div#ContactForm1 { display: none !important; }

Friday, February 8, 2019

Free Stuff for the Holidays V


Another New Year is here and it's time for our new list of cool stuff. 


Art
Here is a link to retro character designs & tutorials.
https://www.retrosupply.co/blogs/retrosupply-blog/retro-vintage-character-design-tutorials





A collection of e-books on illustration, sequential / conceptual art, animation and comics.
https://www.pinterest.com/characterdesigh/resources-e-books/?lp=true




Character drawing tips.
https://www.creativebloq.com/how-to/improve-your-character-art



Top sketching tips.
https://www.creativebloq.com/illustration/sketching-tips-beginners-81516497






A pose app for drawing practice.
                                                                                                                                                                                                                   

                                                                       

Audio
Magix Indepedence Free Software Worklsataion with a 2GB sound library
https://www.magix.com/us/free-download/independence-free-sampler-software/


Effects, instruments and studio tools







Free wav samples and sample packs
https://www.wavealchemy.co.uk/free-samples/


                                       








Free sound effects sites
http://creatingsound.com/sound-effects/free-sound-effects

Audio Production Resource Guide!


If you like what you see above in audio and want more, you will definitely want the "Triple A Dude Audio Production Resource Guide". This book has over 400 resources for musicians, filmmakers, web designers, podcasters, video game designers and more. Available now on Amazon. Get it here!


Fonts
Want to know what font is being used on a site.
Whatfont is a browser extension that displays what fonts are being used.



This site lists the best free fonts for designers with downloads. Huge selection!
https://www.creativebloq.com/graphic-design-tips/best-free-fonts-for-designers-1233380






3D Models
Here are two links that offer free 3D models with category search. 



Thursday, December 27, 2018

Balance and 3 Simple Steps to Relieve Stress



Hey everybody. It has been a bit of time since the last post. Why?
It's amazing how life and responsibilities dictates how you use your time and what you can and can't do. Job, moving, family / friends, home life, children and social life is all a juggling act with it's ups and downs. How do you achieve balance and is there a way you can relieve stress and achieve calm amidst the chaos.

Lets tackle Balance first -

Be Healthy:
Makes sure you are taking care of yourself.  Are you eating right and getting enough sleep. We tend to run ourselves down thinking we will have time recover on the back end. Recovery might be more than you think.You can't do much if you are sick. Be proactive.

Prioritize:
What is most important to you? Family, friends, relationships, and time to yourself. You usually can't have it all in the same day. Have a plan for what you need to do and what you want to do. Find a way to balance your day. There is only 24 hours in a day and you need to rest and eat so take that into account; remember our tip above..

Secret tip #1 - Know who your real family and friends are. Some people are honest and are truly there for you because they care about you but some aren't which leads another secret tip.

Secret tip #2 - Stay away from negativity. The drain. You know what that means.  If  some friends / family are constantly bringing you down; is it always about themselves? Do they listen to you at all and offer nothing positive in return, not even a positive comment or thought for you.  It might be time to distance yourself.

3 Simple Steps to Relieve Stress

Reflect:

What are the things that drive you crazy? That person at work? The job itself? Not having enough money? Living accommodations, or relationship? Is it working? Is it worth it? What is your worse case scenario? Be real. We all know what is bothering us. Denial is your worst enemy.

Plan:
So if the worst case were to happen what you you do to circumvent or avoid it. Do you need a second job or find a job that pays more? What happens when you run into that person at work? What are you going to do? Can you fix the living situation or do you really need to think about moving? Is the relationship worth it? Did you really reflect on this? Is it all them or is some of it you? Do you need to change, maybe some counseling. Do it. If you have to be someone you are not, if your significant other is not understanding or caring who you are, move on. Life is too short.

Be Proactive:
Once you understand the problem and have a plan, do it. Put it in motion. Don't wait. You will be surprised to see the anxiety and stress go away because you have anticipated and planned for it. Positivity and happiness will soon follow through for you.

2 links to check out:
More balance life tips.
Japanese stress relief techniques.

Hope this gets you into the New Year a bit more optimistic.

Coming soon. Our usual: Free Stuff for the Holidays.



Thursday, July 12, 2018

Top Comic Book Creation Resources

A student told me that they would be working on their own comic book idea over summer break, but was unsure of how to keep the work from looking amateurist.  I started to rattle off some websites and it dawned on me that I have not posted most of these resources to the blog.

Without further ado, here we go:



http://comicbookgraphicdesign.com/ 
Comic Book Graphic design is an all around good website with a nice selection of tutorials.


http://comicbookgraphicdesign.com/?s=comic+book+layout 
Here is a good one on composition and layout




Concept Art Empire is another fantastic resources for artists.
Here is an article on free gesture pose reference links that is awesome.
Please note that some of the references may involve the nude figure.




https://comicsforbeginners.com/
Palle Schmidt's website on comic technique is cool. Scroll down to check out free resources before you commit to paid tutorials.



https://comicsforbeginners.com/free-online-tools-for-comic-creators/
Online tips and tools and free 7-day crash course courtesy of Mr.Schmidt.



The Creative Bloq always has excellent resources if you use their search tool properly.
Here are two:
https://www.creativebloq.com/how-to/how-to-create-a-comic-page

Like the "Manga" style? Then have a look at this one.


http://www.foxprints.com/tracy/misc/tutorial/char_drawing.html 
Here is an interesting breakdown of character design.



See examples from all your favorite comic artists, sorted by name!!





                                      



Pick the best books on comic creation from these two lists:
https://conceptartempire.com/best-comic-art-books/

http://www.davidmarquez.com/resources-for-aspiring-artists
List is solid but links might be dead, will have to do Google / Amazon title search with this one.



Ready-made comic page layout templates that you can download and use.
You can even choose your panel count on the page.


Want more resources? Get a copy of
our book 
here.








Also, check out:

Top Comic Creation Resources II

Top Comic Creation Resources  III 


Know some good links? Please reply and share!






Monday, May 14, 2018

ASU Sponsoring Media Classes in June

ASU is sponsoring hands on media classes this June 4th-29th at the Chandler Innovation Center in downtown Chandler, AZ. See below for more details: