October 2005 (#114)

We have been pondering an important question here at Computer Arts, which arose when we were working on the August issue of Projects - "The 100 Rules of Graphic Design". Where on earth do all the female designers go?

We brought together a list of great designers to feature in the issue, and by great we mean the type of designer that is well-known, revered, respected and ultimately copied. Our list contained the likes of Neville Brody, David Carson, Peter Saville, and recent additions such as Ian Anderson and Michael Place. Of course there are female designers around - Fiona Hewitt, Shiv, Autumn Whitehurst, Deanne Cheuk, and Prate, to name but a few - but why were most of the designers men?

Design courses, we know, have nearly as many female students as male these days. So what happens to them after they graduate? There is no obvious reason why women shouldn't flourish in such a creative industry. We were at a loss, so we asked our resident columnist Jason Arber to investigate.

In addition, we set our art editor the task of finding a female designer to produce an illustration for our cover. But by limiting the number of options we had a hard time finding a style that was just right. Finally we found someone who was perfect. We chose Karen Ingram because her feminine style also represents the meeting of real-world illustration (pens and ink) with computer generated images. Read more about the woman behind this month's cover illustration on page 3.

Finally, I'm sorry to say that this is my final issue as editor of Computer Arts. It's been a pleasure working on the magazine and I hope you have enjoyed reading it as much as I have enjoyed editing it. I'm sure the new editor will have a host of exciting features and tutorials to wow you with in the future. But for now, goodbye!

GILLIAN CARSON
SENIOR EDITOR

REVIEWS

STUDIO 8
Will the addition of Contribute and FlashPaper make this essential software?

SKETCHBOOK PRO 2
It may feel dated, but this is as close as digital gets to working with pen and paper

EYECANDY 5: IMPACT
The lacklustre effects on offer with the latest Alien Skin release fail to impress

PHOTOPLUS 10
Serif's comprehensive image editing tool is ideal for digital designers on a budget

IKIVO ANIMATOR 1.1
We think the price of this functional SVG animation tool is just a little too steep

GRAPHIRE BLUETOOTH
Not as stylish as the Intuos, but this portable tablet still has plenty to offer

CANON EOS 350D
Canon's popular SLR now boasts eight megapixels and a reduced start-up time

DESIGNED FOR LIFE
Gadgets and gizmos you can't do without

PICTURES AND WORDS
Our book of the month offers fascinating insights into the history of comic art

Group Test: Five of the best affordable printers put to the test
For professional artists, print quality alone is just not enough. We take an in-depth look at the key factors affecting the performance of four top-quality printers.

TUTORIALS

GRAFFITI-STYLE FLASH
Stencil effects using Flash and Photoshop

LIQUID TRANSITIONS
Use After Effects to merge shots together

ANIMATE TEXT BUTTONS
Use ActionScript to create great text effects

FLUID CSS LAYOUTS
Get control of your website's appearance

BRING LIPS TO LIFE
Add life to the lips of your digital portraits

IMPROVE YOUR FIGURE
Test out the powerful features in Poser 6

FEATURES

PITCH PERFECT
The art of pitching is an essential skill. But learn the basics and you're sure to impress

PROFILE: 4CREATIVE
The team at Channel 4's in-house studio reveal the secrets behind their recent success at the coveted D&AD Awards

THE ORIGINAL MAC ICONS
Mark Penfold talks to designer Susan Kare about the birth of her famous pixel icons

GET STARTED WITH...MERCHANDISING
If you fancy a larger slice of the profits others make from your work, perhaps you should be making money from merchandise

MANDY YEH
This San Francisco-based designer makes the most of her dreams...

UNIVERSITY CHALLENGE
BRUNEL UNIVERSITY
Three students respond to a challenging creative brief set by their tutor, and we get an expert in to assess the results.

ON THE CD

PHOTOPLUS 7 (PC)
Learn the basics of image manipulation without shelling out for Photoshop - this program's pricier alternative

MACHINE WASH WHIPLASH (MAC+PC)
Create authentic leather effects with this brilliant Photoshop plug-in

POSER 6 (MAC+PC)
Try out the latest version of e-frontier's straightforward 3D modelling package

EYE CANDY 5: IMPACT (MAC+PC)
Add extra impact to your Photoshop work with the final part of the Eye Candy series

INTENSIVSTATION CSS TEMPLATES (MAC+PC)
Drag your website into the 21st-century with these easy to use CSS-based web templates

POSERTOWN POSER RESOURCES (MAC+PC)
A useful selection of 20 Poser resources courtesy of renowned 3D artist Ken Gilliand