft curve of their stomach. 04. Draw from life Get out and about for some invaluable drawing experienceDrawing from life is an extremely helpful observational tool, whether it’s in a classroom or at your local café. Sketching and observing people around you can be beneficial in learning how to draw the human figure and the many emotions it can exhibit. Alternatively, there are life drawing classes. These tend to consist of a mixture of lengthy and short poses – poses set over a longer period of time enable you to capture details and study human anatomy, while quick poses are better suited to the gesture drawing technique (see step five). 05. Use gestures An immediate gesture can be recorded in a short space of timeGesture drawing is a quick way to capture the overall message of a figure. These observational drawings are often done in very short segments – in a life-drawing class, the model may only pose for 30 seconds, forcing the artist to get their first impressions down on paper. In this process of making deliberate and quick lines, try not to worry about how your art looks, or capturing details. You want to focus on the action or feeling of the pose. 06. Employ shape language Different shapes can communicate a unique characterThe use of different shapes is a major tool in character design. As well as helping to convey personality, shapes can also suggest movements or emotions. A character made up of squares may feel more slow and stable, whereas one made up of triangles may give off a more excitable feeling. Circles or curves are often used for more likable characters, and can make them feel friendly and bouncy. 07. Tilt and twist A twisted posture instantly creates an interesting poseA simple way to create a more dynamic pose is to practise using tilts and twists. To help avoid a static pose try using different angles. For instance, the angle of the character’s shoulders could contrast with the angle of their hips. Instead of drawing with angles that are parallel, contrasting angles give the drawing a feeling of flow and rhythm. 08. Apply squash and stretch Squash and stretch are fundamental principles every animator needs to knowAs one of the 12 principles of animation, 'squash and stretch' is a useful technique in giving your drawing more life and energy. In animation a squash is often used as anticipation for a broader action: the stretch. The same can be used in a static drawing: A stretched pose acts as a moment when the character is creating their broadest action, while a squash in a drawing suggests tension. Next page: read on for more tips to bring your characters to life... 09. Draw thumbnail sketches Thumbnail sketches can be done quickly, like gesture drawingsA small thumbnail sketch (perhaps taking the form of a gesture drawing) can be useful for planning out a character’s pose, and enable you to consider different options for conveying an action. Once I come up with a pose I’m happy with, I’ll refine the sketch on a new layer placed on top of the thumbnail. This approach enables me to create a cleaner drawing, while hopefully still reflecting that initial feeling of movement. 10. Consider silhouettes Block out details to see why a pose works (or doesn't)Imagining that your drawing is filled in with black so you can only see the silhouette is a great way to ensure it delivers a clear read. Thinking in terms of silhouettes will also help you to become aware of what’s most important to the pose. Perhaps extending limbs away from the body will give a clearer read than crowding them together? Is your character presenting something of interest? If so, should it be accentuated in the silhouette? 11. Give a feeling of weight Weights have a powerful impact on how your characters moveConsidering weight in a drawing can help create a more believable feeling of motion. This could be shown through anything from the clothing the character’s wearing, to their posture. If a character is holding something light, their posture is going be effortless and the object may not demand much of their attention. On the other hand, a figure carrying a heavy object may be solely focused on holding it up, causing their body to contort into abnormal positions. 12. Keep it loose Quick sketches are a useful template for further workAlong with gesture drawing, sketching quickly and loosely will keep the focus on attitude and storytelling, and stop you from getting too attached to any specific piece that you draw. Beginning with a loose sketch will enable you to make any necessary changes, such as pushing the pose or defining the silhouette, resulting in a clearer drawing. Then of course, when you’re happy with the general pose and gesture it will act as a solid template onto which you can add the final details. 13. Move from sketching to painting Capture the action quicklyWhen moving my sketch into a painting, I begin with a quick sketch that gets the main idea across. Usually at this stage it’s very rough so I can focus on the gesture of the pose I’m going for, rather then spending too much time on details, which I will be working out later. Colours, curves and silhouettes all come togetherNext, I add colour. This helps me to block in shapes. At this point it can be helpful to work out the silhouette, while also considering other design elements, such as straights versus curves. I’ll make any necessary changes to ensure the pose reads well. Finishing touches are added and mistakes ironed outFinally, on a new layer, I’ll begin adding any additional details. I’ll paint and refine the sketch to give it more structure and form. Here I’ll make any final changes to the character, and work out the anatomy that may not have been properly considered in the initial rough sketch. 14. Push your idea Exaggerate your ideas to get the most out of your charactersOften, taking a second pass at your initial drawing can be beneficial. When we think to ourselves what it is we want to draw, we sometimes have a clear picture as to what that action looks like. For instance, say you want to draw your character sitting down. You could very well draw them resting on a chair and that will get the point across. But how might you push it to tell a better story? Maybe they’re bored, and so their posture is slouched and they’re resting their head in their hands. The addition of more exaggerated movements and subtle acting can make for a much more appealing character. 15. Combine expression and body language Visual shortcuts allow artists to communicate what characters are thinkingWe should also consider how the character is feeling. Visual clues such as facial expression and body language can help convey the emotions of the character immediately. A character feeling confident may stand with their shoulders back and their head held high. On the other hand, a timid character may be crossing their arms, with their head hung low. 16. Tell a story Putting a character in a situation tells us about their personalityCharacter design is much more than drawing just a pretty picture. A character drawing could be picture-perfect, with no anatomical flaws and spot-on proportions, but still lack the charm of a character with personality. Drawing your character in varying circumstances will help the viewer to ‘get to know them’. How a character reacts to different situations reveals different aspects of their personality. What’s your character like? How might that affect how they carry themselves in different scenarios? This article was originally published in issue 142 of ImagineFX, the world's best-selling magazine for digital artists – packed with workshops and interviews with fantasy and sci-fi artists, plus must-have kit reviews. Subscribe to ImagineFX here. Related articles: How to generate new ideas for character designs 15 tips for creating characterful creature art 20 top character design tips View the full article

Bungie lead environment artist Daniel Thiger runs us through his techniques for producing realistic, compelling texturing materials with Allegorithmic’s Substance Designer. Allegorithmic CEO and founder Dr Sebastien Deguy will be speaking at Vertex, our debut event for the CG community. Don’t miss out, get your tickets to his talk now. 01. Create an initial shape To create this lava substance, I started with Perlin Noise 1 to define the mass and density of the material. This noise has a good mix of dark and bright values without too much detail. I then used directional warps and blur nodes to define the direction of the lava flow. 02. Refine the shapes To make the shapes read as thick lava flows, I needed to reduce the dark values of the noise. The method I chose was slope blur. By setting it to ‘blur’ and using positive values, I inflated the shapes. Warping was then applied to break them up and add imperfections. 03. Add details to the shapes The reference used for this project featured lots of banded layers running perpendicular to the flow. By using tiled gradient maps that I warped with my main shape, I made the layers appear tucked in underneath. Additional warping and slope blurs were used to add variation. 04. Composite The last steps included blending the refined and detailed shapes together and then warping them for a more integrated look. I used Height Blend to blend the shape with an offset version of itself to create a few more layers. The final touch was to add micro detail noise with fractal sum base. Don’t miss out on Dr Sebastien Deguy's talk, book your ticket now at vertexconf.com. There are still some amazing workshops we’ve yet to announce so keep an eye on our website, where you can also find out more about the other amazing speakers, workshops, recruitment fair, networking event, expo and more. This tutorial originally appeared in issue 112 of 3D Artist, the magazine offering practical inspiration for 3D enthusiasts and professionals. Subscribe to 3D Artist here. Read more: Where to find free textures for 3D projects 8 Super tips for Substance Painter Level up game characters with Creative Assembly View the full article

You're reading 10 Smallest & Fastest Frontend Web Dev Frameworks, originally posted on Designmodo. If you've enjoyed this post, be sure to follow on Twitter, Facebook, Google+! If you search in Google you’ll find dozens of handy tools for improving your website’s performance. And there’s so much you can do from optimizing images to setting up your own CDN. But here’s one thing few designers think about: optimizing your code. This could mean reducing total HTTP requests, minifying your files, or switching over to […] View the full article

Researchers have found three Sega game apps that connect to insecure servers and risk leaking user data. View the full article

How do you sum up the world's largest country in a piece of branding? That was the challenge faced by Russia's tourist board, which wanted a new identity that would draw travellers and tourists to the country. Its solution, inspired by suprematist art, was a geometric design that could swap out different elements. Accompanied by the slogan "the whole world within Russia", the new Russian tourism logo depicts Russia with a group of 10 brightly coloured shapes that represent different regions in the country. Different shapes stand in for different Russian regions A team of five designers from four Russian agencies – namely Suprematika, Plenum, Artonika and Art.Lebedev – are behind the identity. The logo itself takes its lead from the avant-garde art movement Suprematism, which relies on communicating artistic feeling rather than an accurate depiction of objects. Often this sees a subject take the form of abstract shapes. Thanks to its size and diverse population, Russia can mean different things depending on who you talk to. To reflect this flexibility, the design is open to adaptation by changing out a shape in favour of a photograph or object. Russian cuisine comes together in one logo This is a really clever way of representing lots of different facets of Russia while keeping the design and message consistent at the same time. For example, to communicate Russia's varied landscape, photographs of mountains, forests and volcanoes can be brought together using the format of the shapes. Photo elements can be incorporated into the identity As Egor Myznik, creative director at Plenum strategic marketing agency, says on the Russia brand website: "What can be easier than describing your home country? In an instant, you come up with tons of significant things that you are proud of: food, art, nature, people, events. "The toughest part is to describe so many things and keep it clear and simple at the same time. The created concept elegantly solves this problem, and on top of that gives a lot of freedom in visual system development." What could be more Russian than a matryoshka doll? The identity was chosen as the winner of a competition held by the Federal Agency for Tourism of the Russian Federation and the Association of Branding Companies of Russia. Launched way back in 2015, the competition was open to submissions from anyone. It saw 480 logos and 600 slogans pitched for consideration before the winning design was chosen from a shortlist of 10 in a public vote. The shortlisted 10 designs from the competition Art historians could debate all day about whether or not this an accurate use of Suprematism. After all the shapes, while abstract, do sort of follow the sprawling boundaries of the country once you know that's what they stand for. But these people should keep in mind that this is a tourism campaign, not a curated exhibition. This abstract, avant-garde approach is a welcome change of pace to run of the mill tourism branding that relies on recognisable landmarks or flags. The new identity is original, distinctive, and turns people on to an art movement that the country is famous for. What's not to love? The design will be used for sporting events too Related articles: Build a better personal brand When to use humour in branding 5 best and worst brand identities of 2017 View the full article

If you're in the market for a new computer for graphic design, you've come to the right place. Our selection of the best laptops for graphic designers will suit you if you need a portable workstation. But if you require superior ergonomics, a bigger display and more power for less cash, then you're better off going for a desktop. As a graphic designer, a computer with sufficient specs is a must for creating work that will please clients and take pride of place in your portfolio. You want a machine that has a pin-sharp screen and delightful-to-use mouse. But there's a lot of choice out there – which is why we've put together this guide. 12 essential tools for graphic designers in 2018Here, we've selected five of the best computers for graphic design. Whether you're a Mac user or a Windows wizard, you'll find something in this list that suits your needs. Generally speaking, the more you pay the better the machine. But don't worry if you're on a tighter budget – we've picked the best cheap computers for graphic design, too. Read on for our selection of the best desktops out there... There's a reason why Apple's new powerhouse workstation, the iMac Pro, is so darn expensive – in fact, there are several. First, there's the display – that incredible 27-inch 5,120 x 2,880 resolution display. Apple says it can produce in excess of one billion colours. If you've ever wondered whether you're really seeing your designs at their best, then this iMac's screen is about as true as you're going to get. Combined with your choice of either 8GB or 16GB HMB2 AMD Vega graphics, the full beauty – and, of course, any errors or flaws – of your work will be seen in dazzling 5K quality. This is the fastest and most powerful product Apple has ever made. And as you'd expect from Apple, keen attention has been paid to the ergonomics of the peripherals. The wireless Magic Mouse, Magic Trackpad and Magic Keyboard mean you have all the control and nuance you can handle. In conclusion? The iMac Pro is overkill for all but the most professional of users. If your workflow doesn't involve intense creative tasks, huge file sizes, major editing or 3D rendering at very fast speeds, you simply won't need this amount of power. (And if it does, but the phenomenal price tag rules you out, we'd suggest looking at a high-spec 5K iMac). However, if you need its power and can justify the cost, the iMac Pro is an incredible computer for graphic design. Read more about the new iMac Pro It may sound clichéd to say that the Microsoft Surface Studio is the Windows-based answer to the best iMacs on the market, but clichés are generally rooted in truth. This is no inferior substitute, however – it's the go-to workstation for Windows users. Check out the paper thin 28-inch PixelSense Display that puts the vast majority of other 4K screens out there to shame. But that's not the best bit – it's touchscreen as well, meaning you can actually draw straight onto the monitor with the superb Surface Pen. If you've not used it before, you'll be surprised just how accurately the 4,096 levels of pressure-sensitivity allow you to sketch and draw. Saying it's just like a pencil and paper isn't really too much of an exaggeration. Read our hands on look at the Surface Studio It's hard not to be wowed when you first lay eyes on the monumental 34-inch curved screen of the HP Envy all-in-one. The ultra-wide QHD (3,440 x 1,440 pixel) LED backlit Micro Edge display is unlike pretty much anything else you'll currently see on the shelves. It's an astonishing amount of room to let your creations breathe, and displays plenty of screen furniture to let you make edits and changes with the utmost convenience. It's like having a dual display, but without the clunky hardware. Pretty nice for catching films and TV box-sets on your downtime, too. Inside there's 8GB of RAM, a quad-core seventh generation Intel Core i7 processor and a 256GB SSD + 1TB HDD combination hard drive. A top spec for your cash. This is the Apple Mac to go for if you've got a fraction of the budget that the iMac Pro is being sold for. And if you think that means you'll be getting an inadequate machine, then think again – there's a reason why Macs are so popular among designers. It may not be 5K, but we love the stunning 21.5-inch Retina display that you get with this iMac. It features a wider range of colours than some competitors' monitors thanks to its DCI P3 colour space. It means you get more accurate colouring and a greater vibrancy. And because Apple puts such care into the construction of all its equipment, the keyboard and mouse are a joy to use as well. Read our sister site TechRadar's full Apple iMac with 4K Retina display review If you're looking at the price tags of the other computers for graphic design in this list, and then looking at your budget and seeing a mismatch, fear not – the Lenovo Ideacentre 910 is a more budget-friendly buy. Considering the price, the processing power you get to render your designs is surprisingly brawny, with the quad-core Intel CPU and 8GB of RAM taking the strain. The Nvidia GeForce graphics card is a welcome addition, too – fine if you're wanting to implement animation. You're not shortchanged on the size of the screen, either. But measuring 27 inches at the diagonals, the downside is that you're only dealing with Full HD, with an option to upgrade to 4K at a higher price. Related articles: Top alternatives to the MacBook Pro Best Photoshop tutorials 9 tools to make graphic design easier View the full article

If you're hoping to snag a prestigious D&AD Award this year, you'd better get your skates on. The deadline for entering this year's awards is 14 February, which gives you less than a month to register, prepare your entries and send them off to be judged by the best in the business. Need a little inspiration? Last year we spoke to some of the D&AD judges at the Computer Arts-chaired Design panel, a couple of hours before the Awards ceremony, and discussed seven projects that would later go on to win Pencils. Here are some of our video and written interview highlights – there's a lot to be learned from these projects. How to be an award-winning illustratorTalk us through your choice of Landor Paris' [triple Graphite Pencil-winning] campaign, To: A New Kind of Support. Why is it so strong? The To: brand is layered on top of its partners' recycled brand assets, including last season's catalogues, business cards, old posters, canvas bags and even condoms Su Mathews Hale: To: was started by two guys who are financial partners. They find companies that are contributing in some way to kindness and good, and partner with them. They created this co-branding programme that we liked because it was simple and bold, combining photography with bold fluorescent colour. They use materials supplied by their clients, so don't create any new images and graphics as such – the identity is superimposed on top. It's a cool juxtaposition, and we thought it was very unusual – because of the concept, but also because it was executed quite beautifully. Alan Dye: It's jolly, fun, exciting and vibrant. By contrast, your next pick is very subtle and understated: a Christmas card by RRD Creative [also Graphite Pencil-winning]. How did that manage to catch your eye? This wonderfully simple, witty Christmas card won RRD Creative a Graphite Pencil AD: We saw lots of stuff. Some whizzy technical data. Amazing little videos. A lot of print. It was probably late Sunday afternoon that I came to item number 678, this little Christmas card, and it just made me smile. You see projects where they've spent a lot of money and it still isn't good. This was great. The snowman is made from two buttons, and inside it says, 'Brief: Christmas card. Budget: buttons.' Made us all laugh, and that's why it got through. It's refreshing to see something low-budget has got through purely because of its wit… AD: Absolutely. You see a lot of big agencies cross-entering everything, so you see a piece of work in data visualisation, leaflets, posters… it gets a bit tedious, and you think they must have a budget of £100,000 because you go into these other rooms and see the same piece of work over and over and over again. It makes it a bit unfair for smaller design companies. SMH: Controversially, there were discussions too around people being dismissive of projects by larger corporate companies. Just because something's done for a not-for-profit doesn't mean it's a great design, and spending lots of money on it doesn't make it great, either. Which leads nicely into a campaign for a global corporate client: Dentsu Japan's Life is Electric campaign for Panasonic [two Wood Pencils, one Graphite Pencil]. Why did you pick this? Dentsu Japan's quirky illustrated campaign Life Is Electric for Panasonic is based around whimsical stories of how electricity is made AD: You think, huge organisation – there'll be loads of money. It's actually a really brave creative response, and it's beautifully executed. I'm surprised the packages for the batteries are still here; everyone wanted to pinch them. SMH: Each pack had a lovely illustration, and a line about how much energy it took to charge this battery. It encourages people to 'see' electricity. AD: Each battery got its energy from something quite natural. It could have been from the front of a fire, or a hamster wheel… Moving on to some digital work, you've picked F37 Foundry's [Yellow Pencil-winning] type testing tool. What impressed you there? F37's type tool wowed the judges by dramatically simplifying the business of working with type AD: It's beautifully simple, but there are all these different fonts to play with. You can tap in anything, and put it into any form you want. It's perfect for type designers and graphic designers – it's the tool we've been after. SMH: Typesetting tools are usually based around typing in one word, or that crazy 'brown fox jumping' thing. It's really hard to get an idea of how it works, and this was pretty innovative in that it actually helps our profession. Some of the digital guys thought there were some quirks that weren't quite fleshed out, but us designers thought it would help make the process simpler, easier and more beautiful. Did the fact it was created by designers for designers give it an unfair advantage, as it appealed to the judges' personal sensibilities? AD: Sure, graphic designers are the audience, but my mum could use this. SMH: If anything, there could be an unfair disadvantage. When it's something for your audience, I think you're more judgemental and critical. When a project is for a different audience, we're a bit more open. If you dislike something about a project aimed at children, people might say: 'But you're not the audience,' and I'd reply, 'I know I'm not a child, but I don't think my child would like this either.' AD: As a tool, this is just beautiful. I pinged it on to the studio, and just said: 'Use this.' Your next pick, Zaans Medical Centre, features some beautiful environmental graphics [and also won a Yellow Pencil]. Talk us through it… SILO collaborated with Mecanoo Architects on these imaginative environmental graphics for Zaans Medical Centre AD: We saw a lot of incredibly boring way finding systems. And here was this huge illustration with beautifully studied detail. It got us really excited. SMH: There were 3,500 hand-drawn illustrations created specifically for this, and it took 2.5 years. There's so much detail, ranging from the giant hand-drawn numbers for the floor signage, to the individual icons, all of which have some concept related to that particular room. AD: No Helvetica in sight. Huge numbers, made out of thousands of birds and creatures. SMH: It was also really well integrated with the architecture itself. Quite often architects design a space, then graphic designers are brought in and it looks slapped on. Here, the environmental graphics played a huge part of how we felt in the space and experienced it. It brought the architecture to a new level. Fiona, how did the Packaging category shape up? You've picked out this [Yellow Pencil-winning] Jägermeister Coolpack, for a start… Cheil Germany GmbH created this freezer-pack-style Jägermeister bottle to encourage drinkers to enjoy it ice-cold Fiona Curran: Jägermeister wanted to promote the fact that it's best drunk ice cold, at minus 18 degrees. Apparently a lot of people put their bottle in the freezer. So we just loved how they redesigned the bottle to look like a freezer pack. It feels really relevant to the brand. They could have slapped on this big label, but it's printed on a band, so it just slides off. The concept and the craft just work together really well. Your second pick is Edible Six Pack Rings, by We Believers for Saltwater Brewery [one Wood, and one Yellow Pencil]. How did this one catch your attention? This Edible Six Pack Ring by We Believers won a Wood Pencil for its value as a PR campaign for Saltwater Brewery, and a Yellow Pencil for its sustainable packaging credentials FC: We all know that six-pack ring packaging is normally made of plastic that's non-recyclable, and it kills wildlife. This one is sustainable, and it's made by a beer company out of the residue from the beer-making process, so it's edible to marine life. As the jury, we were like: 'Why hasn't this been done before?' It just felt so right. The first thing to factor in is that it actually uses something like 100 per cent biodegradable materials. It saves waste, and just seems like a great idea. It's also a good example of a concept that doesn't have to be beautiful. Sometimes things are just a bit ugly. This is design in its purest form – you've got to keep that shape to put around the cans, and there's nothing else. But from a conceptual point of view it's so simple, and just right and sustainable. This article was originally published in issue 267 of Computer Arts, the global design magazine – helping you solve daily design challenges with insights, advice and inspiration. Subscribe to Computer Arts here. Related articles: Top tips for making design awards work for you Biggest trends in product packaging design for 2018 40 awesome packaging designs View the full article

Improvements in tablets and tablet software have opened up plenty of great new opportunities for digital artists. I recently received a Wacom MobileStudio Pro 13-inch device, which is much more than a drawing tablet: it offers the full Windows 10 experience. I thought it might be useful (and fun) to bring you along while I get this machine set up for the long haul. Don't worry though, the kit in my list isn't specific to this tablet. I'll run through the hardware, software, add-ons and accessories you need to get started with any tablet. 01. Graphiter Free, with in-app purchases Windows-only I've been immersed in the Apple ecosystem for a long time. Truth be told, I've not used a Windows PC since the days of Windows XP. But the MobileStudio Pro comes loaded with Windows 10, and I wanted to take this time to look at what the Windows world has to offer digital artists. One of my top picks is Graphiter. I was immediately blown away by this sketching app – it's intuitive and beautifully designed. Graphiter has one goal: to reproduce a real-life sketching experience. With simple tools like a blend tool, an eraser, and graphite pencils, I couldn't help but feel like I was using traditional tools to create my digital sketches. 02. Mischief Infinite Canvas $25 Mac/Windows An infinite canvas, you say? That's right! Mischief is a cross-platform app that puts you right into your canvas. You don't need to worry about canvas size or resolution; just launch the app and start to draw. While Mischief isn't something I'd use to produce finished work (at least not yet), it does lend itself well to sketching and getting your ideas out of your head and onto the digital page. 03. Boxy SVG $9.99 Mac/Windows/Chrome OS/Web app Quite possibly the easiest to use SVG tool I've ever come across, Boxy SVG might become a new favourite of mine, earning docking and taskbar space along with Clip Studio Paint and Photoshop. Because this app supports SVG natively, there's no need to import or export images: just load them up and get to work. There's one other feature I quite like about this app: the Developer Tools. Using the Developer Tools, I can review and edit the underlying SVG and CSS code, which helps when working on websites. 04. Pixel Art Studio Free, with in-app purchases Windows-only In my job, I'm about to get more involved in making game art and assets. With that in mind, I went looking for something I could use on the MobileStudio Pro. That's when I found Pixel Art Studio. Pixel Art Studio is powerful and easy to use. If you're looking to make pixel art graphics, and you're on Windows, grab yourself a copy of this and take control of each and every pixel in your drawing. 05. Microsoft Universal Foldable Keyboard One thing I've noticed with the Wacom MobileStudio Pro is you absolutely have to have an external keyboard. Although I already had an external mini keyboard that I use with my iPad Pro, I didn't want to deal with switching it out between devices. This one is compatible with iPad, iPhone, Android devices, and Windows tablets. Plus, with this being a foldable keyboard, it's easier to store when it's not in use. And did I mention that it's spill-resistant? Another great feature is its ability to be paired to multiple devices. Switching over to the next device is as simple as pushing a button. 06. Wacom soft tablet case If you have a home studio with eight cats running around, like I do, it's not easy keeping their feet away from – and off – the equipment. I had a few choices: keep the device in the box, or get a storage case. And to be honest, the Wacom MobileStudio Pro is way too beautiful to get tossed into a boring box. For the case, I decided to go with the Wacom Soft Case, which fits the Intuos Pro, Cintiq Pro and MobileStudio Pro. Its lightweight and simple design offers enough protection to keep it safe from critters, while making it easy enough to grab when I'm ready to work. A word of caution: if you travel, be aware that the inside storage pockets have no way of closing. So if you swing it around too much, anything inside those pockets will have a chance of sneaking out and scratching your device. 07. Kensington SmartFit laptop cooling stand Although I generally don't use a stand with any of my mobile devices, having used a Wacom Cintiq for so long, getting a stand felt like the right thing to do. At this time, Wacom still does not have a stand of its own that's compatible with the MobileStudio Pro. But that's fine; the Kensington SmartFit Stand works well, and it gets the job done. It's also super portable and offers up to 50 degree tilt angle. 08. MEKO artist glove I'm not a huge fan of artist gloves, but they do come in 'handy' (heh heh) from time to time, especially when you accidentally keep triggering random commands every time your palm hits the taskbar! What I like about the MEKO glove is that only one finger is covered. With most other gloves, you lose two fingers to the cloth, and for me, it quickly gets uncomfortable. With the MEKO glove, I feel a lot more free. 09. Adobe Creative Cloud Because I switch between macOS and now Windows, it's important for me to use software that's compatible with both operating systems. Let's face it, no round-up would be complete without Adobe's Creative Cloud suite of apps. Despite my newfound love of Clip Studio Paint, I still fire up Photoshop on a daily basis. It's true! There's just something about the way in which Photoshop works that I haven't seen replicated in other software. How does Creative Cloud work on the MobileStudio Pro? Great! And because the Mobile Studio Pro is a full blown Windows computer, I'm able to use other apps, like Adobe Audition, too. For me, that's a big win. 10. Clip Studio Paint EX $219/£168 Mac/Windows/Wacom/iPad/Surface Pro Clip Studio Paint EX works fantastically on the MobileStudio Pro. If you're looking for a natural and traditional-feeling drawing and painting app – especially if you're working on Manga art or comic books – hands-down, this is the winning combination. There isn't a single thing that I don't like about it. Read more: 60 amazing Adobe Illustrator tutorials The 22 best places to find free vector art online Going viral - what's it worth? View the full article

Every artist deserves to upgrade their tools every now and then. With the Corel Painter 2018 Upgrade Bundle, you can take your art to the next level and make it stand out with the latest and greatest tools and brushes for artists. Get this collection of apps and custom brushes for artists on sale for 53% off the retail price. At the core of the Corel Painter Upgrade 2018 Bundle is Corel Painter 2018, one of the most powerful tools around for digital artists (which we gave four stars in our review). You don't have to own a previous version of the app to grab the Upgrade Bundle, as you'll get the full version of the app included. Pair that app with the powerful photo editing software AfterShot 3 and a collection of 11 custom brushes offered by ParticleShop and you'll be able to create without limitations. The Corel Painter 2018 Upgrade Bundle usually retails for $538.98, but you can save 53% off that price. That means you'll pay just $249 (approx. £184) for a bundle that will breathe new life into your artwork, so grab this deal today. The bundle includes: Corel Painter 2018 (new or upgrade) AfterShot 3 ParticleShop brush plugin for Photoshop and AfterShot 3 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: How to create portrait art in Corel Painter 8 inspiring digital art portfolios and why they work 5 ways to improve your digital art skills View the full article

What would you do if you had unlimited creative freedom online? Wix gives you just that: the freedom and features to tell your story exactly the way you’ve envisioned it. The digital space is pretty much like a playground - a place where you can free your creative mind and come up with endless ideas. Explore the web design trends of 2018Full creative freedom Take your design in any direction you want, by starting with a blank page. The drag and drop interface lets you create the right layout, fast and intuitively, that adapts to any device. More importantly: every element is customisable. Feel like exploring the code-side of things? Go that extra step and create a unique online experience with Wix Code - a simple, serverless and hassle-free tool for coders of all levels. Create your dream layout with fast, intuitive tools Up-to-date on web design trends Thanks to their constantly evolving platform, Wix is on the ball of every design trend. Take videos, for example. They account for almost 80% of all Internet traffic. Why don’t you claim your slice? Wix’s revolutionary video player enables you to display, share and sell your content, commission free. In seconds, you can create your own channels, upload native files or sync your YouTube, Facebook and Vimeo. Animations will also continue to pop up in 2018, and you can add interactions to your website, without a line of code. A platform built for professionals On top of these visual assets, we’ve prepared some handy features to simplify your workflow. As a designer, communication with colleagues and clients is a key part of your daily routine (whether you like it or not). With Wix, you can share your work-in- progress with just one click, to receive feedback in real time. You can also provide your clients with functionalities adapted to any type of business, like a powerful management system for eCommerce and retina-ready image galleries for the most professional photographers. Finally, you may ask: If a website is not found on Google, does it really exist? Make sure your website ranks high on search engines with industry-leading SEO capabilities from Wix. Every element of your design is customisable Creation without limits - Wix Code Wix Code was recently launched allowing anyone to create their own robust websites and web application right inside the Wix Editor. Take full control of your website’s functionality with JavaScript and Wix APIs. You’ll be able to set up database collections, build dynamic pages and repeating layouts that showcase your content. Make your site even more engaging by adding custom interactions to your page elements - all using the same visual components of the Wix Editor. It’s serverless, hassle-free coding. So, are you ready to play? Start creating with Wix now. View the full article

The relationship between creativity and commerce is a rocky one, and it's particularly rocky when you're a freelancer. For all its many joys, being your own boss also means being your own accounting department and occasional bailiff. Freelancers face three key issues: staying on top of the paperwork, getting paid and ensuring the taxman doesn't chuck you in prison. Taking care of all that can eat into the time you'd rather spend on designing. So how do others do it? 01. Start a spreadsheet Elly Walton has been a freelance illustrator for 10 years. Her client list reads like a who's who of the advertising, design and publishing fields, but despite her success, she's been using "pretty much the same old Excel spreadsheet with my incomings, outgoings and tax payable on it" all that time. Walton also records "the jobs as they come in, how I got them and whether it was a result of promotion or word of mouth," she explains. "It makes a nice, pretty graph that I look at occasionally to review my marketing." Walton uses an Adobe Photoshop template for invoices, prints hard copies – "I like to have a stack of physical paper to check through and stamp a little 'PAID' on it when it's paid" – and invoices jobs on completion. 02. Don't procrastinate Hand Lettering Headlines, by Ely Walton Procrastination, says Walton, is the enemy: "[Tax] isn't really that painful, but it's a hell of a lot more painful if you leave it until the deadline." If you're a sole trader in the UK you'll pay Income Tax on your profits (sales less expenses) as well as National Insurance contributions; limited companies pay Corporation Tax on business profits; and if you're turning over more than £81,000 per year (it happens!) there's quarterly VAT, too. It may be worth registering even if your turnover is less: under the Flat Rate Scheme someone in advertising can charge 20% but only pay 11%. 03. Consider an accountant Belle & Bunting, by Scottish illustrator Willa Gebbie Doing your own tax return isn't difficult, but if you're VAT registered or running a company you might want to consider hiring an accountant. It isn't too expensive and there's something enormously satisfying about handing over a shoebox full of receipts and never having to worry about it ever again. Like Elly Walton, beauty, fashion and portrait illustrator Willa Gebbie used a system based around a spreadsheet, in this case Google Docs, but in 2013 she decided to switch to FreeAgent. "That's when I finally got around to having a proper business account as well," she says. Until then she hadn't felt it was necessary, not least because business accounts come with a plethora of charges after the first year. "A normal account will do, as long as you keep your work money and personal money clearly separate," Gebbie says. "As a sole trader, it's unlikely that you'll need the benefits (or costs) of a business account, so it's better saving those few pounds." Gebbie is a big fan of FreeAgent. "I love how it completes my tax return for me, it's truly a godsend," she says, adding that "it's really good at assigning bank payments to invoices automatically, so I can tell really quickly who has or hasn't paid." 04. Chase payment regularly One of a series of illustrated New Year's Resolutions collected via social media. Linzie Hunter NY Resolutions, by Linzie Hunter While FreeAgent can automatically notify clients of overdue invoices, Gebbie fears that it could look "spammy", so she prefers to do the chasing herself. "I write invoices as soon as I've finished the job," she says. "Once a week I check payments and chase outstanding invoices. If they're really late then I'll start to chase every couple of days." Award-winning hand-lettering artist and illustrator Linzie Hunter is another convert to online systems, in her case Wave. As a former "shoebox and Excel spreadsheet" user, Wave has freed up a lot of her time. "Having a cloud-based system means that I can keep track of payments and invoices easily wherever I am. My favourite feature is the ability to link it to your bank and PayPal accounts, so I no longer need to enter everything manually. It's also good at showing you exactly where you are financially." Other great invoicing tools, legal tools and others are included in our 20 top tools for freelancers article. 05. State clear payment terms Three fashion illustrations by Willa Gebbie Tempting as it might be, one feature Wave and FreeAgent don't currently offer is the ability to send drone strikes after late payers. Walton is unusual – "I've been lucky not to have had a non-payer" – but stresses the value of clear payment terms. "30 days is reasonable," she says. "As soon as that date arrives, start chasing – as politely as possible, of course." Gebbie agrees. "Sometimes clients don't pay on time, but often that's because of the finance department rather than the art director… it's probably quite embarrassing for them." 06. Settle late payments nicely A hand-lettered and illustrated label for Noted, by Linzie Hunter Going in all guns blazing is never a good idea, but if you're suffering from acute late payment or non-payment, then the Late Payment of Commercial Debts legislation enables you to charge interest and penalties for non-payment. That can be the nuclear option, however, and it's always best to try and settle late payment nicely first. 07. Be prepared Stickers and packaging for Peaceable Kingdom by Linzie Hunter Our illustrators have all experienced the ups and downs of freelancing. What hard-won advice would they pass on? "If you're only just going freelance, make sure you read up about how self-assessment works and make sure you understand about paying tax on account," Hunter advises. "Otherwise it can be a bit of a shock to find that you have to pay an extra chunk in the first year. And get used to saving every receipt in your wallet automatically from the start." Willa Gebbie agrees. "Even if it'll be some time before you start paying tax, you can offset the set-up cost of your business against future tax. That's a really useful opportunity to take." Keep your work money and play money separate, Walton counsels, recommending that you put a percentage of each payment into a separate account. "I think if all payments went straight into one account, hoping that by the time the tax bill comes around I'll still have the money to pay it is a risky strategy." We can say from painful experience that Walton isn't wrong. This article first appeared in issue 236 (a special freelance issue) of Computer Arts, the global design magazine – helping you solve daily design challenges with insights, advice and inspiration. Subscribe to Computer Arts here. Liked this? Try these... 4 ways to cash in as a freelancer 6 tips for better side projects How to turn free work into paid work View the full article

Web designers know the importance of using great images alongside strong layouts and design elements to engage users, but how can you make sure you choose the right images for each project, and where should these gorgeous images go? While the backend developers get to grips with making websites and apps work, the frontend designers are crafting the UI, testing the UX and developing the overall colour scheme, look and feel. So when it comes to images, why settle for one of those hideous placeholders of two grinning businessmen shaking hands, or threadbare visual metaphors to represent 'focus' or 'success'? Think outside of the (wireframe) box, and read on to discover five top tips for choosing the perfect images for your next web design project... 01. Source the perfect hero image When an image takes up most of the browser space, it needs to look incredible As monitor displays get sharper and more high-res and broadband accelerates, the impact of a stunning large-format hero image at the heart of a landing page can't be underestimated. Selection of this all-important asset is absolutely crucial, as it can make or break a user's emotional connection with the brand. Make sure it bears strong relevance to the actual subject matter wherever possible. If you don't have the time or budget to art direct something bespoke, fear not – provided the brief is suitable, quality stock imagery can actually be ideal for this purpose. Avoid clichés like the plague, however. You need to build an association with the individual brand in question, and an image that feels too generic or 'bought in' will detach users from the experience and undermine the site's authenticity. Consider the example we've shown here: Molly & Me Pecans. The hero image fills the homepage with a mouth-watering extreme close-up of the nuts in question. Sure, it looks like a commissioned shoot, but a carefully sourced, quality stock image could be just as effective for a similar purpose. 02. Consider different crop sizes and ratios When you crop for different screen sizes and shapes, focus in on the subject of the image Once you've selected the right images, cropping them is a design skill in itself. Care should be taken to draw the user's attention to the main focus of the image, without leaving too much unnecessary dead space. It's a careful balancing act, however. Fully-responsive websites can play havoc with images if they're not properly planned to cater to different screen formats and aspect ratios, shifting that focus in unexpected ways when viewed on mobile or tablet, for instance. A great example of a responsive website that nails its image selection is the World Wildlife Fund (WWF), which takes care to allow sufficient background scenery around the main animal subject so it can crop in on smaller screens, without leaving so much dead space that the subject is dwarfed and impact is lost. 03. Curate assets to populate an online shop Ecommerce sites should feature consistently shot product images While the first two examples could easily make use of stock imagery, when it comes to ecommerce sites, assets will often need to be bespoke – and usually supplied by the client, although any chance you can get to input into the art direction is worthwhile. The very best storefronts feature studio-shot photography, where lighting, size and angle can be kept consistent, and products can be shown from multiple angles, as well as zoomed-in with macro detail shots where appropriate. Avoid inflated file-sizes for each image, however, to keep the page's load-time down. Wallet brand Bellroy is a great example, using a selection of eight shots of the product from different angles, showing off particular details, with a final 'hero' shot demonstrating at a glance what you can fit inside it. All of this presumes the website you're building is selling the client's own range, of course. If the online shop you're building is populated with third-party items, you'll need to source the best imagery you can with the above criteria in mind. 04. Choose images for UI elements and icons For icons, it's fine to use stock vector art Stock vector graphics can make excellent sources of UI elements and icons for app and website design, especially if you tweak and customise them in Adobe Illustrator to suit the look and feel of the individual site. While using stock photography is all about striving for originality and unique relevance to the brand you're designing for – avoiding cliches – icons are to some extent the polar opposite. In order to keep the user experience smooth, inbuilt visual associations with particular symbols can be used to your advantage. If the function communicated by the icon is immediately clear, you can keep the UI clean and simple without the need for text labels. These are known as universal icons and include, for instance, a house for the 'home' button, a magnifying glass to search, and a shopping cart. Relatively few universal icons exist, unfortunately. Some familiar images have different meanings depending on the context, such as a the widely-used heart and star symbols – and are therefore known as conflicting icons. Choose carefully, and add text labels where necessary for smoother UX. 05. Find contextual editorial images for pages Stock images in a similar style help guide users around editorial content Depending on the website you're creating, images may be required to illustrate particular sub-pages, or stories, or blog posts – although the latter will likely be the client's responsibility once you've handed them the keys to the CMS. Again, selecting the right visuals for the job is all about context. Bespoke imagery, when you have it in the right quantity and quality, is ideal – but again stock images may be necessary. As with your hero image, however, always consider their appropriateness for the subject matter. A classic example where shooting bespoke imagery would be prohibitively expensive and time-consuming is a website that uses travel images of particular locations, such as social travel platform Tripoto. Popular travel destinations will have been captured countless times in stock image libraries, but if you need a whole batch of them, take the time to research a selection with a similar mood or style of art direction to ensure as much consistency as possible in the design. Related articles: 10 iconic examples of Memphis design 8 free apps for picking a colour scheme 8 ways to make more money in 2018 View the full article

You're reading Website Performance Guide for Beginners: Tips to Optimize Your Load Time, originally posted on Designmodo. If you've enjoyed this post, be sure to follow on Twitter, Facebook, Google+! A fast website is the quickest way to increase user engagement. Your total page load time affects your site’s UX and your position in Google too. So what can you do to improve page speed and reduce lengthy load times? Well, a lot! And in this post I’ll share a few of the hardest-hitting tweaks you can […] View the full article

If you want to add vector art skills to your creative resume, you've come to the right place. A technique rather than a style, vector art is based on geometric shapes and created using vector image software such as Adobe Illustrator and Photoshop. If you're a fan of vector art and want to start creating your own, these brilliant tutorials will help you on your way. On this page, you'll find beginner tutorials that will help you master the basics of vector illustration=. For intermediate tips and tricks, head to page two, and for advanced techniques jump straight to page three. Once you've motored through these, you may find our other collections of tutorials useful – there are Illustrator tutorials, Photoshop tutorials, and InDesign tutorials for you to discover. 01. Learn vector illustration in 10 easy steps Follow this tutorial to get a solid understanding of the basic toolsBen the Illustrator explains how to create vector illustrations using Adobe Illustrator, explaining the key tools and offering expert tips. He walks you through the key tools, and gets you started on the road to translating your creative vision into incredible vector illustrations. 02. Beginner's guide to vector drawing in Illustrator In this PluralSight tutorial, you'll learn essential workflows, terms, and techniques to help you get started with vector drawing. The course teaches you the key differences between pixel-based and vector art, as well as the important components in the latter. 03. A guide to the Pen tool To create vector art, you must first master the Pen tool. This comprehensive guide aims to introduce you to features, shortcuts, and methods for working with what is arguably Adobe's most essential tool. (And here's a bonus faster way to vectorise hand lettering with the Pen tool...) 04. Illustrator for beginners: 11 top tips Master the tools you need in Adobe's vector illustration software with this quickfire guideFrom using Bézier points and curves to strokes, fills and adding a more natural look to your vector artwork, here are some Illustrator secrets for those new to the application. 05. Create colourful vector character art This Illustrator tutorial from Digital Arts walks you through how to turn a hand-drawn sketch into a coloured digital vector file, taking in colour adjustments, depth and composition. The basic skills you'll learn here will help you to create scalable character vectors again and again. 06. A faster way to create a vector eye Bert Musketon shows how to quickly sketch an eye in Illustrator In this short video walkthrough, illustrator Bert Musketon shows how to draw an eye in Illustrator. He covers the process from how to make the initial eye shape, to how to quickly draw eyelashes and eyebrows, using just some basic shapes and a few vector sketching tricks. The good news? You can apply the time-saving techniques covered here to speed up the creative process on any vector illustration… 07. Vector Silhouettes for Beginners This video course from Envato tuts+ is aimed squarely at vector art beginners, with no use of the pen tool. By making two silhouette vector artworks, you'll learn to use essential tools and processes. 08. Vector portraits for beginners This free in-depth video course will help kickstart your journey into creating vector portraits from photographs. Sharon Milne shows you two ways for creating basic portraits; one a chunky line art style and the other in a basic shading style. 09. Vector drawing with a graphic tablet Astute Graphics has an excellent vector art tutorial for designers and illustrators keen to ditch the mouse in favour of a graphics tablet and stylus. It's aimed at beginners, even walking you through how to set up your drawing tablet and calibrating your stylus to work beautifully with Adobe Illustrator's brush tools. 10. Create a fun vector monster face in Illustrator Chris Spooner of the Spoon Graphics blog brings you this fun vector tutorial that combines simple shapes with gradients to create a cartoonish monster face. The simple approach makes it ideal for beginners, producing fresh stylised results. 11. Create a self-portrait in a geometric style In this tutorial, you're going to learn how to create an illustrated self-portrait in a geometric style. You'll be using a photograph of yourself as the base of the illustration, drawing a sketch from that, and then creating the final piece. Next page: Intermediate vector art tutorials Now you've nailed the basics, scroll through our carefully curated collection of the best tutorials for creating a range of different characters. When you've finished your characters, you can give your creations an environment to live in with our pro tutorials for creating landscapes. 12. Create profession avatars in Illustrator Discover new tips and tricks using Illustratro's Pathfinder panel, Clipping Masks and moreIllustrator and designer Yulia Sokolova walks through how to create a set of flat-style portraits – perfect for social media avatars or to denote different categories on your website, for example 13. Easy ways to add texture to vector graphics If you like your artworks a bit grungy rather than squeaky-clean, then our tutorial on adding textures and grains to your vector artworks is for you. Luke O'Neill guides you through adding textures to the overall art as well as to individual elements. 14. Make a vector sugar skull Another great video tutorial from Chris Spooner takes you through creating a Day of the Dead-inspired skull vector artwork in Illustrator using basic shapes – making it much easier than it looks. Coco movie art team move over, you'll soon be out-creating them with your Mexican designs. 15. The easy way to build quirky characters Poked Studio founder Jonathan Ball explains how to transform basic geometric shapes into unique, colourful creatures with Illustrator's tools. 16. Create a vector anime character in Photoshop This tutorial explains the process of creating a simple anime character from start to finish. 17. Create a vector Yeti character Check out this simple tutorial, which uses as many basic shapes as possible to achieve a quirky style of illustration, then bring the yeti character to life with a palette of cold colours. 18. Vector a set of character poses Here, you'll look at how to design a character for a video game, in this case a "beat 'em up". You'll work from the very first sketch to the final artwork. 19. How to create a vector art cartoon character Want to bring your cartoon characters to life? This easy-to-follow vector art tutorial shows you just how to do it. As the Spoon Graphics site warns, it is an old tutorial (written in 2008), but it's a popular one, and much of the workflow and tips are still relevant to newer versions of Illustrator. 20. Create a vector map infographic Learn how to create a simple map design in Illustrator with this handy tutorial from self-taught vector artist Andrei Marius. 21. Craft a vector landscape environment This vector art tutorial shows the intermediate Adobe Illustrator artist how to make a dramatic vector landscape environment. 22. Create simple flowers with gradient mesh in Illustrator In this easy-to-follow tutorial from Diana Toma, you'll learn how to create beautiful flowers with the help of the gradient mesh function in Illustrator. Next page: More advanced vector art tutorials From creating dramatic text effects to texturing, collage, halftone effects and more, read on for our collection of the best tutorials for creating special effects in your vector artwork. 23. Draw vector portraits Spanish artist Daniel Caballero is behind this tutorial from Digital Arts, which shows you how to create vector portraits in Photoshop from photo references. Caballero shows you how to use Photoshop's Pen tool and tricks to stylise lines to give a hand-drawn look. 24. Create an electric text effect Create attention-grabbing text with this vector tutorialIn this step-by-step guide, you'll learn how to create an electricity text effect in Illustrator. From setting up a simple grid through to basic blending techniques, this tutorial is full of pro advice to help take your vector artwork further. 25. Layer up vectors for unique effects Tom Mac reveals how to create a drip-effect portrait using Illustrator's Pen tool and some clever object layering techniques in this vector art tutorial. 26. Draw realistic liquid vector art Speaking of drips, this tutorial from Digital Arts shows you how to create splashes of realistic liquid. Artist Jing Zhang shows you how to use Illustrator's Mesh tool, Warp tool and layer blending to create 3D effects in your vector art. 27. Create vintage vector textures Vintage and retro-style illustrations have made a big comeback over recent years. Here, designer Ben Steers shares some insider tips and techniques to help give your vector illustrations a retro look. 28. Add depth to your vector art Ben Steers explains how he created depth in this artwork, Gone Karting Artist Ben Steers has put together this Illustrator tutorial for Digital Arts, where he shows you how to use gradient effects and opacity masks to stop your vector artworks looking flat. 29. Create a sketch-style vector There are many illustrations that call for a sketched or hand-drawn feel. Learn how to achieve this in Illustrator, along with the DynamicSketch and WidthScribe plugins, in this easy-to-follow vector art tutorial. 30. Create a vector glitter text art effect Give your typography some sparkle. Follow this tutorial and learn how to create a vector glitter text effect in Illustrator. 31. Create vector halftone effects Halftone is a way of reproducing a monochrome image using only dots of varying sizes. Artist Chris McVeigh walks you through the process in this four-step vector illustration tutorial. 32. Convert a bitmap to a vector image This Inkscape tutorial demonstrates how to convert a bitmap image into a vector image by using Inkscape's Trace Bitmap function. 33. Create X-ray vector art Artist Evert Martin explains how he made this deer artwork Artist Evert Martin reveals the secrets behind his x-ray/holographic-looking artworks. Using Illustrator, learn how to turn some abstract contour sketches into beautiful 3D art. 34. How to create a vector image slider Image sliders have been a common element of website design in recent years, especially in portfolio designs. This tutorial explains how create an image slider in Illustrator. 35. Create a textured collage with vector imagery and papercraft photography Ciara Phelan shows you how to mix vector imagery with papercraft photography to create a textured collage with real depth. Related articles: 60 amazing Adobe Illustrator tutorials The 55 best free Photoshop brushes Best free fonts for designers View the full article

For as long as humans have crawled upon the surface of the earth we have held a fascinated with art and motion. Early cave drawings show that even primitive man would try to give the illusion of movement by posing the limbs on their animal sketches. Fast forward to the 1800s and even before the invention of the motion picture camera, Edward Muybridge was using photographs taken sequentially to help study human and animal motion, images which are still frequently used to this day. Improve your skills These days we are surrounded by animation in one form or another, be this film, television or more traditional methods. So with animation all around us, how do you as an animator stand out from the crowd and improve your own skills? What follows are 15 tips to improve your character animation. Although some of these are aimed at 3D animation, most can also be applied to other, more physical genres too. 01. Observe real-life characters Breathing life into a once inanimate object may seem a simple task, yet it's those subtle nuances that can help to portray emotion and give a true feeling of thought and consideration behind each movement. Observing people, how they interact, how they express themselves and even how they move around is essential in helping you gain a good understanding, not only of motion but also timing and weight. Why not take some time to go out, grab a coffee and observe the world around you? (You're not skipping work - it's research!) 02. Study the psychology of movement To truly mimic someone you must first understand their movements, not only the process of motion but also in intention. I'm not suggesting you drop everything and enrol at your local university, but instead do a little research. Everything we do has a purpose, and the way we pose and hold ourselves can speak volumes. Understanding the thought processes behind why we do what we do, and when, will help you to share this through your animation. 03. Seek out real-world references Grab a mirror and use your own face as a referenceWhen animating the face it's essential to have something solid to refer to. When working with voiceover artists, most of the top animation studios will record them as they lay down the audio for their characters. This video is then passed to an animator to refer to as they work, allowing them to capture the actors' expressions as they speak and emote. If this isn't an option then why not use your own face as reference? Grab a mirror and repeat the words, or even just recreate key expressions to give you a good starting point to work from. 04. Film yourself Acting out the scene yourself can give you the starting block you needYou can never get a good feel for the way a certain animation should play out while sitting at a desk, and online references can only get you so far. To understand how and why a character should move the way they do, why not record yourself performing that action? We all have access to video cameras these days, in fact most of us have them in our pockets. So instead of just using your phones for selfies and Facebook, why not get out of your seat and record yourself in action? Act out the scene yourself, and no matter how rough and embarrassing it may seem, this recording will give you an essential starting block to then work on top of. Being able to pause, rewind and review it in slow motion ensures you will capture all the subtleties that would otherwise be missed. 05. Keep your rig simple Animating successfully in 3D isn't just down to the talent of the animator. Most of what they can achieve relies heavily on the rig they are using. A quick and generic system will give you the main tools to use, but to give your character that edge, the rig needs to be tailored to the animator's specific needs. An unprofessional rig can also add to the animator's workload. If much of the underlying mechanics and systems are easily accessible they could accidentally be edited, resulting in a broken rig. The best rigs are the ones which leave the animator to animate. They simply pick up the character and move them around without any complicated systems to contend with, or constant trips to the technical artist because the jaw is suddenly at the other side of the scene and they don't know why. 06. Form key poses first Seeing a pile of polygons or clay suddenly come to life and show emotion is truly rewarding, but that doesn't mean you need to rush ahead and focus on each pose in detail, refining it before you move onto the next. Working on one small area at a time will mean you're not seeing the bigger picture and this can result in the sequence not being as fluid or natural as it should be. Following a layering system ensures you are not wasting precious time. The first layer should be quick poses at specific frames, to get a sense of timing. Then once you've nailed those you can go through and repeat the process, adding more and more detail with each new pass. 07. Lead with the eyes If you watch people as they go about their daily lives (not in a stalker-type way, but just in passing), you will notice that with each purposeful movement comes a specific sequence. First the eyes move to where they want to go, and then the head follows and then the neck. This continues down the body until they eventually move to where their focus was drawn. The eyes are what we're drawn to the most when we look at someone, and in most cases they are also the first thing to move before the rest of the body. 08. Study the effects of gravity Gravity has an affect on every one of your character's movementsGravity effects everything, unless you're in space. As we age, we are in a constant struggle to stay upright, which is never more noticeable than through our loose, wobbly bits. It's this gravitational pull, combined with our own physical mass which is crucial to capture in every movement. Walking for example, is a simple movement - but much of how we move is dictated by our own physical build. If you are tall and thin then you may be lighter on your feet whereas someone with a fuller figure will have a heavier foot fall, with their waist dipping more as they then try to raise their upper body. This may seem like an obvious tip, but it's an important one. Remember to give weight to your animation. 09. Time your character's movements The world is governed by time. Even though our days are different we all move to the sound of the same clock. Where animation is concerned, this time is in your control. Yet use it irresponsibly and the results can be difficult to read, and end up giving the viewer the wrong impression. Happier, more joyful movements are usually quick and sharp; this is why they work well in cartoons. They can also help to add exaggeration to a movement, and also add emphasis as the hero draws back slowly to power up the punch, which is over in a flash. Slower movements can mean the opposite, and are often used to show the character is feeling down, or upset. 10. Keep your character balanced One of the first things we learn as children is how to climb onto our feet and take our first steps. To do this is no easy feat as it takes strength and most importantly, balance. With each step you learn to shift your centre of gravity to ensure you don't fall. The centre of gravity is an important element to bring into animation too. Try standing with your feet apart and lift your right leg off the floor, but do this while keeping your waist still. It's difficult to resist the urge to move your waist over your left foot, to keep you from falling. When you do this you are shifting your centre of gravity to maintain balance. And of course, if you have to do it in real life you'll need make sure your characters do it too. 11. Recycle basic animations Keep basic animations on standby so you have more time to focus on the subtletiesThis particular tip only really works when animating in the virtual world, but it's important to save basic animations, and keep a healthy stock of them at the ready. Even if it's a basic walk or run cycle, you can bring it into a scene when working on a new character and give yourself a head start. Once you have this base movement applied, with all the main poses and keyframes in place, you can then dedicate more time to adjusting the timing, weight and style to suit the personality of that particular character. 12. Use a basic model Animate with a simple proxy model to keep your workflow lightManipulating a high resolution model in the viewport can end up causing a strain on your system, especially when the model needs to deform and move with a skeleton or other complex deformers. This is more noticeable when you attempt to play the animation in real time and discover you are only seeing every tenth frame. When working with the overall motion of your character, hide the high resolution model and instead animate with a much simpler proxy model. This could be a reduced version of the character, or even a few boxes scaled to loosely fit the proportions, but this version will allow you to fluidly work on the main areas of movement before you then bring back the high detail model for the finer detail work. 13. Anticipation, action, reaction Every major movement can be split into three main areasWhen you break down every major movement it can be split into three main areas - Anticipation, Action, and Reaction. If we take a simple leap as an example, the character bends first to build up power, this is the Anticipation. The leap itself is the Action and then the landing, with momentum pushing them forward is the Reaction. This principle works with many movements, like throwing a punch or swinging a bat. It can also be used on facial animation, and even exaggerated for a more comic effect. 14. Offset your keys Achieving the natural flow of an element dragging behind your character, like a tail, can be tricky. The root remains fixed to the pelvis but the motion then has to follow through to the tip like a wave. A quick way to achieve this movement is to animate the base, and then copy this animation to the rest of the joints. Initially this will give them all the same action, but you can then go in and edit the key frames on each joint, shifting them forward a frame or two. This essentially delays that initial action on the higher joints, giving you the wave like motion. 15. Don't form every letter in speech When animating the face, and in particular the mouth, it's a good idea to try not to include each and every letter of the word the character is saying. This can make the mouth move too quickly, and often give an erratic appearance. If you observe people as they speak you will see that their lips don't physically form each letter, instead what you get is a more general and organic movement flowing through the sentence. Take a simple 'Hello' for example. If you mouth this greeting while looking in a mirror you will see that your lips form more of a H-E-O, with the tongue making a brief appearance to make the L sound. More from Ant at Vertex Ant Ward will be at Vertex answering your questions, as part of our 'Ask an Artist' section. These sessions are a fantastic opportunity to get one to one with a veteran artist, who can help you overcome a road block in your work, or to talk through a problem area. Ant is an artist with huge experience in many areas of CG. He has been a regular on the pages of 3D World for many years and has written numerous tutorials, as well as being a part of our expert Q and A team. To book a ticket for Vertex 2018 head over to the Vertex site, where you will find information on all the day's activities, from keynote talks to the panel discussion and recruitment fair. Related articles The ethics of digital humans The mocap behind Justice League's Steppenwolf Scott Ross to talk at Vertex View the full article