Create a Realistic, Burning Sparkler Using Adobe Illustrator In this tutorial we will create a photorealistic image of a sparkler. We will learn how to create vector textures using the standard bitmap filters. We'll create complex lighting from two light sources using gradient fills, Blending Modes, and Clipping Masks. Let's get started! Step 1: Sparkler Handle Start by creating the handle of the sparkler. We will create the sparkler on a black background in order to select the best colors right away. Step 2: Round Sparkler Cap Now create the shape of the burning part of the sparkler. Combine parts of the burning fire area and align them vertically with the help of the Align palette. Step 3: Form the Burn Area Take the Direct Selection Tool (A) and move the lower point of the upper part of the sparkler straight down. Remove the lower part of the upper shape, select the upper shape, take the Pen Tool (P) and join together the points A and B. Step 4: Heading Text Apply the same technique to the burnt piece of the sparkler. Step 5: Color the Burning Part
Understanding & Growing Your Creative Mind Pt. 1/3 This is a very difficult and abstract topic. Even though it’s one we know well, there is no question the core aspects of this concept are difficult to grasp. Creativity is a foundational and highly celebrated part of our reality and a critical factor of many modern-day careers, passions and hobbies. Many of us desire and celebrate this phenomenon, but the foundational aspects can be elusive. How does one become creative? What is creativity, and how do we build the creative part of our mind? As we wander into this abstract wonderland of thought, we need to prepare to deal with some rather grey areas. It’s worth nothing that as a direct and independent topic of study, the concept of creativity as a whole effectively received no attention until somewhere around the 19th century! Unfortunately, I cannot tell you these will be your keys to creativity because it is something that relates to every person in their own unique way. 1) Am I Creative? 2) Break Down The Process
30 Days Of Creativity & Design Inspiration The book "Unstuck" features 52 exercises, divided by time commitment, to help you beat creative block. Here we sample 5 for a work-week's worth of inspiration. Creative Bliss is a web series that pools together 30 creativity exercises. No. 30 challenges you to shift your perspective to that of a beginner. Creative Bliss pools together 30 creativity exercises. Creative Bliss pools together 30 creativity exercises. Creative Bliss pools together 30 creativity exercises. Creative Bliss is a web series that pools together 30 creativity exercises. Creative Bliss is a web series that pools together 30 creativity exercises. Creative Bliss is a web series that pools together 30 creativity exercises. Creative Bliss is a web series that pools together 30 creativity exercises. Creative Bliss is a web series that pools together 30 creativity exercises.
15 Famous Quotes on Creativity The Sifter spent last night poring over hundreds of famous and inspirational quotes on creativity. Below is a collection of our 15 favourites. Let us know which ones resonate with you the most, and feel free to counter any you disagree with. There are infinite views on creativity, here are fifteen famous ones for inspiration on your next endeavour :) Pablo Picasso “Every child is an artist, the problem is staying an artist when you grow up” – Pablo Picasso Vincent Van Gogh “If you hear a voice within you say, ‘You cannot paint,’ then by all means paint, and that voice will be silenced” – Vincent Van Gogh Salvador Dali “Have no fear of perfection, you’ll never reach it” – Salvador Dali Leo Burnett “Curiosity about life in all of its aspects, I think, is still the secret of great creative people” – Leo Burnett Jack London “You can’t wait for inspiration, you have to go after it with a club” – Jack London George Bernard Shaw “Imagination is the beginning of creation. Dr. Charles Mingus Voltaire
The Keys to Design Business Success: Belief, Opportunity, Capacity What leads to design business success? The first path is a deeply held belief or confidence about your value to your clients. In spite of the fact that nearly everyone espouses this to be true, the evidence tells a different story. But some, indeed, have an uncanny, even unwavering belief that their work is worth a certain amount and they escape the normal equivocation that comes when discussing fees. Their body of work, often over more than a decade, commands significant fees (regardless of its effectiveness). These people are rare, but they don’t depend on external validation for their business value, and that confidence becomes self-fulfilling in the marketplace (clients are drawn to confidence and can sense a lack of confidence on the flip-side). The second path is benefiting from many opportunities that come your way, either accidentally (being in the right place at the right time), or intentionally (you’re really good at marketing your services). Bringing More Success
One Is Not Enough: Why Creative People Need Multiple Outlets - Design I can still remember the satisfaction I took from dragging a crayon against a particularly toothy piece of paper in a coloring book when I was very young. Unlike the cliché, I was trying to stay in the lines, but even then, it was the creation process that gave me the most pleasure, not the results. A year or so later, I began to draw freehand, and from that point on no blank page, post-it note, page margin, envelope, or napkin was safe. Needless to say, that compulsion was what led me to become a graphic designer. Some people specialize in ideas, constantly scheming, iterating, finessing. I prefer doing. You'd think this would be a non-issue—after all, I'm lucky enough to be paid a salary to design all day. For as long as I can remember, I've associated creative pursuits with other activities. Fortunately, my coworkers understand the concept of auditory learning, because I didn't stop doodling after I left school. Creativity in any form is healthy, as study after study has shown.
17 Designers Dish Their Best Advice Terry Lee Stone asks a group of seasoned design pros: If you could give young designers one piece of career advice what would it be? In other words: early in your career what do you wish someone had told you? Their thoughts may surprise you… 1. Sean Adamswww.adamsmorioka.com “What did I know? “What did I not know? 2. “Almost any situation gets better when you ask yourself this: How can I be most useful right now? Find More Advice: 29 Things That All Young Designers Need to Know. 3. “Emphasize your peculiar talents. “Also, think about your portfolio as a whole design statement and try to make the presentation format fit the work. 4. “Early on, if anyone had been able to tell me exactly the right thing, I would have dismissed it as preposterous because the world has just changed too much in unforeseen ways. “However, here’s my advice: get a second degree in something totally different— neuroscience, medicine, linguistics, or whatever feels right. 5. “Fortune demands being a professional. 6.
The Portfolio of the Future Ignacio OreamunoPresident IHAVEANIDEA I know it makes me sound old but eleven years ago I was job-hunting for my first art director job. Since I’d decided to study web and art direction at the same time, I had a combination of interactive and print campaigns in my book. The advice I got from CD’s was always the same: “If you want to be a web developer, make a web portfolio. If you want to be an art director, make another one but don’t mix them up. Fast forward five years and suddenly traditional print portfolios began getting more interactive, as gutsy juniors added banners to their print campaigns. “How wrong he was,” I thought last year, as I looked at the juniors attending Portfolio Night 9 in Amsterdam, armed with all sorts of tablets, mobile applications and laptops. This is the first time since the days of the Mad Men that portfolios have truly transformed and it puts a lot more pressure on creatives trying to get that dream job. 1. 2. 3. 4. 5.
6 Steps for Designers to Successfully Partner with an Illustrator Illustrators of work shown, clockwise starting at top left: Mark McGinnis, Edward McGowan, Daniel Krall, Kate Hindley and Susy Waters Pilgrim. (Editor’s note: This post was contributed by Hannah Fichandler with Connecticut-based, marketing and communications company Taylor Design. This post originally appeared on the company’s blog 247 Main.) I can’t draw. Well, that’s not entirely true. At least not the way I once could and certainly not the way an illustrator can. I’ve been fortunate to work with wide range of illustrators, not just in style or personality, but also locale. I’ve also been fortunate to have 99% of these collaborations work out really well. So, that got me pondering: What is it about my process of commissioning an illustration that is so successful and enjoyable? 1. 2. I have a collection of illustrators’ reps sites bookmarked, as well as an ever-evolving list of links to individual artists’ site. 3. I usually make initial contact with an illustrator by email. 4. 5. 6.
Video: Five-Year-Old Girl Provides Insight on Popular Logos If the cute voice of the 5-year-old doing the voiceover on the video doesn’t make you smile, then certainly her opinions on popular logos will—either because of her lack of knowledge of some brands and obvious indoctrination from others. Adam Ladd, a graphic designer from Cincinnati, sat down with his 5-year-old daughter, Faith, and showed her more than two dozen logos, recording her reactions to them with a Phil Wickham song, aptly titled Eden, playing in the background. Faith obviously has no clue about some of them, and thus describes them as a typical 5-year-old might, comparing them to a marble, a shooting star or a parade elephant (sorry, Republican Party, you have your work cut out on this little one). Others, though, Faith knows quite well. She quickly points out the Disney logo (no surprise here) and equates the McDonald’s logo to a “‘M’ made out of fries.” PHOTOS: The Evolution of Corporate Logos
Harvard Seeks to Jolt University Teaching - Teaching By Dan Berrett Cambridge, Mass. A growing body of evidence from the classroom, coupled with emerging research in cognitive psychology and neuroscience, is lending insight into how people learn, but teaching on most college campuses has not changed much, several speakers said here at Harvard University at a daylong conference dedicated to teaching and learning. Too often, faculty members teach according to habits and hunches, said Carl E. Wieman, a Nobel Prize-winning physicist and associate director of the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy, who has extensively studied how to improve science education. In large part, the problem is that graduate students pursuing their doctorates get little or no training in how students learn. "It really requires someone to be doubly expert," Mr. Such approaches would demand much more of students and faculty. "We assume that telling people things without asking them to actively process them results in learning," Mr. Mr.
Master composition in your designs - Tips Whether you’re fresh out of university or the creative director of a huge studio, some days there will be a sneaky problem that you just can’t solve. Improving your skill in transforming a brief (and a blank piece of paper) into an engaging, beautiful and effective design is a never-ending task – often aided by a little outside inspiration. We spoke to some of the most successful graphic designers and upcoming talents to mine their collective knowledge for tips, ideas and new approaches that will help you hone your craft and beat creative block. James Hurst, director, Cure Studio Work with pen and paper. Brian Webb, designer, Webb & Webb Design There’s no accounting for how people read – from beginning to end without a break; flicking through from the back; scanning words and pictures. Rebecca Johnson, designer, Studio Output A great starting point is to work with a 12-column grid. Simon Elliott, partner, Rose Design It’s essential to have a hierarchy of visual elements.