Art and Design

Teaching Yourself the Arts

I’ve been writing articles for this blog since 2016. My focus from the start was art and creativity because I had just finished an art course and I was transitioning away from freelance web design (which I had taught myself for fun over a period of several years after leaving University with an Archaeology degree…

Free Tools for Organizing Personal Creative Projects

Free Tools for Organizing Personal Creative Projects

In this article I will briefly outline the basic process of starting creative projects and then list some related software tools. Coming up with Ideas Write it Down Take notes whenever you have an idea or see something interesting you want to look into in more detail later. Unless you have amazing memory retention it…

Traditional Art Mediums

During the art course I did from 2014–2015 I had to research and try different traditional methods for creating art. Previously to the course I had only used pencil, Biro and digital (Photoshop and Corel Painter). I’ve been drawing from an early age but I didn’t have access to expensive art mediums, just the basic…

The Power of Illustration to Communicate

Illustration is a method of communicating with images (visual communication), whether it be a story, a message or a feeling. Using art and words together helps explain or clarify otherwise difficult or complicated ideas. It helps create interest in new or unknown subjects and is good for holding peoples attention spans. There are different types…

Why Should You Study The Fundamentals of Art?

Practising basic skills is more important than finding the right brushes or software. These basic skills are called the art fundamentals. Without foundational knowledge you will be more likely to get frustrated with your artwork. I’ve learned that even a tiny bit of knowledge can make a huge difference to your artwork. You can think…