Cool Tools: Cintiq Based on comics master Scott McCloud’s recommendation (below), I bought a Cintiq. It does something I’ve always wanted to do since I first saw a computer. This thing is a pen-based tablet that doubles as a monitor. In other words you draw directly on the tablet, just like a paper-based drawing, but digitally. In fact the surface of the Cintq monitor/tablet feels like paper under a pen. Synchrony of image with your movements is almost exact, and the micro difference doesn’t seem to matter. Drawing directly on the screen with the Cintiq Tablet made a huge difference in my artwork, and sped up my workflow by at least 30%, maybe more. In 2003-2004, I lost about a year of work to hand strain, using a regular tablet, mouse and keyboard. Most importantly, I actually *liked* the way the art looked. I was an idiot not to buy a Cintiq in ’99 when I first saw them on display at a New York show. – Scott McCloud
Batman and Star Wars Posters Take Propaganda to a Whole New Level One of the nice things about being the Internet’s Foremost Batmanologist is that over the past six years, I’ve managed to build up a readership that thinks of me while they’re browsing the web. It’s like the Shadow’s network of undercover operatives, only instead of mystical powers and intimidation, I operate with jokes about the KGBeast. That was the case this weekend, when Sean Hollenhors ran across the art of Tom Whalen and figured it was something I’d like. And he was right. Whalen’s is amazing, and while it might be a pretty big part of what got me interested, it’s not just because he draws a pretty awesome Batman. Batman Star Wars The Empire Strikes Back G.I. Ghostbusters The Goonies Shaun of the Dead The Wizard of Oz Monster Squad Heavy Metal Jaws 80s Cartoon Villains There are more awesome pieces at Whalen’s website, Strong Stuff, as well as on his DeviantArt page.
30+ High Quality Adobe Illustrator Brush Sets Brushes are important, most especially for us designers who strive to get and create as much effect as possible. So far, we have already posted a couple of free brushes in our site. Well, we’re not yet done… For Adobe illustrator users, we have compiled 30+ High Quality Adobe Illustrator Brush Sets that you can download for free. These brushes were created by several designers for the design community. Pick as much as you can for future use. You may never know when you can make use of them. Chalk Illustrator Brushes The set includes 13 brushes. Illustrator Grunge Brushes Includes 13 brushes. Victorian Vector Brush Pack This set includes 11 brushes. Smoke-Illustrator Brush Pack Ten brushes are included in this set. 81 Amazing Argyle Illustrator Brushes Composes of 18 brushes. 30 Illustrator Pattern Brushes for Making Flowers and Circular Designs The set includes 30 brushes. Per Forma Royalz Ai Forty-six brushes are included in this set. Mycanthus Brush Pack 1 Free Vectors-230 Marker Illustrator Brushes
design resources Following the huge success of last year’s “World’s Biggest Ever List of Graphic Design Blogs”, we’ve decided that we should turn it into an annual event – after all, more people than ever before are blogging and the talent pool continues to grow. This year, we’ve added in some additional categories including typography and image sourcing sites to help you along your way. The list is at least 40% larger than last year and is the one stop shop for all that you could need in terms of inspiration, reference material or tools for you to use. So, without further ado, ladies and gentlemen…. drum-roll please! Graphic Design 1stwebdesigner Blog by Dainis Graveris in Latvia covering all things design and freelance. 2expertsdesign A blog filled with tips – whether it’s graphic design, logo design, web design, advertising, branding or typography. 456 Berea Street Blog from Roger Johansson containing articles and tutorials on web standards, accessibility and usability. 72dpi Graphic design inspiration.
Vintage Posters of Major Online Brands It’s needless to say that vintage style is almost a 100% winning idea for any project. It always looks interesting and eye-catching so you may be sure that applying retro ideas will make your concept popular. But today we’re offering you to take a look at the vintage posters of famous web brands that don’t need any extra advertising – these companies are well-known all over the world. Following artworks will help us see what it would be like to use Skype back in the 60′s or tweeting WWII propaganda style. Sources:Covers TherapyWWIII Propaganda PostersJoe In Southern CA
dave mead photography by: dave mead | buy one How Color Affects Purchases About Internet IllustrationChristoph Niemann Writers/EditorsMin Li Chan, Fritz Holznagel, Michael Krantz Project CuratorMin Li Chan & The Google Chrome Team DesignFiPaul Truong DevelopmentFi Very Special Thanks To Brian Rakowski, Ian Fette, Chris DiBona, Alex Russell, Erik Kay, Jim Roskind, Mike Belshe, Dimitri Glazkov, Henry Bridge, Gregor Hochmuth, Jeffrey Chang, Mark Larson, Aaron Boodman, Wieland Holfelder, Jochen Eisinger, Bernhard Bauer, Adam Barth, Cory Ferreria, Erik Arvidsson, John Abd-Malek, Carlos Pizano, Justin Schuh, Wan-Teh Chang, Vangelis Kokkevis, Mike Jazayeri, Brad Chen, Darin Fisher, Johanna Wittig, Maxim Lobanov, Marion Fabing Nicolas, Jana Vorechovska, Daniele De Santis, Laura van Nigtevegt, Wojtek Cyprys, Dudley Carr, Richard Rabbat, Ji Lee, Glen Murphy, Valdean Klump, Aaron Koblin, Paul Irish, John Fu, Chris Wright, Sarah Nahm, Christos Apartoglou, Meredith Papp, Eric Antonow, Eitan Bencuya, Jay Nancarrow, Ben Lee, Gina Weakley, Linus Upson, Sundar Pichai & The Google Chrome Team
Odd Sculptures Adobe Illustrator Maps - Royalty Free Editable Vector Maps About Our Digital Maps Digital Vector Maps offers publishers, graphic designers, web & multimedia developers instant access to beautiful, high-quality and fully-editable Adobe Illustrator maps. We offer hundreds of styles, from simple blank United States and world maps, to high detail maps incorporating dozens of editable layers for county lines, major roads, cities and urban areas. All of our maps have been designed so that major map objects such as state borders, text, county borders and other major map symbols are intuitively layered and are fully editable in digital vector format. Designed by and for Designers & Publishers Because each of our digital maps is available in the Adobe Illustrator or editable PDF format, both of which use a vector based approach to displaying images, you can easily zoom into any portion of our maps without any degradation in the quality of the text, lines and symbols of the map --- regardless of the magnification factor.