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  • Discovering Leonardo Da Vinci's Digital Notebooks
    Illustration

    Discovering Leonardo Da Vinci's Digital Notebooks

    It took us 500 years, but we can now access the notes, thoughts, and drawings of one of the greatest geniuses in history (for free!) Renaissance artist, musician, inventor, anatomist, architect, paleontologist, botanist, scientist, writer, sculptor, philosopher, engineer, and painter, Leonardo da Vinci (1452 - 1519) is considered one of the greatest geniuses of all time and one of the most talented artists in history. Not only for his incredible works such as La Gioconda (1503), The Last Supper (1498), or The Annunciation (1472), but also for the notebooks and books full of diagrams, drawings, personal notes, and observations he made that are now proof of his genius. Leonardo seems to have started annotating his ideas and world views in the mid-1480s. He was a pioneer of the use of paper as a sketching tool and filled pages and pages with ideas, comments, thoughts, and inventions, blending the mind of a designer with that of a scientist. And now, some of these priceless notebooks are freely available on the Internet.

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  • Branding Tutorial: How to Design a Logo
    Design

    Branding Tutorial: How to Design a Logo

    Basic tips for approaching a logo design from The Negra A logo can be the icing on the cake in a graphic project. Or its starting point. Either way, it must be distinguishable, unique and memorable. And that's where the fixed rules end, because even one of the most intuitive imperatives–legibility–does not always apply, it depends on what the brand is looking for. This is what the three partners of the Argentine studio The Negra (@thenegra), designers Diego, Lio and Pancho, teach us. In this tutorial, we learn basic premises to create a good logo, taking into account the message we want to convey, the brand to which it is applied, and the graphic options we have.

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  • How to Create an Animated Web Series
    3D & Animation

    How to Create an Animated Web Series

    Sociedad Fantasma shows us the process behind the creation of R.T., an alien that tries to sympathize with humanity Sociedad Fantasma (@sociedadfantasma) is a storytelling studio founded by Carlos Rupit, Gabriel Pichardo, and Lizeth Rodríguez, devoted to telling great stories through illustration and animation. This path has led them to work with brands like Netflix, Gatorade, Google, and Nike, but also to develop their projects, such as their web series UFUCK_U, where a curious alien tries to fit into daily human life. This project demonstrates this Mexican studio's experience in crafting stories, characters, illustration, color management, and animation–the foundations of their work. These are the main steps Sociedad Fantasma takes to make an episode of its series.

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  • Basic Engraving Tools
    Craft

    Basic Engraving Tools

    Pablo Salvaje lists the tools you need to start engraving Artist Pablo Salvaje (@pablosalvaje) mixed his passion for ink, paper, and illustration with his family's old printing press business, focusing on engraving, design, illustration, and screen printing techniques. With nature as his muse, he aims to leave a mark, literally and figuratively, with each of his pieces. To encourage you to try some of his methods, Pablo Salvaje shares a list of 22 basic tools that you need to start engraving. They are all easy to find and work with, so you can get down to business with the ideas you already have in your head.

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  • How to Ignite an Idea for a Foldable Picture Book
    Design

    How to Ignite an Idea for a Foldable Picture Book

    How to kickstart a foldable book project and what you will need to bring it to life Roger Ycaza (@rogerycaza) is an award-winning illustrator, author, and musician from Ecuador, specializing in children’s books. One of his favorite formats is the foldable book, given that it allows illustration to take center stage and requires the author to explore unique ways to connect their visual language with the story being told through text. Here, Roger takes us through his process for coming up with an initial idea that ignites a new book, as well as showing us some different foldable formats and the materials he recommends using to bring them to life.

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  • Adobe XD Tutorial: Basic Design Functions
    Teacher Design

    Adobe XD Tutorial: Basic Design Functions

    Learn with Ethan Parry how to draw shapes, edit colors, and add text using UX design software Adobe XD. User experience has become an increasingly important part of design—bringing together designers, developers, and other stakeholders to create websites and digital products that users can easily and intuitively navigate. Implementing a successful UX design can result in more sales, improved branding, and better conversion, making it a necessary design principle regardless of the industry or audience being targeted. That’s why Adobe XD is such an important tool. A leading vector-based UX design software for web and mobile apps, it can be used to design and prototype wireframes and layouts that can then be implemented and tested. Ethan Parry (@ethanparry) is a service designer and UX research consultant who regularly uses Adobe XD in his own work. In this tutorial, he explains the software’s basic design functions, which are the building blocks you’ll need before you can begin building your own app.

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  • What is Collage, And How Has It Evolved?
    Design

    What is Collage, And How Has It Evolved?

    Learn about the origins and current use of collage, an artistic technique that can awaken our creativity Collage is a technique that has evolved as the number of its collage artists has multiplied. It allows the use of virtually any material and, over time, it has become a versatile art form, with many exponents and styles. Origins of collage Although similar artistic techniques have existed since the Middle Ages, many critics, art historians, and museum institutions consider that collage itself was born in the 20th century. Others, such as the Art Institute of Chicago, recognize earlier photo-collage works as part of this technique. In the example below, from the mid-19th century, Georgina Louisa Berkeley created a watercolor photo-collage with albumen print photographs. She and other Victorian artists who explored the technique depict themselves and other women in an independent context, far removed from the domestic life to which they were confined.

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  • What is Slow Stitch?
    Craft

    What is Slow Stitch?

    A movement that celebrates artisanal production values and a slower process of embroidery If traditional techniques that have been passed down through generations have shown us anything, it’s that it’s not always necessary to produce a lot and quickly, nor the perfect piece, to produce well. There is a movement within the world of embroidery that consists precisely of enjoying the journey, delighting in each stitch, and experimenting with the possibilities that arise when we dedicate time to planning each step–or we just let it flow. It’s known as slow stitch, and the Mexican textile artist Gabriela Martínez (@ofeliayantelmo) is one of its biggest ambassadors. We spoke with her to find out slow stitch is, what the movement consists of, and how to join it.

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  • Ayo Vega: Meet the Multifaceted and Multidisciplinary Artist
    Illustration

    Ayo Vega: Meet the Multifaceted and Multidisciplinary Artist

    Be inspired by this Spanish artist’s versatility and learn how he has turned his creativity into a winning strategy Ayo Vega (@ayo_vega) is a multidisciplinary artist specializing in creating and overseeing digital content. His output includes illustration, photography, graphic design, and visual effects for different digital platforms, engaging lots of different audiences with his viral creations. Check out this overview of his work, which shines a light on Ayo’s personal passions and unique online social media presence. He delivers a unique strategy for markets that are hungry for original and quality content.

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  • The Best Procreate Shortcuts
    Illustration

    The Best Procreate Shortcuts

    Speed up your workflow using a keyboard connected to your iPad when drawing in Procreate Procreate is one of the most popular apps for illustrators and designers using iPads. This award-winning creative application allows you to create beautiful sketches and stunning illustrations using Apple Pencil or just your finger. Whether you’ve just discovered the app or are already a skilled user, you'll find these keyboard shortcuts extremely useful. Download a free PDF with the Procreate Shortcuts at the end of this post.

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  • Why Start Your Own Creative Projects?
    3D & Animation

    Why Start Your Own Creative Projects?

    Learn, experience, and satisfy your creative side are just some of the benefits of taking on your own personal projects Josep Bernaus (@josep_bernaus) is a 2D animator. He’s worked on animation series and advertising campaigns for clients like the BBC, CNN, and TVE. However, he has never abandoned his personal projects, which hold an important place in his life and, he believes, should be important to any creative, artist, illustrator, photographer. Josep shares three reasons why personal projects are so important and what attitude and expectations we should have for them.

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  • Store Window Dressing: The Materials
    Craft

    Store Window Dressing: The Materials

    Kiosko Creativo takes us through the materials you’ll need to bring a concept for a store window to life Window dressing is a fusion of lots of different disciplines: art direction, crafts, architecture, sculpture, installation, and, of course, design. It involves experimenting with colors, materials, perspectives, and depth to create optical effects that attract the attention of passers-by.

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  • What Is Needle Painting?
    Craft

    What Is Needle Painting?

    Discover how to achieve realism using a needle and thread Needle painting or thread painting is an embroidery technique that uses traditional painting and drawing techniques to shade and add volume and structure to an image. The needle becomes your paintbrush and the thread, your paint. In recent years, needle painting has become a very popular technique thanks to the extraordinary effects you can create with every stitch.

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  • Illustration Tutorial: How to Illustrate a Character with Ink
    Teacher Illustration

    Illustration Tutorial: How to Illustrate a Character with Ink

    Learn with Alejandra Acosta how to take a character from a story and illustrate them with ink There are almost as many ways to illustrate as there are illustrators, but some illustration techniques have survived the passage of centuries thanks to their effectiveness, character, and results. Combining several of these techniques, such as ink printing, will allow us to obtain more original and unique illustrations. In the following video tutorial, the illustrator Alejandra Acosta (@alejandraacosta) teaches us how to create illustrated characters through the process of ink printing. A very organic and simple technique that can give us surprising results. Discover it below:

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  • What Is Inbound Marketing?
    Marketing

    What Is Inbound Marketing?

    Lucas García, designer, CEO, and creative director, explains all about this new way of marketing Inbound marketing is a very effective methodology to attract new customers, since it is based on the value proposition a brand has to offer. Many companies have decided to incorporate this strategy in their day to day operations and give their potential clients much more than they expect. Lucas García (@lucasgarcia), director and founder of Social Mood, is an expert in communication, branding, and inbound marketing: he helps brands connect with their audience using digital content.

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  • Challenge: Designing an Album Cover in 15 Minutes
    Illustration

    Challenge: Designing an Album Cover in 15 Minutes

    Designer and Illustrator Steve Simpson takes on the Domestika Challenge Steve Simpson (@stevesimpson) has worked with major clients such as Disney Pixar, Adobe, and The Wall Street Journal, and has won over 50 awards from organizations like the Association of Illustrators. His distinctive and whimsical style has been applied to everything from children's toys, postage stamps, whiskey bottles, and hand-lettered packaging. In this Domestika Challenge, the illustrator only has 15 minutes to design a custom album cover commemorating Queen’s 50th anniversary. Can he quickly come up with an original take on such a classic cover? Find out in the video below:

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  • Free Download: Hand Embroidery Botanical Alphabet
    Craft

    Free Download: Hand Embroidery Botanical Alphabet

    Adriana Torres shares with you a raised embroidery template Adriana Torres (@soymigadepan) is a designer and embroiderer with extensive experience in disciplines such as architecture, graphic design and illustration. In her brand, Miga de Pan, she uses various embroidery techniques, especially embossed and raised stitches.

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  • 5 Steps to Basic Color Correction in DaVinci (TUTORIAL)
    Teacher Film & Video

    5 Steps to Basic Color Correction in DaVinci (TUTORIAL)

    Learn the basics of solid coloring through primary correction with Leo Fallas Primary color correction affects the whole shot of the audiovisual work that we want to color correct and is, therefore, the foundation of a consistent color, that contributes to the visual character and coherence of our videos. That is why Leo Fallas (@leofallas), colorist and postproducer, explains in this tutorial how to do so well, using colors, curves and other tools in DaVinci Resolve to achieve a perfect balance in our images.

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  • Amigurumi Tutorial: Basic Magic Circle Technique
    Teacher Craft

    Amigurumi Tutorial: Basic Magic Circle Technique

    Learn this simple step by step technique to create Amigurumi volume shapes with Ameskeria In the 80s the Japanese pop world - abundant in inventions that amuse and enchant - gave us the Amigurumi, a technique for creating small crocheted dolls. As this is a method for weaving objects with volume, it often requires a type of structure called a magic circle, which allows for "round" crochet. In this tutorial, Ameskeria (@ameskeria), a designer and photographer from Barcelona specializing in crochet, teaches us step by step how to make this basic shape for your Amigurumi creations:

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  • Learn 3 Fundamental Pottery Techniques
    Craft

    Learn 3 Fundamental Pottery Techniques

    Lola Giardino teaches basic ceramics techniques so that you can start making your own creations Lola Giardino's (@lolagiardino) relationship with pottery started in 2011 as a way to escape from digital life. She tried different crafts but soon fell in love with ceramics and developed the skill to shape incredible objects just using hand building, a technique where the beauty and uniqueness of the pieces come from little imperfections. Lola shares the three basic modeling techniques so that you can also become an expert in hand building:

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  • How to Create Your Own Digital Media Plan
    Marketing

    How to Create Your Own Digital Media Plan

    When, how, and how much to invest? Foncho Ramírez-Corzo shares key tips on how to develop a successful plan Foncho Ramírez-Corzo (@cholutions) is a Digital Marketing and Google Adwords professional, with over 18 years of experience with global brands, startups, and publicity agencies in Europe, the US, and Latin America. One of the things he’s most passionate about in his job is guiding independent professionals and small businesses through the development of digital communication strategies.

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  • What Is a Rigger? Discover the Professionals Behind SFX
    3D & Animation

    What Is a Rigger? Discover the Professionals Behind SFX

    Their role is essential when creating animated characters, but chances are you haven't heard of them The future of entertainment will rely on digital: cinema and big TV shows are increasingly dependent on special effects; computer animation has practically replaced traditional animation techniques, and video games are already the most profitable cultural product. In all these fields, there is an essential professional figure who ensures that all computer-generated characters have an organic, coherent, and fluid movement. They are the rigger.

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