Computer Arts Projects issue 94

Handmade is hot at the moment, and Computer Arts Projects is celebrating with its own hand-drawn cover (plus a free ballpoint pen, so you can get drawing the moment this issue inspires you to!). True, we haven’t had our artist Billie Jean draw the cover of every single copy by hand (he’s fast, but not that fast). Instead, it’s printed on art stock using custom-formulated ink colours, then ‘debossed’ to create the effect that it’s pressed into the paper. ‘Debossing’ is like embossing, only the other way round – but you’ve already worked that out, haven’t you!

You’ve doubtless also worked out that the text on the cover is not really stamped-on or hand-written either, but a font. In fact we did originally consider having Billie Jean letter the text by hand and work it into his illustration; but then we thought, what if we (or more likely a Publisher or Senior Editor or someone) decided the text had to change?

That’s one huge advantage that the digital has over the handmade: it’s far easier to amend later. As it happens, Billie Jean’s illustration itself isn’t quite what it seems either: various elements are on separate layers, giving us more flexibility than a simple drawing would have offered for making those vital final tweaks – neatly proving that no matter how hand-drawn your style, even if you’re one of the linocutters featured in our showcase pages, mixing the manual with the digital always adds something!

Dom Hall, Editor

IN THE MAG

FEATURES

Showcase
Inspiring work from around the world, created with nothing more than traditional art skills

Handmade revival
Old-school, hand-crafted styles are the new way forward for original image-making. We discover how leading designers are enlivening their digital designs with traditional techniques

Classics
Pre-digital landmarks: John Heartfield, Kyle Cooper, Eric Gill, Stefan Sagmeister

Pre-digital techniques
We take you back to the days of scalpels, T-squares, Cow Gum and art-boards and ask those who were there: have computers in fact improved graphic design?

Find out more
Get inspired by the ‘back to basics’ trend with this selection of great books and websites

Last word
Award-winning illustrator Andy Smith explains why he still doesn’t use digital drawing methods

PROFILES

Neasden Control Centre
Prolific London design agency whose blend of handmade and digital art is equally suited to both print design and physical spaces

Marguerite Sauvage
In-demand French illustrator who can capture character with a few simple hand-drawn lines

Lizzie Finn
Textile artist and graphic designer Lizzie Finn finds time to tell us about her successful career while preparing for a show at the V&A

TUTORIALS

Sketch and paint
Forget Painter, and don’t even think about using a sketch filter… Derek Lea shows you how to make a striking original composition using a pencil and paper, a brush and Indian ink, and some realistic drawing and painting effects in Photoshop

Make a ‘gluebook’
Thomas Schostok demonstrates how to turn a children’s book into a trashy-looking piece of handmade art. Collect some collage materials, get doodling, add some real-life dirt and varnish for tactile imperfection

Stop-frame animation
Mutado shows you how to shoot everyday objects to produce a quirky animation

Hand-drawn font
Create a custom typeface using just a pen and paper, some imagination and a few tricks in Photoshop and FontLab

Real-world collage
Dust off your old art supplies, and follow our innovative hands-on methods for creating a striking and unique collage composition

ON THE CD

Recreate traditional art media with ArtRage 2 Complete Free Edition

Painter IX.5 and ToonBoom Studio 3.5 30-day trial software

100 royalty-free images, 20 fonts, 40 brushes and goodies