On Domestika's blog, you’ll discover new ideas, trends, and projects from the world of creativity and design to find inspiration in and develop your creative side.

Design
Dos and Don'ts of UX Design

Learn from Ethan Parry what UX is and how to successfully use it to improve your product or service If you do an online search, you’ll probably find a few different definitions of UX, but at its core its mission is simple: designing a product or service that resonates with the user and their needs. While a successful UX design might look simple because it’s so intuitive, there’s a large amount of research, prototyping, and preparation that goes on behind the scenes. In this video, UX designer Ethan Parry (@ethanparry) shares three dos for how to create a powerful UX design, and 3 don’ts which represent common mistakes.
- 0
- 0
Design
Why You Should Use Dreamweaver

This Adobe application simplifies the design process of a website. Learn why programmers and designers love it If you are interested in web design, you have most likely heard of Dreamweaver, a program created in 1997 by Macromedia but now part of Adobe's Creative Suite. It is one of the most famous website editors on the market and an essential tool for creating a modern and functional looking website. Web Designer and Domestika teacher Arturo Servín (@monkylab) knows it inside out, and here he will explain why it is the tool you should consider if you are thinking about building a website, even if you have no prior coding skills. First things first, Dreamweaver is not the only Adobe web design tool. The company also offers Adobe Muse, a somewhat more limited program in functions but very easy to use. Adobe, however, has stopped supporting Muse. The application can still be used, but it will not be updated. Over time, it will not be able to keep up with changes in the specifications of the different languages that exist to create web pages, so web designers need to familiarize themselves with Dreamweaver as an alternative. For some designers, opening Dreamweaver for the first time can be overwhelming. The tools and interface can be very different from the design programs we are used to. But using it is easier than it seems and dramatically simplifies the task of programming the code of a website.
- 1
- 0
Pro Craft
Learn how to create a page of a pop-up book with Silvia Hijano Coullaut

Silvia Hijano Coullaut teaches you how to create and configure the main pop-up elements of a pop-up book Pop-up books refer to those that, when opened, have elements that jump in front of our eyes creating incredible effects. Silvia Hijano Coullaut (@silvia_libracos), the founder of the Libracos studio, is a true expert in paper engineering. In this video, she shares with Domestika, in the form of a small creative tidbit, part of her process for creating a pop-up book. Silvia Hijano shows you the combined technique of a basic "V" mechanism with tabs, combining a folded paper—a kind of simple origami—that will fill the whole scene horizontally once the page of the book is opened. Learn how to create pop-up elements of a pop-up book:
- 2
- 0
Pro Typography
Tips for illustrating your own lettering

Sindy Ethel shows you techniques to illustrate letters by hand Combining lettering and illustration will help you create unique and eye-catching designs. Bringing these disciplines together will also allow you to experiment with different analog and digital techniques to obtain results that will surprise you. Below, designer Sindy Ethel shows you some simple tricks to familiarize yourself with letter shapes and get you started drawing your own:
- 3
- 0
Illustration
Domestika Diary: Catalina Estrada

The Colombian graphic designer shares her creative routine and the landscapes that have inspired her to create her award-winning prints. Catalina Estrada has only been in Colombia a few months. Having lived for years in Barcelona, she became stranded in her home country while visiting her mother. Not that she’s complaining, since the varied landscapes, lush colors, and natural beauty of Colombia are where she draws much of the inspiration behind her internationally award-winning prints. The stylish graphic designer and illustrator says that beauty and optimism are the trademarks of her work, thanks to her experience growing up surrounded by these striking landscapes. In this Domestika Diary, recorded in her home in Colombia, she shares how her surroundings have impacted and enriched her creative work.
- 0
- 0
Craft
5 Courses to Create Your Own Furniture From Scratch

Elevate any space with contemporary pieces created by you It may surprise you that you don’t need any previous knowledge to jump into the world of furniture design. If you want to give new life to your spaces and give them your own touch, follow these tips and get to know the creative secrets of five experts who will show you how to make your own furniture from wood, PVC, concrete, and other materials. Get to know them all! Design and Creation of Handmade Workspaces, a course by Gema Casado Olea Gema Casado Olea is the founder and director of El Tarro de Ideas (@eltarrodeideas), the author of various DIY books, and the presenter of the Spanish TV show Decoración creativa (Creative decoration). Learn artisan techniques to make a desk and storage bench from zero without needing any previous knowledge of assembly or DIY.
- 0
- 0
Creativity Tutorials
Watercolor Tutorial: How To Paint Eyes Step By Step

Learn these basic tips to start working on your watercolor portrait eyes with Sol Barrios The eyes are the element of the face express the most and bring the most personality to a portrait. Therefore, it is important that we dedicate special attention and detail to them in our projects. In this tutorial, Sol Barrios (@solbarrios), watercolorist and muralist, teaches us how to approach the drawing of the eyes step by step in a watercolor portrait. You can follow the process in the following video:
- 1
- 0
Downloads
Free Download: Social Media Calendar Template

Dot Lung shares a template for your social media planning Dot Lung (@dotlung) is a Social Media Expert who has worked with international brands, creating strategies and content for social media and advertising. Among her clients and collaborators are Wix, Facebook, and the OFFF Festival. If you want to promote your social media account’s growth, an essential part of your strategy is content planning. This way you’ll have visibility and control over your posting and workload.
- 0
- 0
Illustration
Ana Victoria Calderón’s Favorite Watercolor Painting Materials

Ana Victoria Calderón shares her favorite materials for illustrating with watercolor To browse Ana Victoria Calderon’s work (@anavictoriana) is to submerge yourself in a world of watercolor illustration. She creates little universes with ink and water on all kinds of canvases–collaborating with brands and publications around the globe. We spoke to her about her favorite materials so we could share the tips and tricks of a seasoned pro and help you get the right material for your own watercolor creations.
- 0
- 0
What is
What Are the Different Vector File Formats and When Should We Use Each One?

Learn about the most common vector file formats and when it is most appropriate to use each one Before we dive into categorizing the different vector file formats and discovering when it is more appropriate to use one over another, let’s clarify what a vector file is and why, on some occasions, it is better to work with these file types. What is a vector? Unlike raster files, which are made up of pixels, vector images are built by mathematical formulas that establish points on a grid. The latter, therefore, can be increased in size without losing quality. Raster images, on the other hand, lose quality as they get bigger.
- 0
- 0
Typography
Elliot Tupac’s Street Art

Be inspired by the work and career of this graphic artist and printmaker from Peru Elliot Tupac (@elliottupac) is a Peruvian graphic artist and printmaker who channels his passion for screen printing, calligraphy, and lettering into creating pop art and marketing tools. His style–characterized by spontaneity and color–makes his work stand out; Elliot has redefined both a traditional art form and what it means to be a lettering artist in his native Peru.
- 0
- 0
What is
Different Types of Camera Shots and How They Drive the Visual Narrative

Learn about different types of camera shots and why they are so important when telling an audiovisual story Aside from their aesthetic power, camera shots play a vital role in how moments are narrated on the screen. Depending on how the camera frames a situation, the audience will receive information in different ways. This is why it’s essential to learn the names of the different shots and how they drive a narrative. Extreme Long Shot (ELS) In this type of shot, the subject is not the focus of the scene. In fact, often they don’t even appear in it. You won’t really notice where the character is; even if you do see them, it will be at a great distance, and they will be very small. The ELS is often used to introduce a new setting–it shows where the story is taking place, and its function is always descriptive. Many films often start with an ELS as a way to bring the audience into the place where the story is occurring. Also, given how much information is being transmitted in each frame, this shot can remain on the screen for longer than usual.
- 0
- 0
Design
The Importance of Stationery in the Digital Age

Find out why it is essential to design stationery for your company or brand
- 0
- 0
Typography
Learn the Basics of Script Lettering

Joluvian shows us how to create a script using brush lettering
- 0
- 0
Creativity Tutorials
Photoshop Tutorial: Rendering Hair and Eyes

Learn from Bearbrickjia how to use rendering techniques for hair and eyes in Photoshop Though there are many elements to consider when creating an illustration, a portrait truly comes to life in its details. By adding personality and depth, these seemingly small aspects can transform a basic illustration into a larger work of art. For many artists, drawing hair is one of the biggest challenges they face. From how it flows to the texture of the wisps, it’s a detail that can be difficult to capture if you’re starting from scratch. Similarly, eyes, the windows to the soul, are a powerful detail in conveying the humanity and internal depth of a character. In this tutorial Karmen Loh, also known as Bearbrickjia (@bearbrickjia), demonstrates how you can use brushes in Photoshop to render eyes and hair, and how to use the liquify tool to refine your final image. Find out more below:
- 3
- 0
Design
How and Why You Should Integrate Instagram in Your Digital Portfolio

Instagram has become the biggest shop window on the internet, giving us a unique opportunity to show our work in a clear and simple way
- 0
- 0
Design
How to Improve Your Creative Portfolio

Your portfolio should convey your essence and your creative identity. That's why it's so important to know what to include and how to show your work Almost two decades of experience have made Colombian graphic designer Arutza Rico Onzaga (@arutzarico) a specialist in putting together a visual portfolio. Throughout their career, they have built and deconstructed the way they show their work in order to take their professional career to ever higher levels and overcome new challenges. In a recent lecture (which you can see in full at the end of this article), Arutza spoke about the "psychology of the portfolio" and gave some key tips to shape our creative CV based on examples from their own portfolio and their professional and personal projects.
- 1
- 0
Craft
Knitting and Crochet: Keys for Starting Out in Hand Weaving

This small guide will help you discover, finally, the difference between knitting and crochet For anyone not familiar with weaving, it can be complicated differentiating between knitting (weaving with two needles) and crochet (weaving with a hook): they share many similarities but there are some key differences. Bárbara Bremer and Carolina Herrera, founders of Binge Knitting (@bingeknitting)–a company specialized in the creation of hand woven collections of contemporary designs–explain how the two crafts are alike and how they differ so you can learn to enjoy them and discover which would be best for your own creations.
- 0
- 0
Illustration
Challenge: Make a Digital Illustration Look Handmade in 10 Minutes

Alex de Marcos, illustrator and expert in digital painting techniques, faces the Domestika Challenge Alex de Marcos' career is broad and varied: he has worked in everything from editorial illustration to advertising, and regularly collaborates with major international brands such as Nike, Oysho, Movistar, Levi's and Ron Barceló. In this Challenge Domestika, the illustrator puts all his skills and experience to the test: he has just 10 minutes to make a digital illustration look like it was made using traditional methods by hand. Will he succeed? Find out in the following video:
- 0
- 0
Animation
Learn to Draw Animations in 20 Hours

Get to know Numecaniq’s secret to improve your drawing skills and gain fluidity in film animation
- 0
- 0
Illustration
Simple Exercises for Drawing Perspective

Puño shares three useful exercises that will help beginners to get better at drawing perspective When it comes to drawing, there are some universal rules based on how human beings perceive things and their cultural norms. Whether you choose to respect these rules, break them, or experiment with them, there’s no doubt that they are essential for every illustrator. One of these rules is perspective, a technique in figurative art to show the volume, location, and position of an object or person depicted in a drawing. It allows the viewer to see the subject in three dimensions and understand its shape.
- 1
- 0
Design
Early Concept Sketches by 5 of the World’s Most Famous Architects

5 of the world’s most famous architects’ sketchbooks and napkin sketches, from Frank Gehry to Zaha Hadid The first time most people see an architect’s work, it’s in glass and steel, brick and mortar, or digitally rendered. There is nothing quite like seeing the hand-drawn rough sketches that capture the raw imagination and inspiration of great minds before the arrival of practical adjustments and new opinions. Different architects will use their sketches differently: to define the details of their designs; situate themselves in the location; identify key elements; and capture their moods and inspirations; and logging cultural and emotional references. These drawings and notes can take many forms too, spanning from specific structural designs and elemental analyses to abstract illustration and more conventional visual art. Here is a collection of the raw concept drawings, from wild sketches that capture the energy and shape of the artist’s thoughts to annotated scribbles that mark the different considerations they had in mind. Renzo Piano Napkin sketches are notorious in the world of architecture, one architecture school even funded scholarships through the sale of those of famous architects. Perhaps one of the most legendary pieces is that of Renzo Piano, the designer of London’s tallest building, the Shard, who apparently came up with the original sketch of the building on the back of a napkin while eating out with the property developer Irvine Sellar. "He saw the beauty of the river and the railways and the way their energy blended and began to sketch in green felt pen on a napkin what he saw as a giant sail or an iceberg," recalls Sellar who keeps the drawing in his offices.
- 1
- 0
Creativity Tutorials
Drawing Tutorial: How to Create a Drawing Using the Chiaroscuro Technique

Learn from Marco Mazzoni how to create perfect highlights and shadows on portraits In art, chiaroscuro is the use of strong contrasts between light and shadow, creating depth and drama. Adding a sense of volume, it not only fleshes out the artwork’s subject but also draws the viewer’s eye to it. Artists well-known for their use of this technique include Goya, Vermeer, Rembrandt, and Caravaggio, and it is still very much in use, not only in paintings but also in cinema and photography. In this tutorial, artist and illustrator Marco Mazzoni (@marcomazzoniart) demonstrates how you can transform a simple drawing of a face using the chiaroscuro technique to add shadows and depth. Using just a pencil and piece of paper, the result can either be an artwork in itself or serve as the base layer for a more detailed and colorful composition.
- 3
- 0
Illustration
Add Emotion and Poetry to Portraits in Procreate

Learn how to create an expressive portrait in Procreate by adding natural elements and textures
- 0
- 0
Design
Tips for Creating a Botanical Nook in Your Home

Discover how to create incredible DIY botanical spaces and make the most of them Interior design is not only about color, shapes, accessories, and spaces, plants can play a leading role: having green spaces in our daily lives is of the utmost importance. Meena and Ceci from Compañía Botánica (@ciabotanica)–a brand dedicated to the design of gardens, balconies, and green walls–are experts in combining plants and design. Together they create botanical pieces such as living paintings of cactus and succulents, which can be adapted to any environment. Here, they sharesome tips for incorporating plants into the design and decoration of spaces. Why is it important to have natural spaces inside the house? Creating living pictures and spaces is a way of having nature present in our homes or offices. They have a great impact, dazzle with their colors and shapes, and attract a lot of attention. That's why, if you don't have enough space in your house for big flowerpots, you can use bright pictures on the walls and small flowerpots that complement the small spaces: having plants on vertical surfaces can really catch the eye.
- 0
- 0
Design
Rock Posters: Three Design Approaches

Be playful and create impactful compositions that reflect your passion for music and design
- 0
- 0
Creativity Tutorials
Textile Toy Tutorial: How to Make A Basic Pattern Step By Step

Learn to draw a freehand pattern for textile toys with Piti Piti Textile toys, by definition, call for a freer design and shapes that give a handmade feel. For this reason, the best technique for creating their patterns is freehand. In this tutorial, Omar Gad (@pititi), founder of the Piti Piti workshop in Mexico City, teaches us the simple steps to make patterns with few materials and a little creativity. Discover more in the video:
- 1
- 0
Creativity Tutorials
Botanical Illustration Tutorial: How To Draw A Tree

Learn step by step how to draw a tree from references and combine different techniques and processes with Paulina Maciel Botanical illustration, whether realistic or fantastical, is one of the most beautiful styles a creative can practice, thanks to the abundance of colors, the ability to enhance our powers of observation, and the multiplicity of applications, from editorial design to story illustration, packaging design and other graphic needs. In this tutorial, Paulina Maciel (@pau_maciel), the designer and illustrator behind Canela Estudio, explains how to draw and paint a tree from scratch, with a very simple method, using materials available to everyone. Discover it in the video below:
- 2
- 0
Design
Movies Reimagined as Vintage Books

Designer Matt Stevens works on a personal project about love of cinema and reading Matt Stevens is an American designer and illustrator who is primarily engaged in brand identity and editorial publishing. Matt prefers to move away from very formal processes and work with intuitive approaches. One of his personal projects is titled Good Movies as Old Books. In this series, with the simple criteria of choosing movies that he is passionate about, Matt redesigns movie posters as if they were vintage books.
- 1
- 0
TOP 10
10 Music Playlists to Spark Your Creativity

These playlists, curated by Domestika teachers, will inspire you Music and creativity are inseparable for many; some artists even say hitting that Play button is the first thing they do when they get to their studio or sit at the computer to work. With that in mind, we asked some of the creative professionals who teach courses at Domestika to share the music that inspires them most at work. Painting with music by Alex Hillkurtz If you had to choose a song that makes the paint flow and brushes dance, what would it be? For Alex Hillkurtz (@alexhillkurtzart), who teaches Architectural Sketching with Watercolor and Ink at Domestika, it is impossible to choose just one, so he has compiled the most inspiring titles in this playlist.
- 1
- 0