Photoshop is one of the most famous graphic design programs in the world — so ubiquitous, in fact, that “photoshopping” has become slang for digital editing. Artists, photographers, and aspiring graphic designers should all learn how to use the software. Here are some Photoshop tutorials beginners can start with.

Photoshop for Beginners by Envato Tuts+ on YouTube

This three-hour YouTube Photoshop tutorial walks beginners through the absolute basics. It explains how layers work, teaches students how to crop and resize images, and covers important skills like selecting and masking. It also goes over Smart Objects, color adjustment, retouching, and exporting images. 

The tutorial includes source files so people can follow along and practice their skills in Photoshop. Considering the video is free to watch, it packs in a lot of valuable information and can help lay the groundwork for learning more advanced skills.

Photoshop Tutorials on Adobe

Sometimes, it’s best to learn a skill right from the source. Adobe offers official Photoshop tutorials for beginners on its website. Although these 10 short videos don’t cover everything, they can help viewers get started with the graphic design software by explaining how to work with layers, change image sizes, add filters, and more. 

Photoshop for Complete Beginners by PiXimperfect on YouTube

In eight lessons, students will learn about everything from pixels to blending modes. The instructor perfectly balances contagious enthusiasm and professionalism while offering detailed explanations of Photoshop’s many features. Plus, the tutorial includes files to practice on. It’s free and easy for anyone to access on YouTube. 

Photoshop Fundamentals on Udemy

Education tech company Udemy offers online courses in countless subjects, including graphic design. Its free Photoshop Fundamentals course is a great tutorial for beginners. 

In just 41 minutes, instructor Hardy Fowler covers the very basics of Photoshop — such as the canvas and brush features, filters, and masks — with a specific focus on preparing students for digital painting classes. Students can then progress to Udemy’s more advanced Photoshop painting tutorials. 

Photoshop CC: The Essentials of Photoshop In Just 2 hrs on Udemy

Another free Photoshop tutorial for beginners, this Udemy course teaches students the basics. It covers layers, masks, blending, filters, and other fundamentals of using Photoshop. It even lets students practice their new skills by offering real-world practice projects they can download. 

After taking this course, students should be able to enhance a basic portrait and start practicing digital coloring and painting skills. The course also includes a $5 voucher for intermediate and advanced Photoshop painting classes.

Photoshop Full Course Tutorial (6+ Hours) by Learnit Training on YouTube

This free YouTube video is a valuable way to start learning the ins and outs of Photoshop. Instructor David Casuto calmly walks viewers through moving and transforming objects, using the lasso tool, dodging and burning, adjusting hue saturation, and more. The tutorial includes exercise files so viewers can practice what they’ve learned. 

This YouTube video is six hours and 28 minutes long, but viewers can easily navigate through it using the table of contents posted in the description. This organization makes it easy for people to skip to specific topics they want to learn, like using lens flares or 3D text. 

Amazing Photo Effects in Photoshop on Udemy

In just an hour and 37 minutes, this free Udemy course covers how to create fun photo effects through layering in Photoshop CC 2017. Instructor Enver Gurban also explains how to correct the color and tone of images so they look more realistic. Students may want to take a more basic tutorial first, but this short course is a great place to start when learning how to create photo effects. 

Photoshop CC for Web Design Beginners on Udemy

This free tutorial is geared toward learning Photoshop CC, the updated software version of Photoshop. It introduces students to website graphic design and teaches them how to create a simple, minimal web page design. It also provides plenty of Photoshop files to practice with. 

The course covers basic skills like using layers, groups, shapes, and the paintbrush tool. It introduces students to zooming and panning, different blending modes, and inserting text. It also teaches a few important keyboard shortcuts that come in handy when using Photoshop. 

Master Photoshop in 30 Days by PHLEARN on YouTube

PHLEARN’s YouTube channel features an extensive Photoshop playlist that viewers can look through at their own pace. The playlist features 31 tutorial videos to help people master the basics of Photoshop. The videos are short — with all of them less than 26 minutes in length — which makes it easy to incorporate them into a busy schedule. 

The tutorial starts by teaching viewers the essential skills of opening, editing, and saving files, then moves on to more advanced topics like selecting hair and swapping out skies in landscape photos. It also covers the use of Smart Objects, lighting, and useful tools. The course is easy to follow and users can pause or rewind videos at any time. 

Photoshop CC for Dummies by Peter Bauer

The For Dummies series is a classic among tutorial and how-to books. This title offers a beginner-friendly introduction to Photoshop CC. 

Starting with the basics, the book covers layers, tones, painting, and more, including how to fix common problems. By the end of the book, users should be able to combine multiple images and even apply Neural Filters. It’s a great reference for anyone wanting to learn Photoshop from scratch.

Adobe Photoshop Classroom in a Book by Andrew Faulkner and Conrad Chavez

Another useful Photoshop tutorial for beginners, the official Adobe Photoshop Classroom in a Book teaches readers the software from the ground up. It includes 15 project-based lessons that illustrate step-by-step techniques like creating composites, preparing images for the web, and image enhancement. 

The files that accompany the book let readers work on the projects in each chapter. Additionally, buying the physical book gives readers access to an e-book enhanced with videos and multiple-choice quizzes. 

How Do I Do That in Photoshop? by Scott Kelby

This book is a great resource for quickly looking up how to do something in Photoshop, including the locations of specific tools, features, and shortcuts within the program. The book is geared toward photographers and anyone wanting to edit photos. It uses simple, down-to-earth language and straightforward instructions for navigating the software’s many twists and turns. It’s the perfect adjunct to a more comprehensive Photoshop tutorial. 

Adobe Photoshop: A Complete Course and Compendium of Features by Stephen Laskevitch

Anyone wanting to learn the ins and outs of Photoshop can benefit from reading this book. It starts off by teaching the basics, then goes into greater depth as it progresses. It uses real Photoshop lessons to teach readers how to set up a workspace in Photoshop, utilize different brushes and fonts, use Smart Objects, and more. The book also comes with course files so readers can practice what they learn. 

Learning Photoshop Is a Valuable Skill

Anyone interested in art, photography, and web design should take the time to learn Photoshop. Knowing how to use this graphic design software goes a long way. But it isn’t necessary to take formal classes — today, there are many free and inexpensive Photoshop tutorials for beginners available online and in book form. It’s simply a matter of finding the right one. 

The post The Best Photoshop Tutorials for Beginners appeared first on Designerly.

Whether you’re a web designer, graphic artist or you simply want to know more about drawing, learning how to sketch is the first step toward becoming a better artist. You don’t have to be Leonardo Da Vinci to learn the basics of drawing. You just need a desire to learn and the resources to get started. 

Searching for the term “How to Draw” pulls up over one billion results on Google. Topics range from how to draw for kids, how to become an artist to how to sketch commercially. There’s no lack of material on how to sketch, but it can be confusing when you have such a plethora of topics. Where should you start? 

Fortunately, the basics of how to sketch are pretty straightforward. You need to understand how form, style and function all come together. You also need a tiny touch of natural talent or confidence. 

What Are the Basics of How to Sketch?

Learning how to draw isn’t as hard as you might think, but it does take consistent effort and practice. You have to learn to move the pencil so you don’t hold it stiffly. The more confident you grow, the easier it will be to sketch things. You must understand the basics of how to sketch in order to make things look like real objects. Here are the steps to follow to get started today. 

Step #1: Gather the Tools

Learning how to sketch requires a few tools. You’ll need:

• Sketch pad
• Pencils
• Eraser
• Good light source
• Drawing tablet (to learn digital sketching skills)
• Image editing software

The tablet market is set to reach $262 billion by 2023. You’ll find everything from inexpensive options to costly choices. You can certainly learn how to sketch without a digital drawing tool, but you may have a slight learning curve later in your career. 

Today’s generation learns how to tap into the power of machines while completing their graphic artist education degrees. If you don’t keep up with the latest tools, you risk losing jobs to those already trained in these areas. You can easily learn how to use artist pens and drawing pads with just a few hours of video viewing and practice.

Step #2: Draw Shapes

When people first start drawing, it’s tempting to try to create an advanced illustration from the first effort. However, learning how to sketch takes quite a bit more energy and time. You should first look for the shapes of objects and draw just circles, squares and triangles to represent the object. An orange would be a circle, a stick of butter would look like a rectangle and so on. 

For example, if you were drawing a dachshund, you might outline a long oval for the body, a smaller oval for the head, a triangle for the tail and rectangles for the legs. Study the object until you start to see the shapes. You may even want to close one eye and look at it from different angles. 

Pay attention to objects around your house and sketch them as shapes until you get a feel for the outline of things. The fundamentals of drawing require you to start simple and then expand into details. If you can’t get the form right, then you won’t be able to draw more complex shapes later. 

The key with learning to draw shapes is keeping your wrist loose and letting the pencil or drawing tool guide easily across the page. If your movements are too stilted, you’ll wind up with harsh lines and incorrect shapes. Some artists draw without ever looking away from their subject. They put instrument on medium and let their mind take in the shapes as they sketch the subject.

Step #3: Refine the Shapes

Once you learn the shapes that make up objects, start to refine them into something resembling what you’re trying to draw. The dog’s tail might become more of a fan shape. You might elongate the nose and erase some of the other lines until you have the basic outline of a dog. Think along the lines of a silhouette.

Keep working on the shape until you have the outline that looks the most like the object possible. Next, try sketching it without first using shapes, but still picturing them in your mind. 

If you need the shapes, you can always draw them with a light hand and erase them later. When creating a digital masterpiece, it’s quite easy to erase lines. However, if you’re drawing on paper, we suggest using a lighter hand. This will help you erase what you don’t want more easily.

Don’t stress too much. Practice, practice practice. You can always start over if something doesn’t go quite the way you want it to.

Step #4: Add Dimension

Drawing 2-D objects isn’t very skilled and makes drawings look elementary. You can add a lot of depth simply by adding some dimension.

Anything you create has more than one side. The dog mentioned above has a belly, back and sides. Think about the different angles, including from the top, bottom and back. How can you show the user there is another side?

Think of some of the basic lessons you took in art class in school about three dimensions. Did you draw a box with more than one side? How were the angles handled? Check out the video below for a quick free class on perception. 

Practice drawing and showing off the depth of objects. How can you show a side? What about adding in the top? What does the viewer see? What’s invisible? Walk around the thing you’re drawing and look at it from all angles. Once you start to fully understand dimension, your work will look much more realistic.

Step #5: Learn Shade and Light

Skilled sketchers know the way light hits on objects and which side is shaded. Even in low light, there is a dark side and a light side, which gives the drawing a bit more interest and realism. 

If you want to learn how to work with shading, take a look at paintings by Thomas Kincade. He is famous for imagining how the light might hit on a cottage or landscape. 

Practice with simple objects at first, such as an apple. Add shading until it has enough dimension that it appears realistic. 

You can also use a light source and shine it on the object to see where the shadow falls. Which areas are brighter and which are darker? How can you show this in your own work?

As you become more familiar with lighting and shading, you’ll begin noticing elements of it in other people’s work. Study great pieces and see what you can learn about light from them.

Step #6: Add Details

Next, add in the little details that make the sketch unique. For example, add whiskers to the dog, a bit of light glinting in the eye, some fur to show how it all comes together. 

Take the time to study your subjects. How does a baby’s hair fall across its head? Do their eyebrows show at all? How can you show almost invisible eyebrows without making a sketch of a baby look creepy or weird? Try different techniques and learn what angles work best to show what you see with your naked eye.

Artists don’t perfect their skill overnight. It takes many years to learn the subtle effects that make things come to life. Ask someone you know to show you their early sketches versus what you see today.

Take classes online and in person. Watch videos. Try things out. Talk to other artists. You should never stop learning and improving your drawing.

Step #7: Learn Different Mediums

Once you have the basics of drawing, try creating things with different tools. Sketch on paper with pencil. Get brave and use ink.

You could also try out mediums such as pastels and see what looks best with your skill level. Pencils come in different hardness. Try different ones until you land on the one that helps you achieve the drawings you wish.

Even digital creations bring multiple options. For example, you might sketch on paper and upload to Adobe Illustrator for refinement. You could draw on a tablet or some other device. There are so many options and it’s hard to know what works best because each artist is different. Try different things until you discover the one thing you love.

Art is about passion. If you don’t enjoy what you’re doing or the medium you’re working with, you risk burnout and walking away from drawing altogether.

Step #8: Try Your Hand at Gesture Drawing

Some artists use grids or tracing to prepare their works of art. Yet, if you want to be more confident in sketching — especially when the inspiration strikes — try gesture drawing. While most beginners use tools to get started, you may come to a point where you no longer need to use them.

Gesture drawing is a type of sketching that uses the freehand method. It’s a fast and loose style used to follow the rhythm of the subject without considering minor details. Freehand drawing helps you become a better artist by challenging you to take it up a notch. 

When outlining gestures, you must capture the motion and form of the subject in only a few strokes. Start by observing the thing you want to draw. For instance, if it’s a tree swaying in the wind, look at how it moves and holds its shape. With your pen or pencil, quickly sketch those lines and shapes.

Freehand drawing isn’t about perfection — it’s capturing the essence of your subject that matters. Remember to sketch lightly because you’re bound to make mistakes. You’ll want to be able to erase them without making a mess of your paper. 

Step #9: Hone in on Your Observational Skills

Drawing success relies on your ability to capture the world around you. Each line you draw is a discovery, while each shape is a new territory explored. That’s where your observation comes into play.

“Seeing” what you draw needs your full attention to absorb the big picture instead of the complexity of details. Once you open your eyes, you can see what is right in front of you. The goal is to feel like it’s only you and your subject alone without any other distractions taking place.

Once you pick up your pen or pencil, your aim is to stay focused on the object you’re sketching. Allow your hand to follow what you perceive, and outline the edges of each shape you’re visualizing.

Try to avoid looking down to see what’s happening when you draw. Your piece may not be perfect. However, this method allows you to build your observational skills by practicing the ability to tune in and out during your sketching.

Step #10: Explore Different Materials

As you grow and develop your skills as an artist, you should explore different tools for your sketches. Doing so helps you unlock the potential to achieve better drawings. 

For instance, pencils come in different grades, ranging from hard (H) to soft (B). Harder pencils, like a 2H, create lighter lines — perfect for initial outlines or delicate details. Softer pencils, like a 6B, are darker and great for bold features and deep shadows. Consider playing around with different degrees of hardness and softness to learn which intensities work best for what you’re trying to achieve.

Drawing pens are great for sharp, precise edges. It will give your sketch definition and details that a pencil may not provide. The best part is it doesn’t smudge like a pencil will. Yet, ink is also permanent, so it’ll challenge you to avoid making mistakes. However, these etching tools will build your confidence as you become more skillful. 

Consider technical pens or fine liners to capture more precision in your tracings. The fine tips come in various widths for thick or thin contours.

Practice Like Crazy

Drawing isn’t something you pick up overnight. Learn new skills as you go along. Ask others for advice, view online tutorials and take courses. The more you learn and practice, the more life-like your sketches will become. Pay attention to the work of others, so you can learn and grow not only from your own work but studying what others have already done.

Drawing is a vital skill to add to your designer repertoire. You’ll be able to fully customize logos, web designs and more. Learning how to sketch is the first step in becoming skilled at drawing.

The post Drawing 101: How to Sketch appeared first on Designerly.

Videos are an excellent way to reach new customers and keep your current ones informed. YouTube is the platform of choice for many business owners. You can upload for free, live stream, monetize your videos and embed them on your website and social media. You might be ready to start and wonder how to make a YouTube banner. 

According to Statista, there are around 2.24 billion active users on YouTube, with a projected 2.85 billion by 2025. The platform reaches people all over the world and covers almost any topic imaginable. 

If you feel investing in content assets for the social media platform is beneficial for your business, you’ll want to customize your channel page. A YouTube banner helps set you apart from others on the site. Fortunately, how to make a YouTube banner is relatively simple.

1. Plan Your Content

What should be on a YouTube banner? You want to offer enough information to turn browsers into subscribers and tell them what your channel is about. Branding is vital on a platform as large as YouTube. 

Learning how to make a YouTube banner that grabs attention requires a lot of planning. You’ll want to include your business name, logo, tagline and a call to action (CTA). 

Ford Motor Company does an excellent job with its YouTube banner. They pull in the brand color palette with the dark blue and white text. The brand features the wordmark in the center of the design in large text. However, they also incorporate the tagline of “Built Ford Proud.” Note the social media icons listed to the lower right. They let the YouTube red “Subscribe” CTA serve as their call to action for viewers. 

2. Choose the Right Tools

How do you know which tools make the best banner? One of our favorites is Canva.com because you can choose YouTube Channel Art and the dimensions are ready for you. You can even go off some templates they have ready-made and customize them to make them unique to your brand. 

You can also use tools such as Photoshop, PicMonkey or GIMP. A search for “tools to make a YouTube banner” turns up 194 million results, so you won’t have any trouble locating something for your needs. 

3. Highlight Specials

When considering how to make a YouTube banner, think about how often you might want to change elements. You can create layers and swap out a portion to highlight new products or special offers, for example. 

GoPro does a stellar job highlighting their latest special. They encourage users to “subscribe” on their website and get a $200 discount on the new 10 Black GoPro camera. They also feature an exciting image and their social media presence on the banner. 

4. Follow Basic Design Standards

Around 59% of people state they gravitate toward a beautiful design over something plain. Keep sound design principles in mind when creating your banner. Allow enough white space to set off elements, pay attention to contrast and add visually appealing things for your audience. 

5. Hone in on the Logo

Is your logo the most amazing one you’ve ever seen? Don’t be afraid to emphasize your brand image. You can keep your banner as basic as you’d like and force the user to scroll down and look at your logo and subscribe button or your intro video.

Although the space in the banner area tends to be what people skim over first, there is no hard and fast rule that you must pack it full of details. 

ServerPress.com keeps their banner basic with just the name of their website and a list of links to the site and social media. The audience naturally scrolls down to the logo just under the banner—a gorgeous “S” monogram inside a circle. 

6. Plug in a Call to Action

While it’s true there is a subscribe button on every YouTube channel page, there’s no reason you can’t add another CTA in your banner itself. One reason for learning how to make a YouTube banner is grabbing user attention and moving traffic from the social media giant to your company website.

Your CTA can offer a special discount for signing up for a newsletter, a promise of additional news or some other perk. Get creative to grab the attention of people viewing dozens of other channels each day. 

7. Layer Beautiful Images

Don’t be afraid to tap into the power of a photograph. There’s an age-old saying that a picture is worth 1,000 words. You can say a lot with a few words when adding photos to your banner. Layer several different visuals or stick to one main background photo with text layered on top. 

Wendy’s adds a mouth-watering photo of a burger and fries. Look at the professional quality of the image snapped by a photographer who knew just how to capture the juicy goodness of a fresh burger and the crispy texture of their french fries. Wendy’s adds a tagline to the left of “We Got You” and some social media icons to the right. The main focus of the banner is on the food. 

How to Make a YouTube Banner Today

Make sure you get a banner up on your YouTube channel, even if it is a temporary placeholder, until you can design something a bit more professional. Learn how to make a YouTube banner by studying what others have done and jumping in and creating your own. 

If you’re a beginner, stick with easy wizards, such as PicMonkey or Canva. If you’re an experienced designer, move to Photoshop for a bit more flexibility. There’s no reason you can’t create a custom banner that draws subscribers in and provides an excellent marketing opportunity for your brand.

The post How to Make a YouTube Banner appeared first on Designerly.

So you’re interested in learning how to create a chatbot for your website? This sounds like an excellent idea, and it’s not as complicated as you might think. Anyone can build a chatbot. You don’t need any unique coding skills—all you need is a visual drag and drop editor.

People tend to be intimidated by the entire process of creating a chatbot. Therefore, they think it’s complex and shy away from it—missing out on benefits they could receive from a chatbot.

With this simple step-by-step process, you can learn how to create a chatbot for your website in no time.

Why Create a Chatbot for Your Website?

A chatbot is more than just a trend. It has specific purposes that can help truly enhance your customer experience. For instance, conversational bots can do the following:

• Increase customer engagement by 80-90% in response rates 
• Conduct simultaneous conversations in real-time
• Increase customer satisfaction by answering questions fast
• Make your website more credible and interactive
• Boost sales
• Collect feedback and recover abandoned shopping carts

Chatbots are essential for businesses, especially if you own an eCommerce store. They can handle customer inquiries from start to finish. In turn, this reduces customer service costs significantly on your end. 

When implementing chatbots, they provide personalized customer experiences, more control over conversation flows and further integration.

How to Create a Chatbot in 6 Simple Steps

Follow this step-by-step tutorial to guide you through the process of how to create a chatbot for your website.

1. Create a Purpose for Your Chatbot

Start by identifying what goals you want your chatbot to achieve. The more specific you are about it, the better.

Get started by answering a few of these questions:

• What is the purpose of your chatbot? Customer support automation, optimizing the customer experience, lead generation or all three?
• What are the most popular customer cases? Search through your queries and list a few examples.
• What is the main feature you would find most helpful? Answering questions automatically, routing questions to support team, saving abandoned carts or qualifying new leads?

After you find the answers, the process of building a chatbot will be much easier when identifying features and the types of chatbots you require.

2. Pick Your Chatbot Platform

When it comes to choosing a chatbot provider, you have two options:

• AI frameworks: Chatbot frameworks such as Microsoft Bot or Google’s Dialogflow act as libraries for software developers to build by code. If you’re not a software developer or do not have one, this option can become more costly and time-consuming.
• Chatbot platforms: This option is simpler since they enable you to build a chatbot with building blocks. Third-party platforms are growing in popularity since building bots are much more accessible, less time-consuming and provide comparable results. Some platforms even offer free plans.

Once you decide which provider you’ll choose, create your registration and log-in information to start designing your chatbot.

3. Design the Chatbot’s Conversation in a Chatbot Editor

You can build a conversation flow by creating a sequence with drag-and-drop building blocks. Suppose you want to offer a product discount when users visit a landing page of your shop–and you collect emails in return.

Begin by logging and going to the bot builder. Start with a trigger–this makes the chatbot send a welcome message. When you want the chatbot to appear on a landing page, select visitor opens a specific page node.

Next, type a message you want to send and add a decision node with quick replies. Set up your notifications for those who want a discount on your products and for those who don’t.

That’s it. You just created your first chatbot.

4. Test Out Your Chatbot

When you want to see if everything works as it should, make sure to test it. To do so, click on the Test it button.

A new window may appear and show you what the chatbot will look like for the end-user. Once you see a preview, you can go back to your editor and correct the conversation flow.

5. Collect Feedback

To make sure your chatbot’s effectiveness is to your customers’ liking, be sure to ask your visitors about their experience. Chatbots can send an automated customer satisfaction survey by asking the users whether they are satisfied with their interaction. You can understand what’s working and what areas need improvement with your results.

6. Analyze Your Chatbot Analytics

Lastly, confirm your chatbot is providing a great experience by monitoring its activity. This gives you the chance to learn about any issues the chatbot is experiencing. Additionally, you get to understand what’s not working for your visitors. To make it easier, some chatbot platforms allow you to monitor a drop-off rate at specific message nodes.

Final Tips for How To Create a Chatbot

Now that you understand the workflow of how to create a chatbot, here are some final tips for you to consider:

• Add a bit of personality. Chatbots that show human emotion can build positive perceptions of your brand, especially those who use quick-witted comebacks. Use a unique tone of voice to match your target audience and consider giving your chatbot a name.
• Avoid designing dead-end conversations. You want to be sure you provide actionable answers. Once the conversation is over, make sure the customer can restart it or receive further help from an FAQ.
• Keep chatbot flows simple. It might be tempting to create complex conversation flows to branch out more. However, the more interactive your chatbot is, the more difficult it becomes to manage.
• Try to mimic human interaction. When it comes to customer service, 35% of consumers feel that services are impersonal. To implement the human side, this involves breaking up long answers into a batch of short replies. Make sure to set a delay between each response so the flow remains organic. Lastly, include the customer’s name in the greeting when they start a conversation.

Final Thoughts on How to Create a Chatbot

Creating an AI chatbot for simple conversations is not as complex as it may seem. If you find that your users can benefit from this, it’s worth trying.

Additionally, you can always add extra features and automations if you learn your customers use it regularly. Chatbots can be beneficial for your business depending on their uses for them. Simply give it a try to see how it works for you.

The post How to Create a Chatbot for Your Website appeared first on Designerly.

With the flow of brush strokes and rich textures, watercolor techniques are the most distinct in the world of art. Many beginners start with watercolor painting because of how versatile and easy it is to create. Meanwhile, luminous watercolors give you the ability to express your style, which is what makes it so unique. When working with digital watercolors, you can achieve the look and aesthetic of traditional watercolor paintings with more precision and control. 

Benefits and Challenges of Digital Watercolors

Digital watercolor painting can add flexibility whether you’re a professional artist or just starting. For instance, creating an illustration with watercolor on paper is time-consuming and challenging to edit. In contrast, digital watercolor painting makes it easier to revise with the tap of a new setting.

Before you start your digital painting, it’s critical to formalize your color palette first. Many beginners tend to oversaturate their art with too many colors. With traditional watercolor, it’s easy to overmix and blend too many colors. However, digital watercolor allows you to edit your hues, so you’re not stuck with the option of starting over.

1. Using Different Brushstrokes 

Creating a natural brush stroke is essential in digital watercolor painting. You may not always be able to make one final brush stroke so easily. However, you can work for it to create the texture you’re looking to accomplish. Try to experiment with layering different brush strokes. Then, you can go over your lines several times with your erasing tool. 

The way brush strokes are applied can be useful to add character and personality. Watercolor has different types of brushes that you can use for different situations. First, you must decide what your image will be, then use the proper brush to achieve the desired effect.

Say you desire a splatter effect. The Wet Splatter watercolor brush stroke will make your colors flourish and allow it to spread across the image.

Vector Brush Strokes

One of the benefits you have with digital watercolor is the ability to create brush stroke vectors. You can use vector brush strokes by scaling them to any size. So, if you work with images you need to scale for different uses, this technique makes excellent use.

You can use the Basic Chisel setting for images with landscapes. Or you can use pixel brushes to adjust to your needs. 

Broad Brush Strokes

Consider the fact that different brushes have different properties. So, choose the best match before you start painting. If you’d like to sketch something before painting, use the Sketching pixel brush to lay the foundation of the image beforehand. Then you can finalize it with a watercolor brush to add detail. 

This watercolor tutorial will show you several techniques you can add with brush strokes to achieve different effects.

Check out this drawing tablet to help you achieve these watercolor techniques and skills!

2. Embracing Texture

In the past, artists had to replicate the texture and flow of watercolors by working with stamps and brush presets. So, artists had to upload their physical artwork into the software. For instance, they would need to blot a piece of paper, scan it, and add their own brushes and stamps to the software. 

However, Adobe Fresco now allows you to use different techniques through customization. As a result, you can use different brushstrokes to mix wet and dry textures. The other benefit to using Fresco is that the paint won’t dry until you let it.

While using wet and dry techniques, you can mix the paint by adding different textures of brushes. Plus, you can also create a background texture such as canvas or wood. 

3. Natural Watercolor Technique

With natural watercolor paintings, you can achieve some fantastic techniques within Procreate. To make your watercolors look more natural, hard-edged imperfections and color variations will help you achieve those effects. The best way you can accomplish that is by utilizing a combination of brushes and realistic watercolor splotches. 

This simple tutorial will show you how to create a watercolor bleeding technique while achieving a natural watercolor effect. 

4. Realistic Watercolor Flowers

Creating realistic watercolor flowers is the way to go if you’re ready to explore another watercolor technique. By utilizing your best digital brushes, you can use several sweeping motions to achieve a realistic effect.

Additionally, you can incorporate some layering techniques with different washes so you can essentially blur into more isolated areas. To give you more detail, check out this tutorial that will allow you to create realistic watercolor flowers in Procreate.

5. Blending with Tropical Fruit

Painting fruit can be one of the easiest ways to add different watercolor techniques to your art. You can use bright and vibrant colors by adding layers and achieving a soft watercolor effect.

If you’d like to start with something simple, this watercolor tutorial will begin with a few dimensions. However, the artist will show you how to achieve different blending techniques and gradient textures.

Put It Into Practice

Now that you have a few techniques on hand, it’s time for you to put them into practice. Trying new watercolor techniques might be challenging at first. However, with enough repetition, you’ll be able to create some beautiful results with your digital art.

Which technique is your favorite so far? 

The post 5 Watercolor Techniques That You’ll Want to Try appeared first on Designerly.

Etsy allows startup entrepreneurs to sell their products in a ready-made store. Fortunately, you can customize the look of your shop and start with solid branding from day one. Select from many different tools and styles you can tap into for how to make an Etsy banner.

Etsy saw massive growth between 2020 and 2021. Shoppers spent around $3.3 billion for a 118% increase. The company excluded sales of face masks and coverings, or the number would be even higher. With so many people turning to the site for solutions, now is an excellent time to ramp up the look of your Etsy store. 

The right banner is visually appealing and gives visitors an idea of your core values as a brand. People should be able to see what you sell at a glance. How to make an Etsy banner is a lot easier than you might expect. Simply follow our six easy steps to finish yours today.

1: Choose a Theme

Your first step is choosing a theme for your shop home. Users can’t visit a physical store, so you have to accomplish a lot with your virtual Etsy storefront. Select fonts, colors and photo styles so everything matches and you begin building brand recognition. 

It’s debatable whether you should create your banner first and choose a theme and color palette to match, or choose a theme and then create a banner utilizing those colors and fonts. There isn’t a right or wrong order, as long as the result looks planned and seamless. 

When deciding to make an Etsy banner, studying the work of other shop owners gives you plenty of ideas. Look for similar products as yours. You want a theme that makes you stand out but matches customer expectations.

Glass Art Stories uses a very light and uncluttered theme to highlight the images of their custom glass. Choosing a grid layout for their banner matches the grid layout of their inventory. It’s a bright look that makes one think of sunlight and fits the product perfectly.

2. Understand Placement

Before choosing how to make an Etsy banner for your store, understand the layout on the platform. You only have so much control over placement, and the sizing must match the site’s dimensions. 

Etsy places its logo in the upper left corner of your main store page to identify your shop as an Etsy store. Next, you’ll see the banner. Most sellers choose to hone in on photographs of their products as the profile logo appears directly under the banner. 

In an ideal world, your logo would be in the upper left corner of your page, but since it is already in the lower-left corner of the upper fold, it wouldn’t look right to put your logo on top of your banner on the same side. 

3. Choose a Design Tool

Another tip on how to make an Etsy banner involves choosing the best tool to match your personal design style. Some popular options include:

• Adobe Photoshop
• Canva
• Paint
• PicMonkey

If you have advanced design skills, Photoshop or Paint are your best bets for a custom look. However, you’ll have a learning curve, especially with Photoshop. If you’re a beginner, you’re better off using a site such as Canva.com or PicMonkey.com. These tools already have templates. 

You upload your photographs and images and drag and drop them into place. You’ll have your banner in minutes rather than hours. Choose sharp, high-quality images for the best results.

When looking for examples of great banners to show you how to make an Etsy banner, we came across this Nar Mag shop. We love the way they include their name in the center of their banner. With a centered name, it doesn’t conflict with the profile logo to the left, just under the banner. 

Note how unique the banner is, showing some old architecture to set the tone. Since the shop’s offerings constantly rotate between vintage finds, it makes more sense to go with an overall feel of yesteryear rather than highlighting specific products. 

4. Set Your Banner Dimensions

The e-commerce platform offers some tips for how to make an Etsy banner. For a big banner, choose 3360 by 840 pixels for high performance. The minimum your banner should be is 1200 by 300. 

You could also choose a mini banner if you want the focus on your shop icon and your listings. For a mini banner, go with 1200 by 160 pixels. 

Desktop users will see your listings above the fold with a mini banner, but mobile users will not. 

5. Limit Text

The Etsy store template already has text with the Etsy logo, your shop profile image and the other details on the page. Your banner should have no or minimal text. Use your tagline and product descriptions to get your message across. Focus mainly on images for your banner.

ODYSEA Store creates custom items for those who love the outdoors. They use their banner to highlight a couple of their most popular things. Although the products have some text, they add no additional words to their banner, letting their emblem and tagline stand out just under the photos. 

6. Upgrade to Plus

Once your store starts turning a profit, consider upgrading your store to Etsy Plus. You’ll gain some exciting features you can use to make your banner stand out even more. 

Learn how to make an Etsy banner, such as a collage where you feature four different pictures of your products to add more detail. Another benefit of plus is the carousel option. Your banner rotates between four images placed on a loop. Buyers can see your diverse offers or learn more about your story. 

Swap Your Banner Seasonally

As your inventory changes and the seasons shift, learn how to make your Etsy banner stand out by changing the look. Uploading a new banner takes minutes, so you can excite regular customers with a fresh take. As a result, new people will see you keep your store up-to-date and are more likely to follow you.

The post How to Make an Etsy Banner in 6 Easy Steps appeared first on Designerly.

There are many reasons a designer might want at least some basic drawing skills. Even if you have artists on your team, there are times when you’ll need to sketch out a storyboard or add a minor element to an illustration. It’s a valuable skill for anyone to have. How do you get started?

Learning how to draw for beginners might be something you think only children do, but anyone can pick up this skill with a little knowledge and determination. Basic drawing is about angles and art knowledge. You may have more or less natural talent, but anyone can learn.

According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, there are approximately 48,200 crafters and fine artists in the United States alone. There are another 254,100 graphic artists in the country, many of whom are talented at drawing. While this doesn’t cover every person who can draw, it does give you an idea of the number of people with at least soft skills in the area.

With so many people who love to make art, there are also plenty of resources to help anyone pick up the primary skills needed to excel in this area. There are so many resources available today that learning how to draw has never been simpler, even for beginners.

You can take a course online, through your local community college, or from any number of local organizations. You may even be able to find an artist willing to give you private lessons or mentor you.

Basic Concepts

It’s been said that to become an artist, understanding the concept of drawing is about 70% of the equation. You also have to tap into creativity, use an artist’s eye, and know how to add detail, color, and refinement.

As your skills grow, you can dig into more complex concepts. In the beginning, keep it simple and use the tools at your disposal. If your company uses Adobe Illustrator, learn on the same software.

While anyone can pick up the fundamentals, you can’t just snap your fingers and know how to draw. Like any skill, it takes practice and work to become adept. Expect to spend a minimum of six months to a year learning the basics of how to draw for beginners and perfecting them before moving on.

Shape

At the core of art is understanding shapes. Everything you want to draw has a shape to it. Start seeing objects as if they’re made of circles, squares, and triangles, and you’ll begin to understand the elements that make up drawing.

Of course, there’s a bit more to it, but understanding shapes gives you a good start. Every object on earth has a basic shape. A dog may have an oval body, square head, and oblong tail, for example. A house is made up of squares, rectangles, and triangles.

Practice seeing shapes in the items around you and sketching them on paper to get a feel for how everything works together. It’s fine if you don’t see geometric shapes in every object. Some things, like plants or clothing, might have more of a fluid, organic appearance to them. You can usually see an overall outline, however.

For example, maybe you’re drawing a cow skull with long, curvy horns sitting on a cloth backdrop. The skull might not look like a triangle, oval, or any other geometric shape to you, but you can still outline the area where you’re going to draw it on the page.

The outline might just look like a wavy blob, which isn’t a traditional shape, but that’s OK. Now you have a basic idea of where you’re going to put the main subject of your drawing. You can even place dots where you want to put certain less-important details, as if you’re creating your own connect-the-dots drawing.

For example, maybe you’re having a hard time outlining the shape of the horns, but you can clearly see that the tips reach the edge of the cloth backdrop. Put dots where the tips of the horns will go on the page.

Then, put another dot in the curvy part of the horn, which looks like it’s right in the middle. Now you can go back and connect them. This can help create your outline.

You can also simply draw lines from the very beginning instead of sketching a whole shape. The cow skull could just be a vertical line with two horizontal lines on the side to represent the horns. Later, you can fill in this skeletal frame of a drawing.

You don’t have to perfect the art of sketching shapes before you can draw objects, but it helps. Many experienced artists use this technique as they begin their sketches. The idea is to lightly draw the shapes, fill in the details, and erase the leftover lines later.

Form

Form is more of a three-dimensional look at objects. If shapes are flat on the page, forms jump out at you with depth, shading, and tangible dimensions. If the shape is a circle, then the form is a sphere.

Sculptors create form by sculpting actual materials, while artists who work in two dimensions create the same effect with light and shadow. When you look at a cube, you don’t just see one flat square side. You also see the cube’s other sides and perhaps even the top. Form is the three-dimensional shape of the cube.

Ideally, as you’re drawing, shape and form will come together. However, as a beginner, learn the shapes first and then focus on the form. Over time, you’ll be able to merge the two.

Start by drawing something simple, like a box. How can you add the sides? What angles are different? Does your box look realistic? Really study each shape you draw. If you sketch an apple, how do you show it has more than one side?

The key is to use shading. Don’t be afraid to go really dark with it, coloring in part of the apple with an almost black tone. Then, color in the rest of the object using varying shades of grey. This tells the viewer that it’s a real object in space — something with weight and size. It also indicates how intense your light source is.

Think of drawing as learning to play an instrument. You first learn how to position your fingers to make chords. Then, you string the chords together to create a tune.

You’ve learned about the concepts of shape and form. Now it’s time to bring it all together.

Details

The veins on a leaf, the grain of a wood plank, or the texture of a feather are some of the last elements to add to a drawing. These are called the details. They include things like color, lines that add dimension, and other granular elements that provide a finishing touch.

This is probably the most challenging aspect of learning to draw. Many people either add too few or too many details.

If you’re drawing a face, you must add in eyebrows, eyelashes, and perhaps some skin wrinkles. The only way to become adept at the details is through practice.

Start with just a few details, then stand back and look at your drawing. Figure out if you need more shadows, light, or perhaps bursts of color. Study other artists’ work to see how they handle details.

Rule of Thirds

You’ve likely heard of the Rule of Thirds. In a nutshell, you divide your canvas into a grid with three rows and three columns, creating nine separate squares.

The Rule of Thirds states that you shouldn’t place your subject right in the middle square. Leave some space to one side and perhaps the top or bottom. This draws in the user’s eye.

In web design, you can use the Rule of Thirds to draw attention to a CTA (call to action) button by compelling the subject to look toward the clickable link.

A good way to learn about the Rule of Thirds is to study photography. Notice how the subject is almost never smack dab in the middle of the frame? Instead, they might take up the lower two right boxes. You can also place your subject towards the top, bottom, or left to add interest.

Where do you want to draw the user’s eyes? What location works best?

Of course, there are many exceptions to this rule — just look at almost anything by Andy Warhol, widely considered a phenomenal artist. As you’re first learning to draw, guidelines can be helpful, but remember that art is all about breaking the rules and expressing your creativity.

Above all, look at the world through the eyes of an artist. The essential elements of form, details, shape, and the Rule of Thirds can guide your hand, but never your mind. That part is up to you.

Tools You’ll Need

The oldest drawing ever discovered is a red hashtag symbol — or a pound sign, depending on who you ask — which was etched onto a cave wall with a rock 73,000 years ago. It just goes to show that you don’t need professional tools to be an artist!

Some tools will make drawing easier, however, and society has advanced past rocks. At the most elementary level, a pencil and sketch pad will allow you to start doodling and trying out different concepts. You can practice your new skills and get a feel for drawing.

However, if you plan to do website design or upload your images online, you’ll need a digital drawing tablet. There are many different options available. You can get an inexpensive tablet for under $100, which is a good choice for a beginner. You can always upgrade later.

You’ll also need access to software such as Adobe Photoshop or GIMP. It might be wise to start with a free tool, like GIMP, before investing in something more expensive. You’ll get the basics of digital drawing.

However, if you take a professional course, many classes are based on Adobe programs. You can take out a single license for around $30 to $50 per month and access their software. You’ve probably heard of Photoshop, but Fresco and Illustrated are also art software programs from Adobe, both used for vector graphics editing and more.

Online Courses

If you want to learn how to draw, many online courses are extremely helpful. Even if you have zero experience with sketching, these courses cover the basics and then delve into deeper art concepts, allowing you to take your talent to the next level.

How to Draw for Beginners

Take a free online drawing course on Rapid Fire Art. The class has five levels and 10 lessons, and each lesson has a homework assignment. You go through the program at your own pace, and there is no fee to take it.

The course focuses on building muscle memory to teach you the basics of drawing. You’ll learn all the fundamentals listed above. It’s a great beginning drawing course and doesn’t cost a penny.

Price: FREE

Beginner Drawing Course

If you’re looking for a video version of how to draw for beginners, look no further than this YouTube course highlighting some of the fundamentals of art.

Many of their classes are free. If you wish to continue with more advanced topics, you can sign up on their website. The cost varies depending on the length of the course.

Price: $9.99 for eight weeks

The Ultimate Drawing Course – Beginner to Advanced

Udemy offers an intensive drawing course that starts with the core concepts of drawing and then goes on to more advanced techniques. It’s a comprehensive study for anyone wanting to learn to draw.

The program includes videos, assignments, and examples to get you started drawing step by step. Complete the classes on your own time with lifetime access. One thing we particularly like about this course is the focus on drawing the human face.

Price: $109.99 (often on sale for as much as 90% off)

An Introduction to the Art of Figure Drawing

Skillshare offers some more specialized courses, such as the art of figure drawing. Choose the type of drawing you’d like to learn first and take one of their dozens of offerings. You can start with a free trial on Skillshare.

After the 14-day trial elapses, you can keep the free membership with ads or go for a Premium membership at $99 per year without ads. There are thousands of other courses available on the site. Some of the other classes include modern watercolor techniques, daily drawing practice, and 3D drawing and perspective.

Price: FREE or $99 per year for Premium

How to Draw for Beginners

As with any new skill, the more you practice, the better you become. How to draw for beginners starts with concepts such as shape and dimensions, but over time you’ll delve into more specific elements that make your work unique. Your early attempts may be elementary, but with time you’ll gain valuable skills you can use in your professional and personal life. You’ll be a pro in no time!

The post How to Draw for Beginners appeared first on Designerly.

Computer-aided design (CAD) takes your business to the next level, allowing you to design 3D art. Perhaps you have someone in-house who can create art for you, or maybe you’re just a 3D art enthusiast. Learning to develop artwork on a three-dimensional scale gives your work an added edge it otherwise wouldn’t have.

Using CAD reduces design costs and helps you develop a prototype for a fraction of the expense. With the right printer, you can even make 3D art models for free. You might not be sure where to start, however. How do you make 3D art? Is it hard to learn the ins and outs? What kind of software do you need? This post can answer those questions.

How Do You Make 3D Art?

Three-dimensional art has a depth and technique that 2D art doesn’t require. With screen resolutions getting better and 3D printers becoming more affordable, there are many reasons why you might wish to enhance your skills in this area.

You use lines and angles to create depth within your work with illustrations. Many software programs can take 2D creations and transform them into 3D. For 3D printers, you create a prototype with a drawing and add in details for the printer. The equipment then creates a scale model based on your input.

Why Do Artists Need to Learn 3D Art?

Why would a 2D artist need 3D art? For one thing, you open up additional opportunities to showcase your abilities. You’ll expand your offerings for clients and attract higher-end customers and higher pay. Figuring out how to make the leap from 2D to 3D may seem a bit overwhelming, though.

The typical 3D modeling software on the market isn’t easy to learn. For those already used to Photoshop or other popular design software, the thought of learning yet another program may deter them. However, mastering new skills helps you create more realistic backgrounds and figures for various uses. Think of 3D art as sculpting. You may or may not use materials to bring another dimension to your art, but the finished work should look hand-sculpted.

Companies such as Adobe point to the added speed with which artists create when using 3D tools such as ZBrush and Blender.

Start With the Basics

If you want to learn more about 3D art, go back to the basics of three-dimensional drawing. You likely learned some of these concepts in design school, but a refresher never hurts.

3D art is a lot like photography. While the technical aspects of it have various differences, you’ll find it has many similarities to photography. For instance, the object you’re modeling needs a scene to take place. You also need a virtual camera to take pictures. Additionally, you need the right lighting and composition to make your 3D art stand out.

Once you’ve refreshed your memory on some 3D basics, look at software that will help you achieve your goals as an artist. Take one of your logo designs and make it three-dimensional, for example.

Software for 3D Art

There are several software solutions for creating 3D art. We’ve looked at the most popular choices and come up with four to get you started:

1. ZBrush

Known as the digital sculpting solution, ZBrush helps you with depth perception and the juxtaposition of light and shadow. You can also adjust drawings for 3D printing and export to your printer with this program. You’ll work with digital clay to sculpt the image into what you want, all at an advanced speed.

How much is ZBrush? A single user monthly subscription is $39.95 per month. Some schools license the software for students, so if you’re still taking classes, check with your university.

An artist uploaded this image of a white shark. He indicates he used sculpting, painting and retopology to create it.

2. Blender

Blender is open-source software that’s free to users. This open-source platform is a fabulous program to learn 3D digital art because it won’t cost you a fortune while you’re picking up skills. You can use Blender to model, rig, animate and render. You can even do motion tracking and video editing. The software offers simulation tools through libraries such as MantaFlow and Bullet.

Blender offers you the ability to work on a 2D concept design and blend artistic elements with a grease pencil effect. The image above is an example of the possibilities you can create with the program.

3. Rocket 3F

This open-source polygonal modeler helps designers develop new concepts. The software creates a faster workflow. The environment is What You See Is What You Get (WYSIWYG), making the software easier to pick up than some others. It also comes with a crease tool, so you can change the shape of an object with a few clicks. The website has dozens of video tutorials to help you learn the intricacies of the program.

Look at this image uploaded in the community forum by one of Rocket 3F’s users. They were creating an old western animated film and came up with an impressive concept.

4. Autodesk Maya

While this software is pretty complex and requires study and practice to learn, it offers unparalleled features. If you want to create animated films, it has all the tools needed. You can gain feature sets with hair, body physics, cloth, simulations of fluid movements and character animation. If you’re just getting started or only dabbling in 3D modeling, Maya is pretty pricey. Subscriptions start at $1,620 per year.

This image offers one of the many examples that Maya highlights as a possibility with their software. Note the realistic patterns and textures and the way the character pops. The image belongs to artist Valentin Erbuke.

What Does the Overall Workflow Look Like for 3D Art?

3D art can be a fairly straightforward process without being confined to the technical aspects of it. When working with 3D, it’s good to have an idea of the overall process. That way, you can imagine how your project will go. 

Yet, if you need to return to work on something else, you’ll know what steps to take afterward. Following the steps for creating 3D will save you time and make the process more seamless.

1. Conceptualization

When starting a new project, you first need to get a clear idea of what you’re creating. In many cases, designers like to capture their ideas from other artists. They do this to find out what style they’re going for and how they want their final product to look. 

Once you have your goal, get this down on paper. Remember, this is only a draft to help you shape your ideas. So start sketching them to visualize your final piece before you start working on it.

2. 3D Modeling

When you start your 3D project, using the right software is important. Be sure to pick one that suits your needs and comfort level. Then, start with the basics of 3D modeling techniques, such as extrusion, which is like pulling clay out of a model. Techniques like this are fundamental in creating your 3D model.

In 3D applications, you can also do polygonal modeling, the building blocks used to build your masterpiece. In other words, you develop your model piece by piece using geometric shapes. It’s great for hard surface models like cars or buildings. However, sculpting allows you to mold and shape your clay, which is best for creating organic forms like creatures.

3. Texturing

Once you’ve shaped your model, it’s time to start the process of texturing. In this stage, your model looks like it’s made of specific materials. These include metal, wool or skin. In texturing, you’ll use a process called UV mapping. It’s like a blueprint that tells the software where to place the textures on your 3D model. 

To create the blueprint, you’ll implement a task known as unwrapping, which takes practice because it can be tricky. However, you don’t have to make everything from scratch. Texture libraries are available to help you complete your project. These ready-made textures save you time and help you produce results more quickly.

4. Lighting

Have you ever noticed how lighting can change the way an object looks? In 3D art, lighting is crucial. There are three main types of light. The “key” light is your main source, like the sun in a landscape scene. The “fill” light helps reduce the shadows the key light creates. Then you have the “backlight,” which falls behind the subject, giving the object a soft glow.

Together these lights make your scene look balanced and realistic. However, different scenes call for different lighting setups. For instance, you might use a bright key light and a soft fill light for a warm, sunny day. On a mysterious night, you would use a dim key light and no fill light. Yet, deciding what lighting will make your scene look the best is up to you.

5. Rigging and Animation

To make your object move, you would use a process called rigging. This involves setting up a system of “bones” inside your 3D model. These bones control how your model moves, turning it into a digital animation.

To tell the bones how much they control parts of the mode, you would use “skin weights.” This makes sure all the pieces move smoothly when you start to animate. In animation, remember some golden rules. “Squash and stretch” makes motion feel more dynamic. “Anticipation” prepares the view for a big movement. Meanwhile, “Overlapping Action” makes movements feel natural and less robotic. 

At the same time, you’ll use keyframes on a timeline to control when and how your model moves. 

6. Rendering

Rendering is the last stage, where you combine everything into one final image. Rendering can be as simple as pressing a button, but many more technical aspects are involved. For instance, rendering requires you to define how surfaces react to light. 

Additionally, you would change the render settings to optimize your 3D art. The settings need to be adjusted to create a balance between quality and speed. If you incorporate high settings, you get a detailed image. However, the more precise, the longer it takes to render.

Tips for Creating 3D Art

One of the best ways to learn the ins and outs of 3D design is by practicing. Keep these other factors in mind:

• Study real life: Pay attention to the world around you. You have no better example of 3D art than real life.
• Practice: Practice every day, even if only for 15 minutes.
• Ask others: Ask questions in forums made for the software you use.
• Seek mentors: Ask an experienced artist to mentor you.
• Take inspiration: Study what other 3D artists create. Figure out how to repeat specific techniques on your own.
• Keep it simple: Use the fewest tools possible to create the look you want. Simplicity helps your designs come to life.
• Make it realistic: Pay attention to poses. People have a natural range of motion, so try to stick to this for your modeling.
• Seek feedback: Ask for honest feedback. The more tips you get for improving your art, the better you’ll be.

Creating 3D art is a labor of love. With time, you’ll find shortcuts to make your work faster and easier. You have to put in the time and effort now to learn the intricacies of 3D design in the future.

Get Started on 3D Art

The best way to learn 3D art is to jump into the program of your choice. Learn one program inside and out before adding additional ones. With a lot of hard work, your 3D creations will stack up against any other artists’ work. Adding another tool to your design portfolio helps you land more jobs and expand your earning potential.

The post How to Design 3D Art appeared first on Designerly.

Knowing how to remove a background in Photoshop is an essential element in taking photos to the next level. Fortunately, it isn’t as difficult as you might think.

More than 90% of professionals around the globe use Photoshop. You can find a tutorial for nearly anything you need. However, not all instructions include every step, which is difficult for beginners.

This short guide strives to ensure you miss no steps. Once you walk away, you’ll know how to remove a background in Photoshop. In the future, you may not even need to refer back.

Why You Want to Remove a Background

You might have several reasons to remove a background in Photoshop, including:

• A photobomb: You never know who — or what — will ruin the perfect shot.
• A new setting: You might want to pick up the subject and place them somewhere else.
• A Business request: A client might ask for a photo with a background you can’t recreate.

Say you line up the perfect shot of some newlyweds. At the last moment, however, an intoxicated groomsman sticks his head in. You don’t have to toss the whole photo. Instead, use your skills to remove the third-wheel and delivery a product the bride will gush over.

Are you a professional photographer or designer? If so, you understand the demanding nature of client requests. You may not have the budget to meet their expectations. Perhaps what they want doesn’t exist. With Photoshop, you can create any reality desired.

Swapping out the current scenery for a new one is an advanced technique. You might want to do it just for fun. Luckily, anyone can do it with some basic instructions and a little practice.

How to Remove a Background in Photoshop

If you’re already familiar with Photoshop, mastering the removal of elements should be a smooth transition. How to remove a background in Photoshop starts with opening the image you want to edit.

Step 1 — Choose What to Remove

In this video tutorial on Adobe’s site, the image above is the example. It’s a photo of a man leaping through the air in an unusual setting. However, the sky leaves a lot to be desired, making it seem a bit blah. Yet what if one were to remove the background and replace it with something more spectacular? Imagine a bright sunrise or sunset. It ramps the image up a few notches.

Your first step is determining which part of the background you’d like to lose. Perhaps you want to keep the subject and nothing else.

Step 2 — Select What You’d Like to Keep

To start, you need to select the elements you want to keep. To do this, follow the five steps below:

1. Click Open in your menu.
2. Open the photo with the background you want to replace
3. Open the image with the new background, which you’ll use later.
4. With the first, navigate to Select and Mask. This step will mask the entire image.
5. Use the Quick Selection tool in the Tools panel and paint the area you wish to keep.

If needed, you can zoom in or change the size of the brush. A small brush makes it easier to capture elements. If you have a lot of fine details, you might need the refined edge brush tool.

Step 3 — Preparation

You’ll need to take four more steps to get your image ready for a new background, including:

1. Change view mode to On Black and transparency to 100%.
2. Look for areas the quick selection tool missed.
3. With the ALT key, use the brush tool to select the areas you want to color with black.
4. If you make a mistake, go to Edit and Undo or use the Ctrl plus Z command.

Use the properties panel to refine your selection more. Shift the edge by a small percentage — 5% to 10% — to clean up any lines. Spend time zooming into the finer details and ensuring the edges are sharp. The more time you spend, the better the transitions will look. Choose Layer Mask on the output menu and click Okay to save selections.

Step 4 — Adding New Background

If you merely want the area you removed to be transparent, click Save As and choose a format. You’ll want a Tiff or PNG file, which offers transparency. If you want to add a different background, follow the six steps below.

1. Click on the photo of your desired background.
2. Choose Select All. Then, pick Edit and Copy.
3. Go back to the first image. Select edit and paste.
4. If the image doesn’t fit perfectly, choose Edit and Free Transform.
5. Drag the image until it’s the same size as the first image. You can also move it around.
6. Hit Enter. Go to the Layers panel and drag the second layer under the foreground one. Click Okay.

Remember to save your image. Now, you’ve successfully completed an advanced editing technique!

Learn How to Remove Backgrounds in Photoshop and Amaze Clients

Your clients will be amazed when you take a drab setting and transform it into a masterpiece. Fill New York City’s night sky with stars. Transport your subject to Paris. You have no limit beyond your imagination.

Knowing how to remove a background in Photoshop is a vital skill every photographer and designer needs. Keep in mind that personal attention to detail will determine how well this technique works. Practice with a variety of projects until your skills progress.

The post How to Remove a Background in Photoshop appeared first on Designerly.

When you first use Photoshop, you might feel a bit overwhelmed. You’ll experience a definite learning curve. However, it’s easy to get comfortable with  processes and learn shortcuts. Time-saving methods allow you to be more productive in your work. You’ll also gain a sense of accomplishment over conquering a difficult software.

If you search Google for Photoshop shortcuts, you’ll discover millions of results. How do you narrow them into something you can use?

Luckily, we’ve compiled a list of all the shortcuts graphic designers should know.

1. Hand Tool

The H on your keyboard is the hand tool command. If you’re zoomed in on a photo, H allows you to pan from one side to the next. Once the hand tool is active, you can use the CTRL key to zoom in without switching gears. Of all the Photoshop shortcuts, you’ll probably use this one the most.

2. Zoom

When you’re editing small details, you’ll often need to zoom in on various elements. To inspect something, simply click Z. You can hold down ALT to zoom back out. Another way to zoom is to press and hold both the CTRL button and space bar. If you need yet another way to zoom in and out, pair the CTRL key with the + and – buttons.

3. Fit Photo

With Photoshop shortcuts, there is typically an opposite command. When you’re zoomed in, you can click on CTRL and zero to fit the photo on the screen. This shortcut is particularly useful if you’re zoomed in and want to avoid a bunch of commands.

4. Brush Tool

The letter B pulls up the brush tool. This Photoshop shortcut is handy when you’re working with masks and want to flip back and forth to add details. Use Shift and [ to decrease the brush hardness and Shift plus ] to increase it.

5. Undo Mistakes

Everyone makes mistakes when working on photos. Perhaps a filter you thought would look great looks bad. Maybe you put color in the wrong location. Whatever the problem, you can undo your last action with CTRL and Z. You can continue to undo actions until you’re back to square one. Keep in mind that shortcuts may vary slightly for Photoshop CC 2019 compared to previous versions.

6. Hide Palettes

As you begin to dig into photo edits, it’s easy to fill up your workspace with palettes. Hide and pull them up seamlessly as you work on different tasks. The TAB key hides palettes. Hitting it again shows them.

7. Rotate an Image

Rotating an image is as simple as hitting the R key. If you want to move the image in 15-degree increments, use R paired with Shift. Then, drag your mouse in the direction you want the image to move.

8. Increase Brush Size

Need to make your brush size bigger or smaller? It’s easy. The [ key decreases brush size while ] increases it. These buttons are close together — it can be easy to get them mixed up. Once you use this shortcut a few times, however, you’re bound to remember.

9. Try Different Colors

Finding the right palette for a project isn’t easy. Color is a science, one that can affect communication, signal action and influence psychological reactions. To make the selection process easier, try this Photoshop shortcut. Hold down the ALT button to open the eyedropper. Then, select a color you like. To undo the results, remember to use CTRL and Z.

10. Change Opacity

If you need to change the opacity of layers, use the numbers on your keyboard to shift up or down. Choose from zero to 9 and watch the shift. Number one offers up 10% opacity, while nine offers 90%. Do you want 25% opacity? Then quickly hit the two and five in quick succession. This Photoshop shortcut will save you tons of time.

11. Add a Layer

Do you want to create a new layer in your project? Use the CTRL paired with Shift and N. If you don’t need a new dialogue box, pair CTRL with ALT, Shift and N. As you enter complex editing territory, consider a free Photoshop tutorial. You can learn all about the software from someone with more than 20 years of experience.

12. Swap Background Colors

If you’re working with masks, you might need to exchange your foreground and background colors. Luckily, there’s a Photoshop shortcut that will save you time. Simply hit X to switch your colors. Hit it again to switch them back. It’s simple!

13. Save Your Work

It’s vital to save your work. What happens if your computer crashes and you didn’t log your work? It might be lost forever. Instead, learn quick Photoshop shortcuts to preserve your ideas. Every few minutes, hit CTRL and the letter S. This habit will save you hours of effort.

14. Merge Layers

You’ll typically merge layers near the end of your work. For this process, you’ll need to learn several commands. For example, CTRL and E merges the selected layer with the one below it. Want to merge all visible layers? Use the shortcut CTRL with Shift and E. CTRL, ALT and E merges all selected layers into one.

The Top Photoshop Shortcuts for Graphic Designers 

Photoshop shortcuts will save time and make your life easier. Of the list above, some are simple, while others are advanced. As you work, you’ll discover which are best for you and your needs.

Once you become a Photoshop pro, you’ll want to branch out to other devices. The software recently launched on the iPad, though reviews are mixed. Experts claim it lacks many of the vital tools designers need to finish a project.

Think you’ll forget these commands once you open Photoshop? You’re not alone. Luckily, you can gain access to the entire shortcut list with CTRL, ALT, Shift and the letter K. Remember this command, if nothing else. From there, you’ll be unstoppable.

The post The Top Photoshop Shortcuts All Graphic Designers Should Know appeared first on Designerly.