Computer Arts issue 162

This month we take a look at some incredible sketchbooks. Oh Yeah Studio, Micah Lidberg, Jon Burgerman, Pomme Chan, Johnny Kelly, Rex Crowle and Ville Savimaa share their most intimate sketches, doodles and thoughts. I’ve known all of these artists’ work for a long time, so seeing the thought processes behind some of their amazing imagery is incredibly inspiring.

And that’s the theme of this issue – inspiration. It’s a given that pinning down what inspires individual designers – such as yourself – is pretty damn hard (if not impossible). But, through the aforementioned Unseen Work feature, our 28 pages of tutorials from the industry’s best and our interviews with the legendary Hillman Curtis and Sheffield superstars Sanderson Bob, I hope you can find a snippet – image or words – that makes you think differently about your day-to-day design and your self-initiated work. Let me know if you come across anything that inspires you.

Two tutorials that I must point you to before I sign off are Matt Booth’s excellent guide to creating sound-controlled Flash animation, and liquid grid techniques from Ben Wise of Kleber Design.

Next month we’re bringing you an issue that we’re calling ‘design essentials’. On sale Thursday 4 June in the UK, if you like design, it’s pretty much essential. Until then.

Rob Carney
Editor

IN THE MAG

Output

Creative cause
Designing with a conscience

1:2:3 Studio
The Scandinavian design duo with big ambitions

Studio of the Month
Saddington & Baynes opens its doors

In Depth

Design Icon: Hillman Curtis
The interactive and motion legend shares his thoughts

Unseen work
Inside the sketchbooks of the industry’s biggest stars

Profile: Sanderson Bob
Behind the scenes with the breakaway studio

Get more work
Established studios share their pitching tips

Technique

Self-initiated abstract art
Get the most from your stock

Break the vector mould
Design tricks in Illustrator

Sound-controlled Flash animation
Bounce to the beat of any MP3

Type techniques in InDesign
Master InDesign CS4’s OpenType features

Animate your work
Create eye-popping online portfolios

Inspiration Workshop
Guilherme Marconi shares his influences

Liquid blogging
Dreamweaver tricks for grid-based blog design

Brief Encounter
Behind the scenes on Kirk Hendry’s Round

Creative collages
Expert compositional tips and tricks

Need to Know

HD explained
All the technology and how it can help you

Training resources
Finding the best way to learn new skills

SEO in Flash
Ten tips to keep Flash searchable