March 2010 (#172)

This month we're taking a look at the new wave of artists who are revolutionising the way moving images are made. In our feature this month we look at some of the hot names in animation and why you need to know about them.

As a side to this, we commissioned Lithuanian visionaries PetPunk to create our cover and an accompanying animation. The resulting short can be found on the disc - load it up and see how the company created a sprawling, beautiful and, dare I say it, rather odd place, inhabited by creatures of another world. Its title is Woos, and I love it - let me know what you think.

Elsewhere we start a new series of Country Focus pieces, kicking it off with a look at the Finnish design and illustration industry. Make sure you don't miss our profiles on Spain, Singapore, South Africa and The Netherlands in the coming months.

Jason Arber's opinion piece made me burst out laughing yet again, and our interview with one of the most talked about designers of the moment - Mario Hugo - is as insightful as it is entertaining. And, of course, we have some great tutorials and tips in our Technique section.

Rob Carney Editor

IN THE MAG

Output

If You Could Collaborate
The design stars pairing up on creative projects

Imagehaus
We go inside this issue's Studio of the Month

Designed for Life
Designer trinkets, gadgets and artistic ephemera

In Depth

Icon Interview
Design's young Mario Hugo on the beauty of tactility

The new wave of animation
Why illustrators and graphic designers are making moves

Profile: Molho
The studio leading São Paulo's motion design scene

Finnish first
We open our Country Focus series by exploring digital design in this Nordic nation

Round table
Is the creative cutting edge still sharp?

Technique

Hit a mixed-media and 3D balance
Xavier Bourdi on adding punch to Photoshop work

Isometric graphics
Aaron Miller shows you the easy way to pixel art effects

Smooth Flash files
Achieve peak Flash file performance

Warped caricatures
Love Creative on getting to grips with Flash 10's triangles

Inspiration Workshop
On location with Rob Chiu

Master Layer Masks
Tom Lane's masterclass

Explosive animation
The second part of Alex Donne Johnson's tutorial

Brief Encounter
The Found Collective's Depeche Mode video

Dynamic photo-illustrations
Put an illustrative twist on your photographs

Need to Know

Photoshop plug-ins
The apps that will transform the way you work

Pitch shifter
10 ways to improve your pitching technique

Playing host
The most fitting hosting options for you