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  • What Is Kawaii art, Japan’s Culture of Cuteness?
    Illustration

    What Is Kawaii art, Japan’s Culture of Cuteness?

    Discover the power of cute and the secret formula behind Japanese kawaii adorable illustration characters The concept of kawaii was born in Japan during the 60s. In just a couple of decades, this idea of "adorability" has spread to all corners of the world, attracting legions of fans. It is difficult to resist smiling at the perfectly designed features of a kawaii illustration but, what does kawaii exactly mean? We spoke to Azul Piñeiro and Carlos Higuera, two designers and illustrators specialized in kawaii illustration and founders of Estudio Kudasai (@estudiokudasai), to learn more about the origin of this term and above all, what is the formula to create kawaii —or extremely lovable— characters.

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  • What Is Documentary Family Photography?
    Photography

    What Is Documentary Family Photography?

    Discover a photography style that captures the intimacy, routines, and relationship ties of a family If you are over 30, you will remember when your parents and grandparents used to pull out and show family albums to visiting family and friends. Together with many staged pictures, those albums are also full of spontaneous and unexpected snapshots. In the days of analog photography, you could not see the result of your shots before developing them, which allowed for a lot more spontaneity. And spontaneity is one of the main features of celebrated Brazilian photographer Grazi Ventura (@graziventura), a documentary family photography specialist.

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  • What Is Fine Art Photography?
    Photography

    What Is Fine Art Photography?

    Learn all about this photographic style and its key characteristics Although there isn't one clear definition to describe fine art photography, a key characteristic of this type of photography project is that its author always has a clear intention. In this discipline, the photographer is considered an artist. The images, which translate the creative vision of the person behind the lens, seek to go beyond reproducing or representing reality, as is the case, for example, in documentary photography. Instead, these images are the fruit of an artistic process that will usually have been developed over months. Their aim, like all works of art, is to invent, or, to quote a song by brazilian artist Caetano Veloso, "throw worlds at the world".

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  • What Is a Stencil and What Are the Origins of the Stenciling Technique?
    Craft

    What Is a Stencil and What Are the Origins of the Stenciling Technique?

    Discover the creative possibilities offered by stencils or the stenciling technique Perhaps you have used a stencil before to paint a design, in which case, you've already practiced stencil art. This method consists of stamping a design onto a surface by passing paint through a stencil. This is not a visual art that has emerged recently; it goes way back. From cave paintings illustrating everyday scenes to graffiti calling attention to social issues in our cities, there are many ways to apply motifs quickly and accurately. In this blog post, we review the evolution of stencil art to understand why it has been used so much, not only in the artistic world and street art but across a range of disciplines. Finally, we will also analyze how it is applied to textile screen printing.

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  • What Is Sensitometry and Why Is It So Important In Cinematography?
    Film & Video

    What Is Sensitometry and Why Is It So Important In Cinematography?

    Learn about the inner workings of a camera and how to choose the right settings for your next video project Sensitometry is the scientific study of light-sensitive materials, such as photographic film. In digital photography, the camera sensor is the electronic equivalent to photographic film. In order to understand sensitometry in a digital context, we need to first get our heads around how a camera sensor works. We will then examine the differences between shooting RAW, LOG, and Rec709 Video before looking at dynamic range and ISO. What is a camera sensor? A camera sensor is a piece of hardware inside a camera that receives and transmits information to make an image. It is made up of millions of cavities called “photosites.” When the camera’s shutter opens, these photosites open and capture photons, which are stored as electrical signals that the camera’s processor reads and interprets. This information is then stitched together to form a grayscale image. To capture color images, a Bayer array filter has to be placed over each photosite to determine the color of the images.

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  • What Is Naturalist Illustration and its Fundamental Steps?
    Illustration

    What Is Naturalist Illustration and its Fundamental Steps?

    Discover the origin and features of naturalist illustration, as well as the steps involved in drawing flora and fauna The natural sciences have gone hand-in-hand with art for centuries, thanks to naturalist illustration. Since the 16th century, naturalists have taken part in scientific expeditions or investigated nature of their own accord. The preservation of their drawings of their discoveries resulted in the knowledge they obtained becoming the foundations of modern science. If you like to observe and draw nature, then this article is for you. Discover the characteristics of this discipline and the steps you should follow to create your own naturalist illustration. You will also learn the subtle differences between this discipline and scientific illustration, such as their objectives.

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  • What Is Intarsia Crochet, and What Do You Need to Get Started?
    Craft

    What Is Intarsia Crochet, and What Do You Need to Get Started?

    Learn about the origin of the intarsia technique, how it differs from tapestry and how to crochet patterns The intarsia technique is not widely known but worth exploring as you can use it to achieve some beautiful effects with yarn. This crocheting technique allows you to create designs by adding separate yarns when you want to change color in a section of your work. This feature separates it from traditional tapestry, where the different color yarns are inserted into the crocheted piece.

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  • What Is Architectural Perspective, and How Do I Use It in Drawing?
    Architecture & Space

    What Is Architectural Perspective, and How Do I Use It in Drawing?

    Discover the importance of perspective in architectural drawing when designing a space from scratch The word “perspective” comes from the Latin word perspicere, which means "to see through". This definition already provides some clues that will help us to grasp one of the most important concepts in architecture. Perspective in architectural drawing is the representation of three-dimensional objects on a two-dimensional (flat) surface. This recreates the position of the observer relative to the object and shows the depth of the objects. To get our heads around this concept, we look back on the origins and development of the theory, as well as its influence on other artistic disciplines, such as painting. At the end of this post, there will be the opportunity to learn about three types of architectural perspective and put them into practice by following some simple exercises.

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  • What Is Botany, and How Does It Inspire Creativity?
    Illustration

    What Is Botany, and How Does It Inspire Creativity?

    Learn about the origin of this ancient science and how it has kept inspiring artists throughout the ages Botany is the science that studies the features, properties, and processes of plants and vegetables; how they connect, and what their vital functions are. It is a scientific discipline that's part of biology. Botany is also responsible for describing and classifying the world of flora. Origins of botany The need for early humans to identify and later cultivate edible and medicinal plants and avoid poisonous ones originated in the Paleolithic. The first written list of plants, which made herbalism one of the oldest branches of science and the basis for modern botany, dates back to the Sumerians over 5000 years ago. Later, in ancient Greece, a student of Aristotle called Theophrastus, wrote De Historia Plantarum (Enquiry into Plants) and On the Causes of Plants. These works, which gained him the title of 'father of modern botany,' were the most significant contribution to botanical science for 17 centuries, up until the Middle Ages.

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  • What Are NFTs, and How Are They Transforming Digital Art?
    Art

    What Are NFTs, and How Are They Transforming Digital Art?

    Discover the fascinating universe of NFTs, how they benefit the art world, the risks they pose, and why people are concerned about their environmental impact NFTs have taken the creative world by storm in recent weeks and prompted many questions. To fully get our head around this new technology, we need to put the current conversation into context. In February this year, the Nyan Cat meme sold for $600,000. On March 1, visual artist and musician Grimes sold some videos for $6 million. And on March 11, a single jpeg file sold for $69 million. Aside from receiving a lot of attention over recent weeks, the creator of this jpeg–digital artist Mike Winkelmann, best known as Beeple–has become a record holder: 'Everydays: The First 5000 Days' is the third most expensive artwork to be sold by a living artist. What do all of these works have in common? Well, they don't exist in the physical world and have conquered the mainstream.

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  • What Is Retail Design?
    Teacher Design

    What Is Retail Design?

    Learn about the design of commercial spaces, the role they play, and the current trends within this discipline

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  • What Is 360 Brand Identity and How Does It Help Brand Recognition?
    Marketing

    What Is 360 Brand Identity and How Does It Help Brand Recognition?

    Discover how to integrate your company or brand’s visual resources to improve your brand’s image If you own a business, at some point, you will have thought about ways to improve how you communicate. Embracing a brand identity is the best way to make coherent and effective decisions. A brand identity is defined by a set of graphic and visual elements and guidelines that communicate the story behind your brand: its values and how it interacts with the public. These elements will become easily recognizable once you have created a compelling brand identity. In a world full of stimuli, having a strong brand identity is becoming increasingly important. Today, businesses should consider it an utmost priority.

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  • What is Contemporary Art?
    Art

    What is Contemporary Art?

    Discover what characterizes contemporary art, and how it differs from modern art Given that there is no approach or style that makes a work of contemporary art easily identifiable, contemporary art is perhaps best defined by how difficult it is to define. Often conflated or confused with "modern art", the term “contemporary art” is sometimes misused. In this post, we explain the difference between modern and contemporary art and look back on the evolution of the latter up until the present day.

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  • What Is Eco-design and How to Apply It to Your Products
    Design

    What Is Eco-design and How to Apply It to Your Products

    Learn the difference between eco-design and sustainable design and how the creative industry can reduce its impact on the environment Did you know that 80% of a product's environmental impact can be reduced at the design stage? Eco-design was conceived by experts who became aware of the consequences their products were having on the environment. Eco-design can be defined in many ways: eco-friendly, green, sustainable, conscientious, ethical, and responsible. Tati Guimarães (@tati_guimaraes), an eco-designer of products and packaging from Brazil, believes the best definition is 'circular design.'

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  • What Is a Circular Economy and How to Apply It to Graphic Design
    Design

    What Is a Circular Economy and How to Apply It to Graphic Design

    Discover how graphic design can help a brand move from a linear to a circular economy The current paradigm of linear economic models might be coming to an end. That's what experts like creative director and graphic designer Núria Vila Punzano (@nuriavilapunzano) think. Today, she will help us understand what exactly a circular economy is and how graphic design can help brands embrace it. A circular economy is a strategy that tries to reduce both the use of raw materials and the production of waste. With a linear economy, what we usually do is extract, create, and then throw away after use. What a circular economy proposes is to create, use, and then recycle.

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  • What Is Graphic Identity and What Does a Branding Professional Need to Know About It?
    Marketing

    What Is Graphic Identity and What Does a Branding Professional Need to Know About It?

    Discover how the personality of a brand is built We all know that image is essential when launching and growing a company, but not everyone knows there is a methodology to find and develop our aesthetic universe. The graphic identity is a set of parameters that define a brand's visual aspect, that is, everything that is seen. We say that a company or a project has its own graphic identity when we can quickly identify its presence and relate it to a logo, colors, and fonts.

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  • What Are the Rules of Perspective in Drawing?
    Illustration

    What Are the Rules of Perspective in Drawing?

    Learn the basic rules of this fundamental art technique Perspective in drawing is the art of representing three-dimensional objects on a two-dimensional surface, giving a realistic appearance to the items drawn in terms of their width, height, and depth. When drawing in perspective, we depict a scene where all objects are accurately placed in relation to each other, faithfully respecting their distance from the viewer.

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  • What is Sustainable Design?
    Design

    What is Sustainable Design?

    Discover the true meaning of sustainable design, and find out how considering sustainability is beneficial for everyone, with Núria Vila

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  • What Is Blocking in Animation and Why Is It So Important?
    3D & Animation

    What Is Blocking in Animation and Why Is It So Important?

    Learn about this technique and how it is used in 3D animation projects When it comes to working on a 3D animation project, not only do you need a strong concept, you also need to work out scale, volumes, and proportions in order to best position the characters and props within a scene. In this context, blocking is essential: it saves time and prevents mistakes. But what exactly is it?

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  • What Are the Key Characteristics of Manga Illustration?
    Illustration

    What Are the Key Characteristics of Manga Illustration?

    Discover more about this format and the key characteristics of Japanese illustration The word “manga” refers to Japanese comics and graphic novels. The manga industry is huge and a key part of Japanese culture: its reach goes way beyond the country’s borders. In this blog post, we explore the history and main features of this genre.

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  • What is ISO Sensitivity in Photography?
    Film & Video

    What is ISO Sensitivity in Photography?

    Learn the basics for beginners about ISO and how aperture and shutter speed settings interact with each other, by Giulia Candussi In analog film photography, ISO (or formerly ASA) indicated how sensitive a roll of film was to light. While most modern cameras do not use film anymore, the term stuck around and now refers to the relative sensitivity of a camera’s sensor to light. Along with shutter speed and aperture, ISO is one of the most fundamental settings to understand when taking digital photographs. In this video, Giulia Candussi explains what ISO is and how you can use it in your digital photography to achieve the best results possible:

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  • What Is Ghost Light in Photography?
    Teacher Photography

    What Is Ghost Light in Photography?

    Learn about this mysterious lighting technique and how you can use it to take incredible photos Ghost light is a lighting technique that photographer Ibai Acevedo (@ibai) discovered while trying to find the best way to light his models and control the light as much as possible, both how it is perceived and how it appears. Imagine you want to photograph a person using a diffuser, playing with the light and shadows. Given that you need the light source to be close to your model in order to achieve the right lighting, surely the light source will be visible in the frame? Well, Ibai discovered that it’s possible to light your model without showing your light source. He does this by creating a layered composition as if it were a collage. This gives you the power to decide what you want and don't want to show in the photograph: he calls this technique “ghost light”.

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  • What Is a Press Release and How to Write One
    Marketing

    What Is a Press Release and How to Write One

    Learn how and when to use this essential communication tool In life and business, the saying "out of sight, out of mind" applies. Today, in a world where the information lifespan is measured in seconds, standing out and remaining relevant is one of the biggest challenges for companies and public figures and creatives launching their own projects. One way to be noticed is to consolidate your presence in the media, and press releases are the best way to do it. But, what exactly is a press release, and how do you write one?

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