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December 2020

  • Among Us and the Basics of Good Video Game Design
    3D & Animation

    Among Us and the Basics of Good Video Game Design

    Get tips from a video game developer on how to create a successful project like Among Us If you’ve been on the Internet over the last few weeks, you may have heard about Among Us, a video game launched in 2018 that went viral in 2020 for being simple and extremely entertaining. Its logic is straightforward: you and your friends must complete small tasks onboard a spaceship while looking for an impostor: a killer trying to decimate the rest of the crew. Through this plot, the game becomes a social and narrative experience aiming to unmask the story’s villain, who is also one of the players. Its popularity turned Among Us into the most streamed game on Twitch in September 2020 and is still breaking audience and sales records.

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  • The Music Videos That Have Inspired Director Lyona Ivanova
    Film & Video

    The Music Videos That Have Inspired Director Lyona Ivanova

    Discover the music videos that have shaped the creative style of the successful Spanish director For many, Lyona Ivanova (@lyona) has the dream job: to imagine and create visual worlds for songs. The director has created over 100 music videos for artists including Love of Lesbian, Amaral, Leiva, Sidonie, Lori Meyers, Carlos Sadness, and many more. Ivanova started developing a passion for film as a child when her grandfather was head of programming at a local cinema and organized Sunday sessions. As a teenager, she was inspired by Tim Burton's film Edward Scissorhands. Lyona started making home movies, and after finishing school, she enrolled at ESCAC (Catalonia’s School of Cinema).

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  • Free Download: Anatomical Guide to Human Musculature for Drawing
    Illustration

    Free Download: Anatomical Guide to Human Musculature for Drawing

    This anatomical drawing guide, created by Leonardo Gauna, uses some of his favorite illustrations to show the human musculature As an illustrator, an extensive study of the human figure makes your works enrich and gain in realism and naturalness. To make good illustrations it is not essential to make exact reproductions of reality or the human body, but knowing the specific proportions of things will allow you to work with a greater knowledge of how forms work and obtain better results. To facilitate this task, the Argentine illustrator Leonardo Gauna (@capocosmico) has made a complete anatomical guide of human musculature for drawing that you can download and use as a reference.

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  • And the Pantone Color of the Year 2021 is...
    Design

    And the Pantone Color of the Year 2021 is...

    Illuminating Yellow and Ultimate Gray! Two colors that symbolize strength and optimism and that give us hope After an especially difficult year worldwide, Pantone has announced its color of the year 2021. And it is not one, but two. The tones that will mark the year ahead are designed to create the feeling of a fresh sunrise over rocky terrain. These are Illuminating, a yellow that looks like the skin of a ripe lemon, and Ultimate Gray, a gray that resembles wet concrete. Their technical names are PANTONE 17-5104 + PANTONE 13-0647. The symbolism, like every year, is very important. This time it is not a depressing gray but a gray that refers to practicality and solidity, like a rock. Yellow is neither frivolous nor fleeting, it invokes strength and positivity. The combination is, according to Pantone, the story of colors that encapsulate deeper feelings and that, when they meet, bring the promise of something happy and friendly. Made of a practical and solid material like a rock but at the same time warm.

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  • How to Identify a Good Logo
    Teacher Design

    How to Identify a Good Logo

    Learn how to identify a good logo, with designer Sagi Haviv Your logo is the first image people will associate with your brand. That is a lot to ask of one small graphic, but the greatest designs manage to communicate a company’s identity and ethos in an instant. Few know this better than Sagi Haviv (@sagi), partner and designer at Chermayeff & Geismar & Haviv, who has developed more than 60 graphic identities, including those of the US Open, Harvard University Press, and National Geographic. In this video, Sagi Haviv reviews different designs, highlighting and explaining their strengths and weaknesses so that you can better understand how to apply these lessons to your own work.

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  • Photoshop Tutorial: How to Sharpen Your Images
    Teacher Photography

    Photoshop Tutorial: How to Sharpen Your Images

    Learn how to use the high pass filter to sharpen photos easily on Adobe Photoshop, with Mikael Eliasson There are numerous reasons why you should sharpen your images before publication: it can compensate for blurring caused by equipment, make your pictures more vivid, and make them easier to read. Remember, however, that it isn’t supposed to bring an out-of-focus shot into focus. Mikael Eliasson runs his own photography school in East London and has had his work exhibited across Europe. In this tutorial, he shares how to sharpen an image simply on Photoshop using the high pass filter.

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  • Essential Keyboard Shortcuts to Master Nuke
    Film & Video

    Essential Keyboard Shortcuts to Master Nuke

    Speed up your Nuke workflow using these essential keyboard shortcuts Visual effects for cinema and television have reached such levels of realism that, often, make us question what is real and what is an illusion. We owe those incredible and magical universes to the hard work of visual effects designers and software tools like Nuke, a node-based digital compositing and visual effects application. To make you an expert in the use of Nuke, we have compiled a list of the most used shortcuts. They'll save you time and numerous clicks. Check them out: Note: Use the Ctrl key on Windows, Command key on Mac.

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  • How to Create a Charismatic Character
    Illustration

    How to Create a Charismatic Character

    These are Ed Vill's tips for illustrating characters full of personality In the history of illustration and advertising, there are countless examples of characters and mascots designed initially to be used in branding that have become a resounding success, an indissoluble part of a company's image, or, in some cases, even part of popular culture. Sometimes, the opposite happens. Characters fall into oblivion for their lack of charisma and personality. Such is the case of Speedee, the little-known predecessor of Ronald McDonald. With his big hamburger-shaped head, he failed in his mission to become the official mascot of McDonald's. This is just one of the many examples that underscore the importance of creating characters with personality. Ed Vill (@edvill) has some tips that you should keep in mind when drawing your own.

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  • 3D Art Inspiration You'll Love
    3D & Animation

    3D Art Inspiration You'll Love

    Learn about some inspiring 3D artists with multidisciplinary designer Ali Sahba London-based multidisciplinary designer and photographer Ali Sahba (@alisahba) creates 3D animations, illustrations, and other projects for a wide range of digital and print media and has worked for clients such as Apple, Microsoft, Adidas, and Oreo, among others. In his Domestika course, Ali Sahba encourages you to explore the possibilities that exist when you blend different digital tools and software in a single project and teaches you to create photorealistic 3D illustrations. Experimentation is essential for telling stories differently. Ali combines different tools and software in his 3D projects to create realistic visual art that pushes contemporary storytelling limits. Various artists working in photography, graphic design, illustration, and film making from around the world have influenced and inspired him. Let’s get to know these artists and their work.

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  • Why Is No One Smiling in Classic Portraits and Photographs?
    Art

    Why Is No One Smiling in Classic Portraits and Photographs?

    Learn why smiling was so uncommon in paintings and early photographs "Smile!" We listen to this phrase practically every time we pose for a photograph. Nowadays, smiles are almost a requirement in photos and selfies, a reflex action: when we see a camera pointing at us or somebody asks to take our picture, our first instinct is to smile. But that has not always been the case. For most of recorded history, smiles have not been prevalent. Smiles are rarely present in paintings or old photographs. Why? A matter of vanity? One of the hypotheses that could explain this enigmatic phenomenon is the vanity of the subjects portrayed. Due to the lack of personal hygiene in past centuries, teeth condition left much to be desired. Subjects would keep their lips firmly closed when posing for posterity to avoid showing their teeth. But that is not the truth, for a simple reason: bad teeth were so widespread that they did not inspire shame in the subjects or their painters.

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  • Free Download: Press Release Samples for Your Design Project
    Design

    Free Download: Press Release Samples for Your Design Project

    Learn about key information you can include in a press release to promote your project Finally! After months (or maybe years) of hard work, your design project will see the light and the world will know all the great things about it. Or will they? How can you assure your project is all represented in the media and that the target audience gets the information? STUDIOLAV (@studiolav) is a Design Studio founded by Loukas Angelou and Vasso Asfi. Specializing in the fields of interior and product design, STUDIOLAV focuses on creating a meaningful emotional connection between people, objects, and the environment. They know some key aspects of promoting your work properly, so it can be used in social media, your website, or some other media.

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  • What Is Going on in the World of Social Media?
    Marketing

    What Is Going on in the World of Social Media?

    Learn how to improve customer relations through community management with Hana Klokner Hana Klokner (@hanajayklokner) is a social media marketing specialist who has provided training for clients such as Amazon, the United Nations, GLH Hotels, among others. She lectures on digital marketing, social media marketing, and branding at the University of the Arts London and Istituto Marangoni. Not all companies are passionate about social media; however, by embracing this side of the market, you will achieve visibility and reach new clients or customers. In her Domestika course, Hana helps you build a community management strategy and establish relationships with your followers, customers, or partners using popular social media platforms. Help your brand resonate with your audience and generate engaging conversations around your product.

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  • 15 Realistic Portrait Illustrations That Make an Impact
    Illustration

    15 Realistic Portrait Illustrations That Make an Impact

    Discover the illustration talent within the Domestika community Drawing, as a discipline, encompasses a plethora of techniques and styles. Realism is one of them, and it requires a lot of practice and great attention to detail; it demonstrates great technical ability. In this blog, we present 15 realistic portrait illustration projects from the Domestika community. To discover the process behind each piece, click on the title in red. Profile of a Man, by Krystan Grace Art (@krystangraceart) United Kingdom This detailed portrait was created with white chalk and Derwent Charcoal pencils on black paper.

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  • How to Vectorize a Lettering Design
    Typography, Calligraphy and Lettering

    How to Vectorize a Lettering Design

    Learn to digitize your letters easily using Adobe Illustrator with tips and directions from Daniel Hosoya Advertising designer Daniel Hosoya (@danielhosoya) specializes in digital lettering and teaches the Domestika courses, Introduction to Lettering in Procreate and Digital Lettering with Illustrator and Photoshop. Here, he tells you how to digitize your lettering designs, an essential step if you want to work on your hand-drawn creations and turn them into more ambitious projects.

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  • Paper Craft Tutorial: How to Make Paper Petals
    Teacher Craft

    Paper Craft Tutorial: How to Make Paper Petals

    Learn this simple method for making paper craft petals, with Eileen Handmade Floral designs are part of the fabric of paper craft and a well-made petal is a simple and easy addition to bring charm to your creations. Eileen Ng, also known as Eileen Handmade, is a craft artist and maker dedicated to bringing the freshness and life of the outdoors inside. In this tutorial, she shares a simple technique for creating a daisy petal.

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  • 5 Free Classes on Decoration and Interior Design That You Should Try
    Teacher Architecture & Space

    5 Free Classes on Decoration and Interior Design That You Should Try

    Get started in interior design and decoration with these 5 experts and renovate any space Decoration and interior design are two creative disciplines that will allow you to reflect your own style (or that of your client) in any space. Discover basic tips and put them into practice to create spectacular projects. To watch each class, just click on its red title. Enjoy!

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  • 5 Sustainable Graphic Designers You Should Know
    Design

    5 Sustainable Graphic Designers You Should Know

    Designer Núria Vila Punzano shares the work of those who have inspired her You have probably heard about the sustainable design movement happening across fashion or architecture. However, it’s also a rising trend in graphic design, setting out to reduce the environmental impact of printed items (such as posters or packaging) from the get-go. Many designers take inspiration from nature to create and commit to caring for the planet in all stages of their work. Graphic designer and creative director Núria Vila Punzano (@nuriavilapinzano) is among them. She takes special care to reduce the negative impact her designs could have on the environment and to minimize her carbon footprint.

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  • 5 Examples of Animation Combining 2D and 3D
    3D & Animation

    5 Examples of Animation Combining 2D and 3D

    Animator Andrea Gendusa shares work from his animation portfolio In animation, you can adjust different techniques and styles to suit each project. Whether you choose to use 2D or 3D animation will depend on your personal preferences and the type of project you’re working on. However, you can also use 2D and 3D animation in the same project, giving the piece a unique style. That's exactly what animator Andrea Gendusa (@andreagendusa) does, combining working in both Adobe After Effects and Cinema 4D.

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  • 20 Years of Pantone Color of the Year
    Design

    20 Years of Pantone Color of the Year

    Over the past two decades, Pantone has chosen 22 colors of the year based on trends, research, and analysis Imagine a world in which creatives were unable to guarantee how the final color of a print, fabric, product, or poster would turn out. Imagine a world in which, whenever you printed a copy of a design, the color was always different. Sounds scary, right? Well, that's exactly what the world was like until the arrival of Pantone. This unpredictable way of working was transformed in 1963, when Lawrence Herbert, Pantone's founder, created a system for identifying, combining, and communicating colors. Today, the Pantone Matching System is considered the international standard. The PMS is quite simply a color manual that opens out like a fan. Creative professionals use it on a daily basis to ensure that all the colors they use in their projects are universally understood. You’ve probably come across one of these catalogs of different colors.

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  • 11 Basic Concepts to Get You Started in The 3D World
    3D & Animation

    11 Basic Concepts to Get You Started in The 3D World

    Learn about some areas of work and the possibilities of 3D in modeling, illustration, and animation If you are thinking of getting started in the world of 3D, or want to expand your field of work, we compiled this list for you. Learn about some of the main creative areas of 3D modeling and animation. To read each article with detailed information, just click on its red title.

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  • What is Architectural Illustration?
    Illustration

    What is Architectural Illustration?

    Discover more about this specialized branch of illustration Architect and architectural illustrator Héctor López (@_thearchitector) says that “architectural illustration is the visual representation of an object that can be as small as a construction detail or as big as an entire building or block of buildings.” Humans have created visual representations of architectural objects for thousands of years. According to Héctor, the earliest known example of an architectural plan dates back to 2200 BC. It’s part of a statue of Gudea, who ruled the state of Lagash in Southern Mesopotamia c. 2144–2124 BC. The statue, titled “Architect with a Plan,” features Gudea sitting with a tablet on his lap, which shows the floor plan of a temple. During and following the Roman Empire, more and more examples of architectural illustration that were more fitting with the discipline we know today began to appear.

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  • Photography Tutorial: How to Set up a Self-Portrait
    Teacher Photography

    Photography Tutorial: How to Set up a Self-Portrait

    Learn the basic techniques for taking a self-portrait on your phone or a reflex camera, with Laura Zalenga Self-portraits have been a fundamental component of self expression throughout history, allowing artists to explore their own external image and internal truths. While every new smartphone has a front-facing camera you can take a selfie with, a well-taken self-portrait typically requires a little more thought. Laura Zalenga (@laurazalenga) is a photographer passionate about the art of self-portraits, who has given talks for clients like Adobe, Disney, Sony, and Mercedes Benz. In this tutorial, she shares three different ways you can set up your own self-portrait photoshoot easily and effectively, depending on what tools you have available.

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  • How Is the Pantone Color of the Year Chosen?
    Design

    How Is the Pantone Color of the Year Chosen?

    Every year Pantone chooses a color that sets the trend all over the world, but not many know how it is decided Despite having been the universal color identification system and the established color palette paradigm for over 50 years, it wasn’t until the year 2000 that Pantone started to proclaim a color of the year. The turn of the century marked the beginning of a trend, starting with ‘Cerulean Blue,’ which Pantone identified with ‘the sky’s color on a serene day.’ This would be followed by ‘True Red’ in 2001, aimed to symbolize the impact of the 9/11 attacks, a day that shook the world; then the equally acclaimed and criticized ‘Marsala,’ and Pink Quartz and Serenity (two hues were picked for the first time in 2016). Nowadays, the Pantone Color of the Year has become an institution, and many designers worldwide await its announcement, which takes place towards the end of the year with trepidation. The Pantone Color of the year forecasts the color trend we will see in the world of fashion, graphic and web design, and on an infinity of products. However, not many people know who decides which will be the ‘Color of the Year’ or how they do it.

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  • 5 Scrapbook Art Websites to Inspire Your Illustration Projects
    Illustration

    5 Scrapbook Art Websites to Inspire Your Illustration Projects

    These attractive websites will show you ways to use scrapbook art in a professional and artistic way Nuria Meléndez (@nuriamelworkshop) is a Mexican designer, illustrator, and scrapbook lover. She has created work for children's and young adult literature, cultural magazines, musical projects, theaters, and museums. She has worked for publishers such as Penguin Random House and establishments such as The Mexico City Museum and UNAM. She loves working on projects that involve play, collecting, and transforming as part of the creative process. She uses illustration, collage, and other craft techniques combined with two of her favorite concepts: transformation and nostalgia through scrapbooking. In her Domestika course, Nuria helps you create an illustration scrapbook by finding new ways to stimulate your creativity and experiment with cutouts, and allowing you to find new ways to express your imagination. Nuria lists five websites where you will find tips and ideas to ensure that your scrapbooks turn into incredible treasures. Let’s have a look at them in detail below.

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  • Interior Designers React to Regular Homes
    Teacher Design

    Interior Designers React to Regular Homes

    Founders of interior design studio STUDIOLAV Loukas Angelou and Vasso Asfi react to the homes of members of the Domestika community Professional interior design can often seem like an unaffordable luxury. However, a few simple changes can dramatically improve the look and feel of a room. Loukas Angelou and Vasso Asfi, founders of international interior design studio STUDIOLAV, have had their work exhibited at London’s Royal Academy of Arts but their talents can also be applied to a regular home. We asked them to take a look at the homes of a few members of the Domestika community and to share a few simple tips on how to improve them.

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