Computer Arts (October 2004)

Citation preview

MASTERCLASS

DRAW PERFECT FIGURES

CREATE OUR COVER Tutor starts pia2l4

How to create stunning characters with sleek curves and clean lines

PHOTOSHOP

NATURAL MEDIA

Create this great effect with water and a printer

FLASH

LIP SYNC & AUDIO

Make your characters’ lips move in time to speech

ILLUSTRATOR

CUSTOM BRUSHES Use textures and type to build this vintage poster

Printed in the UK Outside the UK and Éire £6 C$19.95 COVER ILLUSTRATION: SIMONE LEGNO OCTOBER 2004 £6

1 0 9 771360 537024

EDITORIAL

HELLO!

Welcome to issue 101 of Computer Arts. After last month’s celebrations and the excitement of issue 100, it’s a relief to feast our tired eyes on this month’s soothing cover image, courtesy of Simone Legno. We love the cool, clear lines of his Japanese woodcut-style illo and it really is perfect for our cover tutorial, which reveals the secrets behind drawing the perfect figure. After a short break, Derek Lea is back with part one of a new series that will take a look at how natural media can be used to produce a truly individual look. This month Derek created a waterlogged city scene using just a colour printer, a water spray and a little Photoshop know-how. The Freak makes his debut on our cover disc this month. His well-endowed figure was just perfect for our CD tutorial in which Computer Arts resident Jacey takes up the challenge of recreating a revolutionary-style propaganda art poster. So enjoy this month’s jam-packed issue, and if you didn’t find a golden ticket last month, don’t fret. This month you’re in with a chance of winning one of three pairs of tickets to GraphicEurope.

EDITORIAL 01225 442 244

GILLIAN CARSON SENIOR EDITOR [email protected] DOM HALL DEPUTY EDITOR [email protected] RODDY LLEWELLYN SENIOR ART EDITOR [email protected] VICKY MITCHARD DESIGNER [email protected] SOPHIE EMBLEY PRODUCTION EDITOR [email protected] JOSEPH RUSS NEW MEDIA CONTENT EDITOR [email protected] MATT GALLIMORE SENIOR CD EDITOR [email protected] JON ALONGI CD EDITOR [email protected] JEN WAGNER ONLINE EDITOR [email protected] CD PROBLEMS 01225 822 743 [email protected]

CONTRIBUTIONS FROM

Jason Arber, Graeme Aymer, Ailin Chambers, Dave Curd, Alistair Dabbs, Hans Deconinck, Mike de la Flor, Craig Grannell, Andy Kay, Chris Kenworthy, Derek Lea, Simone Lego, Ed Ricketts, Chris Schmidt, Mark Sparrow, Jacey.

GILLIAN CARSON SENIOR EDITOR [email protected]

PHOTOGRAPHY Margo Silver PRINT William Gibbons REPRO Radstock Reproductions Ltd

SUBSCRIPTIONS

Computer Arts magazine, Future Publishing, 30 Monmouth Street, Bath BA1 2BW 01225 442 244 ISDN 01225 789 293 SUBSCRIPTION QUERIES 0870 444 8455 OVERSEAS SUBSCRIPTIONS +44 (0) 870 444 8455 EMAIL [email protected]

ILLUSTRATION IN THE MAG

ADVERTISING 01225 442 244

SIMONE LEGNO

ANDREW BRAIN advertising manager [email protected] GEORGE LUCAS senior sales executive [email protected] JAMES BLAXTER classified sales executive [email protected]

If you thought Illustrator was all about harsh lines and rigid geometries, think again. Simone’s elegant design, inspired by Japanese woodblocks, reveals just how capable the app is with delicate tones, lines and colours. INFO: www.tokidoki.it

DIGITAL DIVISION

DOM BEAVEN publishing director KELLEY CORTEN publisher FIONA TULLY marketing manager CLARE TOVEY production manager PAUL MCINTYRE group art editor SARAH WILLIAMS software copyright co-ordinator DAVID MATHEWS ad design point of contact KATTY PIGOTT production co-ordinator MIKE THORNE commercial print buyer

CIRCULATION & LICENSING

RICHARD JEFFERIES circulation manager PETE STOTHARD head of international licensing SIMON WEAR overseas licensing director Computer Arts has licences in China, France, Italy, Poland, and Spain

UK DISTRIBUTION

Marketforce Ltd 020 7633 3300 Kings Reach Tower, Stamford Street, London SE1 9LS

THE FUTURE NETWORK

ROGER PARRY non-executive chairman GREG INGHAM chief executive ROB PRICE managing director UK JOHN BOWMAN group finance director T: +44 (0)1225 442 244 URL: www.thefuturenetwork.plc.uk

AILIN CHAMBERS

JACEY

Computer Arts is the registered trademark of Future Publishing Ltd. All Rights Reserved. All trademarks and copyrights in this issue are recognised, and are acknowledged where possible. If we have failed to credit your copyright please contact us – we’re happy to correct any oversight. Material submitted is accepted on the basis of a worldwide right to publish in printed or electronic form. All contents © Future Publishing 2004.

An affectionate Photoshop homage to the bold Soviet propaganda imagery of old. INFO: www.jacey.com

DEREK LEA

SCOTT HANSEN

STUDIO OUTPUT

Identikal

Studio Output vividly depicts the challenges of InDesign’s transparency settings. INFO: www.studio-output.com

Ë

Customised Illustrator brushes bring warmth and style to a Fifties-style poster. INFO: www.davecurd.com

Ailin’s Flash vampire comes to life (as it were) with the help of pin-sharp lip sync. INFO: www.ailinsart.com

Photoshop + H20 = ? Derek reveals all with this stylish fusion of the old and new. INFO: www.dereklea.com

Computer Arts is a member of the Audit Bureau of Circulations Jan-Dec 2003: 22,888

The Future Network PLC is a public company quoted on the London Stock Exchange (symbol: FNET).

DAVE CURD

Andy uses Maxon’s Sketch and Toon module to render a striking C4D “illustration”. INFO: www.andykay.org.uk

PRODUCTION

Future Publishing is part of The Future Network PLC. The Future Network produces carefully targeted specialist magazines for people who share a passion. We aim to satisfy that passion by creating titles offering value for money, reliable information, smart buying advice, and which are a pleasure to read. Today we publish more than 90 magazines in the UK, US, France and Italy. Over 80 international editions of our magazines are also published in 28 other countries across the world.

ANDY KAY

We love the nonchalant gorilla in Scott’s illo for our A3 colour laser Group Test. INFO: www.iso50.com Identikal’s illo brilliantly captures the idea of both conflict and reconciliation. INFO: www.identikal.com

CONTACT Computer Arts, Future Publishing, 30 Monmouth Street, Bath BA1 2BW PHONE: 01225 442 244 EMAIL: ca.mail.futurenet.co.uk SUBSCRIPTIONS: 0870 444 8455 OVERSEAS: +44 (0) 870 444 8455

October 2004

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OCTOBER ISSUE 101

CONTENTS

REVIEWS

XEROX PHASER 7750DN

XANTÉ CL30

KONICA 7300

TUTORIALS

P88 GROUP TEST Turns out bigger is better – at least when it comes to these five A3 giants… But which one will prove the most versatile under pressure? Find out with our detailed Group Test

OKI C9500DN

BROTHER HL-3450CN

P78 AMAPI PRO 7

Eovia’s ultra-sophisticated 3D modeller now comes with Dynamic Geometry

P80 IN-A-FLASH 3

Create eye-catching Web animations with NetGUI’s entry-level Flash app

P82 FURNACE

Movie quality motion blur and footage-steadying plug-ins, courtesy of The Foundry

P56 ILLUSTRATOR

Add a warm, personal touch to your illos using customised brushes

P64 FLASH

Discover how intelligent lip-synching can add vigour and humour to even the simplest of animations

P104 PHOTOSHOP & POSER

Use The Freak file on our cover CD to create this bold, modern take on an old Russian propaganda poster

P83 PAINTSHOP PRO 9 Our special preview of this long-anticipated upgrade reveals what’s in store

P84 NEC MONITOR

NEC-Mitsubishi’s ultra-slim 20.1-inch LCD is one of the sharpest we’ve ever seen

P85 BRAVO II

Fancy your very own CDburning and label-printing device? Well, here it is…

P86 PHOTOCLEAN 2.10 Improve your digital images with this one-click solution

TUTORIALS FOR 99P

Buy Computer Arts tutorials online for just 99p at www.computerarts.co.uk/tutorials

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P40 PHOTOSHOP CS

We go all Tony Hart. Apply real-world water-blurring techniques to your artwork

IN THIS ISSUE APRIL ISSUE 97

ON THE CD

P24 PERFECTION

Fashion your own stylish poster with a Poser model, revitalise your Flash animations with our Motion Graphics Suite, and make use of five great fonts – see CD for details

Rediscover the delight of gentle curves and colours with our modern take on the traditional Japanese woodcut. Illustrator CS provides the tools; you provide the skill and artistry

FREAK KIT This bemuscled Poser model, complete with clothing and props, is ideal for kickstarting your illustration work. Check out how we used him in our CD tutorial, starting on page 104

P40 NATURAL MEDIA Learn how to exploit water effects and give your digital images a grittier, more traditional feel

P64 FLASH

P56 ILLUSTRATOR

Use audio to refine your animations and add style to dialogue delivery

Create your own brushes and you can add old-fashioned personality to even the simplest of subjects

CA INTERVIEW

FEATURES P68 DROP SHADOWS

ANIMOTIONS BUNDLE Poser kit and gear from AniMotions worth £200 – includes Dendras film and photo collection

MISPRINTED TYPE

P72 IT’S THE LAW

Enjoy these five fonts, courtesy of typographical legend Misprinted Type: dirty ego, downcome, nasty, pastelaria and porcelain

P114 CV

Tronic Studio’s Vivian Rosenthal and Jesse Seppi discuss architecture, space, light, and mixing live action with CGI

These eight AdvanceFlash motion graphic segments, featuring abstract lighting effects and billowing clouds, will add life to your animations

InDesign’s famously finicky transparency settings are a law unto themselves. We crack the code so you don’t have to

Copyright: what is it, how does it work, and why does it exist? Legal experts reveal the do’s and don’ts in plain English

P30 TRONIC STUDIO

MOTION GRAPHICS SUITE

Two graphic design graduates from the University of Applied Science, Mainz, get the chance to show off their talent

SUBSCRIBE! TURN TO PAGE 46 Subscribe today and make sure you get an exclusive collector’s issue delivered straight to your door. Call our subscription hotline: 0870 444 8455 or visit www.computerarts.co.uk

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EXPOSURE

EXPOSURE Send your work to Computer Arts and be seen by thousands!

XEVI SOLER JOB Freelance Designer CONTACT [email protected] or www.vision55.com SOFTWARE Photoshop 1,2 & 3 The Mowry Fisher Gang “These pages were hand-drawn using a Pilot DR drawing pen and scanned at 300dpi as a bitmap. The image was then coloured in Photoshop. Layers are dedicated to foreground and background colour elements and effects, allowing me control over colour balancing and level adjustments for specific areas of the image. I was inspired to do these drawings after watching Steven Lisberger describe the torturous amount of work that went into making Tron! But more specifically, I’d cite Robert Crumb and Masamune Shirow – both masters of comic art (but stylistically a million miles apart!) – as prime influences. This is the first time these drawings have been published.”

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EXPOSURE

To find out more about this section, please go to www.computerarts.co.uk/gallery/

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ABOUT XEVI SOLER Xevi Soler says he’s a “freelance Graphic Designer – but there’s a comic artist trying to get out!” He takes creative inspiration from such greats as Jack Kirby, Stanley Kubrick, Saul Bass, Michael Mann, Ridley Scott and Syd Mead. Soler studied Illustration and Cell Animation at Bournemouth and Poole College of Art “long before Macs ruled the creative world” and it was here that he developed his individual animation style. “I developed a style of illustration where line art was copied onto acetate and laid over coloured paper. In effect, I was using Photoshop layers before Photoshop even existed,” he says. Having recently completed a re-branding of a NewsQuest newspaper, Soler is now working on a pet project named The Diamond-Cutter, work partly inspired by Karel Capec’s Rossum’s Universal Robots. The project will mix graphic design and line art in a way not really seen before. “I am just as comfortable designing a page layout as I am drawing, taking photographs or designing toy robots,” says Solar – a skill he’ll use working on his latest concept, Syboc. For more information visit www.vision55.com/syboc.

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EXPOSURE

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CONNIE A. WILSON

JOB NVQ Assessor, Distance Learning Tutor and budding Illustrator CONTACT [email protected] or www.hardcaw-illustration.com SOFTWARE Photoshop 1. Untitled 1 “This was an experiment. I wanted a subtle collage effect, so I used scanned textures to create more depth to the image and “painted” in Photoshop. I’m inspired by magazine photography and wanted that slick look.” 2. Fly Me to the Moon “I kept singing Fly Me to the Moon in my head (only the first verse), and wanted do an illustration about it, so here it is.” 3. Self-inflicted “For this image I wanted to show that sometimes we create our own problems (paranoia, fear and inner demons). I wanted to achieve a sombre look.” 4. Untitled 2 “The woman’s face was taken from Fly Me to the Moon, but I wanted to try out a quick image that could be used on a music CD cover or a flyer for a gig or party. So I played around with it a bit to get a “funky” look.”

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EXPOSURE

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ADAM DRAS JOB Website Designer/Illustrator CONTACT [email protected] or www.media64.com SOFTWARE Photoshop, Illustrator 1. Elfa “Based on a stock photograph, I drew this image in Illustrator placing each different shade and colour on a new layer. I then used Photoshop to touch up the illustration with some custom brushes to add grunge textures. The socks took me over two hours to draw!” 2. Maja “This is an illustration of my daughter. With vector work, the final result is always the reward for your time and effort.” 3. Just relaxing “I was inspired to draw this illustration by Computer Arts magazine, as I used a stock photo that was included on the December 2003 cover CD.”

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GET EXPOSED

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Send your work to us, along with an explanation of your techniques and software, the titles of each piece, your Website details and email. Images should be sent as PC or Mac TIFF or JPEG files, on CD or Zip disks. A hard copy is a great help. We will endeavour to return all entries that provide an SAE. All contributions are submitted on the basis of a nonexclusive worldwide licence to publish, both in print and electronically. Post hi-res files for print to: Exposure, Computer Arts, 30 Monmouth Street, Bath, BA1 2BW.

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LETTERS…

Write to us at ca.mail@futurenet, or join us online at forum.computerarts.co.uk

ICONIC IDEAS

STAR LETTER: MY FIRST MAC I am a student on the MA Media Arts at the Manchester Institute for Research and Innovation in Art and Design (MIRIAD) at Manchester Metropolitan University. I wondered if you knew if Apple or anyone else ever give away kit or offer sponsorship or bursaries for creative students? I make experimental animation using footage recorded on a 3CCD camcorder and handdrawn animation, using Adobe CS and Final Cut Pro. At the moment I use the University’s computers (Superdrive iMacs with lots of memory) and only have a PC at home. I don’t really trust eBay, as most of the sellers are in the

US, and I’m not sure if I want to spend a small fortune on a second-hand Power Mac if a new eMac will do. If you have any ideas on leasing, discounts or what system would be most appropriate to my needs I would be very grateful if you could advise me. Andy Sidorczuk

We’d go to the Apple Store for Education (www.apple.com/uk/ education) and look at any G5 deals there. On a Wednesday, go to the refurb store at www.apple. com/ukstore (there’s a link from there) and check out the refurb deals. That said, it’s common knowledge that the iMac G5 will be released in September, so it might be worth waiting for that.

PRIZE: free training at Space, London As the Star Letter winner, you can choose a day’s training at Space. Co-founded by Bridget Riley, Space is one of the largest visual arts resources in the Capital, and offers a variety of courses ranging from Photoshop and Final Cut Pro, to how to sell your work, tax and selfemployment, and marketing strategies for designers. Space also has a large range of high-end equipment including video-editing facilities, technical support staff and exhibition spaces. For more information go to: www.spacestudios.org.uk

BEACH BABE MAGNET

FILM SCHOOL

On Sunday I went to the beach armed with issue 99 of Computer Arts to read if I had time. I was reading the magazine and talking with my friends under the sun when we decided to take a dive in the water, leaving the magazine behind on the deck-chair. After 45 minutes or so, we saw three girls crowded around my deck-chair. They were looking at the magazine with quite an interest! As I reached the chair one of the girls said, “Sorry, for the invasion, but we saw the magazine and couldn’t resist it. We decided to take a peek.” “Interesting magazine!” said another. “We thought it was about make-up and girl’s stuff.” Keep up the good work Computer Arts and keep the covers coming! Dimitris Bostandas Designer, Thessalonica, Greece

I send my compliments to all the team at Computer Arts. The magazine is so creative and informative and I was so glad to come across Computer Arts Projects in Barcelona for the first time. I have been searching for this kind of magazine, and when I set my eyes on it at the shop I began to see editing, producing and film-directing dreams come true. Reading this magazine has made me feel as if I am in the film school that I could not afford to attend. Thank you. Efe Osariemen, Student, Barcelona, Spain

Thanks Dimitris. We’ve had lots of feedback on issue 99 and it’s great to know that the cover is provoking a reaction across the globe. Even if the reactions are from those who think we are a women’s magazine! 10

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I really liked the feature “The Art of Punk” (issue 97) about the work of Jamie Reid. I am a High School computer arts teacher, traditionally trained in traditional art. However, although the article contained lots of good information, I was surprised that it did not mention anything about Andy Warhol’s Pop Art or the work of Jenny Holzer. Hopefully my copy of Lipstick Traces, a Secret History of the Twentieth Century will fill the gaps in my knowledge of how/why Reid developed his art to fulfil the goals of his clients. Kim D. Bachmann Tutor, Virginia, USA

We’re glad you enjoyed our feature on Jamie Reid, Kim. The Icon feature is an introduction and overview of one piece of art or design. We have limited space in the magazine and therefore can’t cover as much as we’d like to regarding the influences and background of the artist. But we do always point you towards informative “further reading” (which you mention) where you can further feed your interest in the subject if you wish.

PCS IN PUBLISHING I work as a Graphic Designer for a large Kent-based newspaper group. About 75 per cent of the company use Apple Macs still running OS 9 in order to handle Quark 4.1, while the rest use PCs for admin. The company has said that it plans to scrap all of its Macs by December and switch to PCs. They also plan to migrate over to InDesign from QuarkXPress. How many other large desktop publishing firms are actually using PCs as their main computer systems as opposed to the industry-preferred Macintosh platform? Vinesh Pallaram Kent

Although we can’t find any specific published figures for the use of PCs versus Macs within the publishing industry, we can talk from our own experiences at Future Publishing. All of our magazines are now produced using Macs and we are

LETTERS

also undergoing a gradual move over to InDesign. Macs come at price, but they are built to pretty rigid design specifications to support Apple’s core publishing market. Historically, QuarkXPress was released first on the Mac and didn’t make the transition to Windows until version 3. But since QuarkXPress 4, and the emergence of Adobe InDesign, PCs have been more than capable of performing the same function. So why do we use Macs? Because they’re what we know best, and we can’t help but love them!

T-SHIRT PRINTING

NEXT ISSUE IN PHOTOSHOP TIPS & TRICKS

DON’T MISS ISSUE 102

Create an impressive range of stunning effects with our expert tutorials

I once read an article in Computer Arts that explained how to design t-shirts using Photoshop. At the end of the article, it mentioned printing the artwork onto a t-shirt with a screen printer. I have a fair idea of how to screen print the oldfashioned way, and I’ve read that there are electronic printers that can do the same. Could you please provide me with the names of a few companies that manufacture the appropriate screen printing devices? Brian Hunger

Unless you have loads of money to spend, screen printing is not financially viable for most people. A more economical option is to look at digital transfer printing; this can be done by your local printers or by using digital transfer paper, which can be bought from any large computer store. Digital transfer printing works by using a normal inkjet printer to print onto a vinyl surface that can be transferred to fabric with the application of heat. These can be printed on home inkjet printers, but don’t have the crisp, clear quality of screen prints and can deteriorate with repeated washing.

ON THE CD...

PRO 6

GOLDEN TICKET WINNERS Congratulations to Dae Woong Kim, our first 100th issue golden ticket winner (pictured with his winning ticket as requested!). Both he and our second winner, George A. Griffiths, will receive a full copy of Adobe’s Creative Suite Premium Edition worth a whopping £1115. We’re yet to hear from the final two ticket winners, so double check your issue just in case!

FULL SOFTWARE worth FULL SOFTWARE £269! AMAPI Get your hands on this amazing pro 3D modelling tool

All contents are subject to change.

| ON SALE FRIDAY 1 OCTOBER June 2004

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NEWS WEBSITES

The Box Doodle Project

URL: www.neu-e.de A fascinating site on which designers demonstrate their skills through back-of-fag-box doodles. “The rules are simple,” says site co-ordinator David Hofmann, “rearrange a box to make any kind of figure or object. Make the most of least.” Indeed.

FIND OUT MORE AT www.computerarts.co.uk MAIN STORY

OpenType fight Font foundries finally throw their weight behind Adobe and Microsoft’s OpenType format

URL: www.graphicquarter.com This slick online portfolio features some amazing Flash animation and graphic work from designer Gareth Crook, showcasing work from short films and photography to full 3D animations. Intriguing.

Duudles

URL: www.duudle.dk You’ll find more online doodling from Denmark at Sune Ehlers’ intriguing site/blog. Soon to be turned into a cool-looking book in collaboration with the UK’s Jon Burgerman, we think it’s potty, but well worth a look.

Low Morale

URL: www.lowmorale.co.uk Flash film from Web design group Monkeehub describing, “one man’s struggle to cope with the soul sapping, will to live draining, morale crushing experiences of work”. So pretend you’re working and watch it.

FIVE FREE FONTS ON THE CD!

Misprinted Type

URL: www.misprintedtype.com/v3 Nice low-tech site from Brazilian designer Eduardo Recife, featuring some striking montage work, free fonts and austere films and photos. Not a run-of-the-mill collection and there’s lots to look at.

Diesel Dreams

URL: www.dieseldreams.com/ launch.html Diesel-sponsored showcase featuring the work of 30 international animators, artists and filmmakers. There’s some great work by Hong Kong’s Da Joint and the UK’s Ne-o.

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ILLUSTRATION : IDENTIKAL

Graphic Quarter

The great font wars of the 90s saw Adobe and Microsoft fight a public battle over the future of their respective PostScript Type 1 and TrueType font formats. But the companies eventually saw sense and jointly developed the OpenType format towards the end of the decade – the industry’s first single font file to work on both Mac and Windows platforms. Until now, the move to adapt that technology among design companies and font foundries has been slow. But this is about to change. Adobe has announced that some of the world’s biggest font foundries such as Bitstream, Émigré and the Font Bureau now support OpenType. The move has been seen as a sign that at last a wider adoption of the standard is picking up. Bruno Steinert, Managing Director of German font house Linotype Library GmbH says: “OpenType is simple for our customers to use. Notorious cross-platform compatibility issues are now history.” In the UK, Edward Detyna, founder of the Electronic Font Foundry, says his company will start to support OpenType before the end of the year because his customers are asking for it. He also says the

higher level of multi-language and crossEuropean projects are another factor behind increased demand. But Detyna admits that the move was complex and costly – that’s why many in the industry are dragging their heels over adoption. Although he plays down the concern over adoption costs, Adobe’s UK Business Development Manager Chris Kitchener describes the gathering support for OpenType as “highly significant”. He acknowledges that the move towards wider adoption of the standard was a “slow process” but that it’s gathering pace. “Its an evolving process and it will take time [for the industry] to accept the format, but we are really on the cusp of this happening now,” he says. For Kitchener, OpenType is all about putting fonts on centre stage. “OpenType is a revolution because typography had been a dying art. With this new format, all of a sudden everything is possible – companies are creating new fonts and the whole thing is opening up. Even small design firms that would not have worried about typography are getting involved again.” INFO www.adobe.co.uk/type/opentype/ main.html

NEWS

GRAPHICS TABLET

Wacom overhauls tablets Improved work flow and functionality promised with redesigned tablets Wacom has given its flagship Intuos Pen Tablet System a thorough overhaul. The Intuos3 release has received a design and functionality tweak, which the company says will significantly help users with speed and productivity. So you can expect a review next month’s issue. The main additions: two much-needed four-button keypads for ALT, Shift and Space functions and Touch Strip – a tool that acts like a scroll bar and allows users to zoom in and out and move around. Wacom has also made changes to the Grip Pen, which now comes with changeable nibs that allow users to create paintbrush and felt-tip style effects. The Intuos3 is available from September 8 in A6, A5 and A4 formats and will cost between £129.99 and £305.99 (ex. VAT).

We take a quick look at this month’s winners and losers. Plus one very lucky man...

› GOOD MONTH Adobe InDesign CS US publishing behemoth Hearst Magazines – which produces glossies such as Cosmo, Marie Claire and House Beautiful – has switched to Adobe’s ever-popular Creative Suite as its standard publishing platform. Clearly not such good news for Quark though, as Hearst previously used XPress 6. HP’s printing business After two months and £2m Hewlett Packard says the media blitz around its LaserJets has made it top dog in the colour printing market. But watch out for cheaper prices from Dell.

INFO www.wacom.com

SOFTWARE

Toon Boom comes to Mac OS X

Popular animation package follows Maya to Mac platform

Following last month’s move by Alias to produce Maya Unlimited for Mac OS X, another animation and 3D scene-planning software group, Toon Boom, is now readying a release of its products for users of the Apple platform. Like Maya, Toon Boom seems to have recognised the importance of targeting the Mac-using creative sector with its Opus and Concerto planning, effects and compositing 2D and 3D tools. Toon Boom President and CEO, Joan Vogelesang, says it is important for his company to reach “the operating system of choice for creative professionals.” INFO www.toonboom.com

SIGGRAPH UPDATE

Alias buys Kaydara Vendor looks to extend its reach through a couple of new alliances Leader of the 3D graphics pack, Alias, has announced at Siggraph that it has snapped up smaller rival Kaydara. The company now promises to fill any gaps in its product set by buying others in the same market.

The two companies have also released Motionbuilder 6, an updated version of Kaydara’s character animation software, which features a simplified user interface, enhanced keyframe animation capabilities and improved story timeline functionality.

THE MONTH IN BRIEF

Motionbuilder and Kaydara’s other key product FBX will continue to support all current industry platforms and will be sold as stand alone packages under the Alias brand name. INFO www.alias.com

Graphics cards The likes of NVIDIA and ATI are rubbing their hands together and preparing for increased demand as graphics-hungry games such as Doom 3 and Half-Life shoot up the sales charts.

fi BAD MONTH Dreamworks Animation Studio The current owners of the successful Shrekproducing animation studio have decided to spin the business off though a stock market flotation in order to raise $650m, pay of debts and fund future production. Typographi.ca

The Typographica Website has fallen victim to tough new regulations from the Canadian Internet Registration Authority, which insists on a Canadian presence for sites bearing a .ca domain. The site was unceremoniously closed down, but can now be found at www.typographi.com.

‹ AND FINALLY Photography as truth

Best not to go into too much detail, but Bryan Sparks of Springfield, Ohio has been acquitted in a case involving pornographic digital images found on his hard drive. The jury could not be sure if the images were real or had been doctored using digital software. October 2004

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COMPUTER ARTS WEBSITE ON THE CD

NEWS

Visit our massive Website for weekly news updates and much more. To contact our news team, email

[email protected] VISUAL EFFECTS

SOFTWARE

Alien environment

COMPOSITING DISCREET AUTUMN URL www.discreet.com Discreet has released updated versions of inferno 6, flame 9 and flint 9. The upgrades feature a new spline-based morphing and warping tool and 3D look-up table capabilities. The new products have yet to be priced and will hit the shelves in the Autumn.

Face-hugging critters do the business in summer blockbuster Cinesite, the company behind computer-generated unpleasantness such as the classic Alien “facehuggers”, has been spinning its digital effects magic once again for Fox’s autumn banker Alien vs. Predator. The London-based company worked with Oscarwinning visual effects supervisor John Bruno on several of the film’s key scenes, developing work using extensive digital matte painting, set replacement and motion control. Modelling and pre-visualisation of the Alien facehugger were based on R H Giger’s original 197 9 storyboards and drawings. INFO www.cinesite.co.uk

LEARNING CURVE Corps Business London

Authorised Adobe, Apple, Quark, Macromedia and Extensis training centre offering small-group tuition and excellent post course support. After Effects: Fundamentals 13-14 September, £550 3ds max: Fundamentals 27-28 September, £550 URL www.corps.co.uk Net Resources Edinburgh

Offering both individual and tailored training, Net Resources provides courses taught by a team of professionals with extensive experience of Flash, Dreamweaver and CSS. Macromedia Dreamweaver MX 24 September, £281

Macromedia Flash MX 10 September, £281 URL www.netresources.com Escape Studios London

Popular training company with a good reputation for delivering courses in high-end 3D animation and 2D visual effects. Maya Level 1 13-24 September, £1,899 Digital Compositing Comprehensive 13 Sept-22 Oct, £4,799 URL www.escapestudios.co.uk Parity Leeds

Parity offers a wide range of courses covering Web and creative design alongside HTML programming and desktop publishing.

Adobe Illustrator 10 13-14 September, £699 QuarkXPress 6 15 September, £699 URL www.parity.net Design Computer Training Birmingham

One-to-one and small-group training for image editing, graphics and Web design software, including Adobe Photoshop, QuarkXPress and Macromedia Dreamweaver. Adobe InDesign One or two-day courses available all year, £360 for a one-day course, £710 for two days Macromedia Flash One or two-day courses available all year, £360 for a one-day course, £710 for two days. URL www.combined.f9.co.uk

3D STAY TUNED URL www.e-onsoftware.com e-on software remains tight-lipped about specific details, but has revealed that it’s set to release a new version of its fabulous scenery rendering and animation software Vue d’Esprit. So far, the US-based group has said only to expect the new release sometime between now and Christmas and that it will cost $249. ©Martin Childs

WORKFLOW FEEL THE QUALITY URL www.markzware.com Dutch group Markzware, which makes quality control and workflow software for the graphic arts market, has produced FlightCheck Workflow 3.5 – an upgrade that adds support for the Adobe Creative Suite, improved InDesign functionality and improved PowerPoint and Microsoft Word management. The upgrade from v3.1 costs £189. PLUG-IN BACKDROPS URL www.digitalanarchy.com Digital photographers will be able to create hundreds of different backgrounds for use in portraits and product shots with Digital Anarchy’s new plug-ins for Adobe Photoshop, Elements and other compatible applications. Available now for $199, the Backdrop Designer 1.0 plug-in offers 600 presets that you can subsequently modify with your own choice of light, colour, etc.

Apple launches Motion Apple’s motion graphics package finally goes on sale After what has seemed like an eternity of previews and teasers, Apple has finally released its new motion graphics package, Motion. Motion is a welcome addition to Apple’s existing digital video suite, integrating with Final Cut Pro HD 18

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and DVD Studio Pro for DVD, film, and video production. Designed to make use of Apple’s latest G5 hardware, Motion will enable real-time previews of video effects. Apple hopes that the program’s “behaviours”, which simulate natural

motion and physical effects such as gravity and wind, will bring motion graphics to a broader audience. Priced at £199, Motion will provide stiff competition for the well established Adobe After Effects. INFO www.apple.com

3D PAINTING: PIRANESI 4 URL www.informatix.co.uk Informatix has produced version 4 of its 3D painting program Piranesi, which the company says will enable you to create 3D images from simple models, rendering objects out quickly so that you can fill in the details and add hand-drawn effects. The software is available later this month.

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NEWS

DESIGNER TALK

Eduardo Recife Brazil-based experimental font foundry MisprintedType.com has just enjoyed a huge design overhaul and relaunch. Computer Arts talks to its founder and master... Computer Arts:our Y work makes great use of montage –illustrations, photographs, type and handwriting. Where do you find your material? Eduardo Recife: eRsources are a must have for my work. I collect old books, vintage magazines, old photos, my photos and a collection of scanned material. I have a cabinet with drawers filled with magazine cuttings and imagery. It takes time to build a good arsenal of images, but it’s definitely worth it. I’m inspired by anything from art and design to music, books, movies, streets and feelings. CA: oHw do you use computers to manipulate the material you use in your work?And how do you go about creating new fonts? ER: Computers have made collage work easier because you don’t have to worry about image sizing any more.ou Y can rescale or flip images in order to create the collage composition you want. Colouring and adding textures is also easier, but I try not to be limited by the machine. I create typefaces for my personal works. I usually get excited and create the whole alphabet. But there isn’t a rule, sometimes I just have an idea and decide to work on it. Most typefaces are a good mixture of analog and digital –photocopying, hand trashing, transferring –and then scanning and re-working everything in Photoshop or 16

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Illustrator. It takes a whole lot of work, not to mention the boring parts:kerning and metrics. CA: What do you think of other type foundries?Who do you admire? ER: There are an infinite number of good foundries. Misprinted Type is an

“Brazil has so many great designers. But most of them go off to work for big, boring agencies” experimental type foundry that mostly produces display typefaces. It’s very different from “traditional” type, where every character is strictly measured and perfect for easy reading. I have a great amount of respect for Jonathan oHefl er, Emigre, Linotype and Bitstream –not to mention the fathers of type, Bodoni and Baskerville. They deserve true respect. I also admire Professor Brian Bonislawsky (www.astigmatic.com). CA: Do you think typography is undervalued as an art form? ER: Most people don’t realise how hard it is to create a typeface. We are so used to seeing type everywhere that we forget its real value and the hard work involved in its creation.

With digital type, things get even worse. People still have preconceived ideas about digital artworks in general. CA: What is the design scene like in Brazil? Who do you share your ideas with? ER: Brazil has so many great designers. But most of them go off to work abroad or for big, boring agencies. Design is still a little restrained around here. We are dictated by foreign magazines and taught about what we can and can’t do. The same goes for fashion. Our art scene, on the other hand, is very rich and speaks for itself. I have lots of friends who are artists and designers and it’s nice to share information with them. We don’t have any good Brazilian design magazines, and good books are hard to find or too expensive, making it easier to (blindly) buy it over the Internet. CA: Do you have a favourite typeface? ER: Favourite typefaces come and go. I used Corona (Linotype) for quite some time last year. I also still use Times New oRman in my work and people keep asking me, “What beautiful serif typeface was that?” It’s a matter of how you use it, I guess. INFO Visit www.misprintedtype.com and get your hands on a host of amazing Misprinted Type fonts available as freeware. Alternatively, check out the five Misprinted Type fonts provided free on our cover CD.

NEWS

HARDWARE NOTEBOOK CAMERA INCLUDED URL www.ecs.uk.com Elitegroup Computer Systems (ECS) is claiming an industry first with its ECSD G220 – a notebook with a builtin 1.3 megapixel camera. ECS says the camera, part of a Pentium powered wireless-ready PC, can also be used for video conferencing. The G220 is available now, although pricing details weren’t available as we went to press.

GRAPHICS

Late night mix TV mixes music and graphics Late-night, square-eyed TV addicts can expect to see stunning visuals from designers such as Lost in Space and Neil McFarland now that music show Mixmasters has returned to the small screen. Now in its fourth series, and nominated for Best Music TV Series at Music Week’s CADSO4 awards, Mixmasters fuses exclusive mixes by DJs such as Derrick Carter and Germany’s Superpitcher with specially-commissioned visuals, animations and graphics. The show runs from now until Christmas on ITV1. INFO www.addictive.com

SCANNER DIGITISE 35MM URL www.epson.co.uk Epson claims that its Perfection 2580 Photo is the first scanner to include special features for digitising 35mm film. It comes equipped with high optical resolution for picking up small glitches, tools for repairing old photos and ways to rid prints of dust and faded colours. The scanner is available now at £100. DIGITAL CAMERA POWERSHOT UPDATE URL www.canon.co.uk Canon has updated its Powershot range of digital cameras with the addition of the 4.0 megapixel A85. Canon says that the new camera has “improved ergonomics”, improved styling, a 1.8-inch LCD and six special scene presets. You can lay your hands on one for £239.

NOTEBOOK HOORAY FOR HOLLYWOOD URL www.go-l.com Claiming to offer a “quantum leap” in mobile computing technology, the Hollywood Gold64 laptop from L comes with a 17-inch widescreen display, an Athlon 3700+ processor, high-speed DVD burner and integrated video camera. The cost? A suitably monster-sized $2799.

MOBILE APPLE AND MOTOROLA HOOK UP URL www.apple.com In a provocative statement that raised more questions than it answered, Apple and Motorola have revealed that they will jointly develop an iPod-style player for Motorola music phones and have plans to unveil the product next year. The deal, which is expected to see iTunes included on some Motorola music phones, continues a long alliance between the two companies. 18

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SOFTWARE UPDATE

Cinema 4D hits version 9 German 4D group upgrades product line and adds 100 new functions Maxon has just announced the release of version 9 of its acclaimed animation software Cinema 4D, which the company says features new modelling tools and offers enhanced workflow. The latest upgrade, which Maxon is pushing as an easy-to-learn and low-cost alternative to the likes of Maya and 3ds max, tightens up existing elements of Cinema 4D and adds 100 new features, including

WEB DESIGN

Rogue Java-free cinema site closed Odeon clamps down on errant site The Odeon Cinema Group has called time on an alternative version of its Website developed by designer and Cambridge maths graduate Matthew Somerville, who’s been re-designing versions of sites he believes are Java-heavy and inaccessible. According to his official site, Somerville’s actions are prompted by an urge to make Websites “…available to anyone using any browser, from Opera to Explorer 6.” INFO www.dracos.co.uk

cloth simulation and sub-polygon displacement. Other notable improvements include a re-engineered modelling core, a smarter interface (complete with Global PopUp for regularly used commands) and improved polygon knitting and stitching. Cinema 4D 9 is available from Maxon resellers or the company’s online store. INFO www.maxon.net

Vancouver Film School competition finalists Judges sifting through entries for the recent Computer Arts competition to win a lifechanging scholarship to the Vancouver Film School in Canada have drawn up a list of finalists and will choose a winner shortly. The five-strong panel tell us that they are extremely excited by the quality of work they have seen and are looking forward to announcing the

winner, who will receive a coveted place on the Institute’s prestigious Digital Design Program. The list of finalists comprises Elsi Caldeira Mendes of California, Keith Chingandu of London, Benjamin Garraud of Devizes, John Leigh of Henley, Marco Morales Aburto of Mexico and Seth Powell of Cornwall. Congratulations and good luck to all our finalists.

OPINION

Hands up if you’re faking it Software companies lose millions in lost revenue due to piracy every year. But would fewer people end up using illegal software if prices for individuals plummeted? The world’s gone copyright crazy. Even cinemas hammer home stern warnings before screenings about the perils of filming the presentation, courtesy of the Federation Against Copyright Theft. FACT is concerned primarily with counterfeiting and piracy issues in the film industry, hoping to imprison the shady looking chaps selling fake DVDs on street corners and shut down source operations in the Far East. You might be feeling smug, safe in the knowledge that you’ve never bought a dodgy DVD, but there are two things that bring it closer to home: the Internet and the availability of software that allows for easy copying of DVD movies. It’s now possible to sidestep the whole sordid business of buying fake DVDs by downloading them from peer-to-peer networks. It might take all night to trawl the Web, but the anonymity seems to make it okay, and hell, everyone’s doing it. CREATIVE LICENCE As a creative person, I must confess to finding much of this just a little bit troubling. Not because I have a great moral stance on the issue, but because I know that an awful lot of people, like myself, have put time and effort into the movies and subsequent DVDs. By stripping out the packaging, removing the DVD menus and

crunching down the quality of the movie so that something previously spread out over a dual-layer disc now fits on a single-layer DVD, much of the creativity is compromised, or even lost. It’s for this reason that I actually enjoy buying DVDs, but I worry that it makes me the equivalent of an audiophile growing

views at http://forum.

SILVER LINING But it’s not all bad news. After all, I did buy my own legal boxed copies of the software that had been illegally installed on my Macs at home as soon as I could afford to. The piracy formed a vitally important stage in my creative life, building up a relationship with crucial pieces of software that I could no longer function without. Perhaps software manufacturers could look upon piracy as an extended trial period, offering an amnesty against prosecution, while offering more realistic, tiered pricing structures. I’m convinced that fewer people would use illegal software if prices were cheaper. If Apple can change the culture around the illegal download of MP3s, tapping into a rich vein of folk who will pay for music downloads, surely software companies can follow suit?

computerarts.co.uk

Jason Arber a designer and also co-founder of

“Software manufacturers could look upon piracy as an extended trial period, an amnesty against prosecution” misty-eyed over vinyl, while the rest of the world cram their hard drives with MP3s. But there’s another aspect of copyright theft that has a more direct impact on the life of designers, illustrators, photographers and other digital creatives. Hands up if you bought every piece of software on your computer. Hmm, I don’t see many hands. That’s because most of us think nothing of “borrowing” a copy of Photoshop from work or from a friend. From individual applications to whole operating systems, software theft is rife. And the Federation Against Software Theft (FAST), a contemporary body to FACT, is

keeping an eye on us. In reality though, it has very little impact. Who can afford a personal copy of Adobe CS when it costs over £1000? And what do you do if you want to bring work home, or you’re unemployed and need to master the latest applications to get a job? The primary reason for stealing software is financial – a real chicken and egg scenario. Are people pirating software because it’s expensive, or is it expensive because the software is being pirated? It’s an important point, and slightly beyond the scope of this column.

FORUMS Do you agree, or disagree? Tell us what you think. Post your

www.pixelsurgeon.com

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ILLUSTRATION: twelve:ten

NEWS ANALYSIS

IN DEPTH

The great graduate jobs debate As thousands of ambitious young designers take up places on degree courses, thousands more graduates are out looking for work. But the prospects are tough WORDS BY DOM HALL After three or four years of hard slog and financial sacrifice this summer’s batch of fresh-faced Web, 3D, multimedia and interactive design graduates may be forgiven for thinking they will have the pick of entry-level jobs at any agency in the country. They have, after all, been steeped in the principles of design theory and had time to get to grips with the latest software packages and technology. But the truth, according to industrybacked, government-linked trade body Skillset, is a little bleaker. The majority of design companies are apparently unwilling to take a punt on those coming out of the education system with well-rounded background knowledge but little industry or commercial experience. This reluctance to take on new graduates, Skillset’s Jonathon Hirsh believes, is contributing to a wider problem, which will effect the competitiveness of the industry at large as companies waste internal resources and 20

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money getting new recruits up to an acceptable starting level. In Skillset’s new Interactive Media report Hirsh writes that there is “widespread dissatisfaction” with degree courses, many of which have yet to prove themselves and are not equipping graduates with the real world skills employers increasingly expect. As Hirsh sees it, the problem lies with the massive spread and scope of degree courses and the hugely variable quality of graduate they produce. UNIVERSITY CHALLENGE “Improvements could be made to some of the courses to develop the range of skills students come out with and Universities could do more to help that,” says Hirsh. Although he points out that University courses still fulfil an important academic role in teaching design fundamentals, Hirsh believes the lack of skilled graduates and the difficulties they have finding jobs is a problem that won’t go away. “The

FORUMS Visit http://forum. computerarts.co.uk to share your views on this topic and more with other readers.

industry will find its own solutions because there is already an acceptance that they will have to train people themselves,” he says. This is certainly a scenario recognised by design companies currently looking to expand. Fadi Shuman, Co-founder and Director of London-based agency Pod 1 – which builds sites for the likes of Austin Reed, Tesco and the Discovery Channel – says the quality of graduates applying for jobs has “not been great”. “They have a lack of experience in dealing with client briefs and producing work to tight deadlines in a couple of days, rather than three months. They also focus too much on things like Flash, which is okay in one context but not for building a dry, corporate site for a bank, which is how you actually make money,” he says. Those in the industry involved in placing graduates from design and interactive media courses in real, wage-paying jobs support this. Rupert Wallis, Senior Manager at London-based Web design

NEWS ANALYSIS

recruitment specialist Media Contacts believes prospects for those looking for work fresh out of higher education are slim. “Its tough for them, I have a couple of employers on my books at the moment looking for junior staff, but they all require at least one year’s commercial experience. Graduates with no experience will find it difficult,” he says. Like Hirsh, Wallis believes the higher education establishments could do more to furnish graduates with the best skills and the “right attitudes” to work. “They need to

Universities say the blame lies with funding and the explosive growth of courses thanks to the dot.com boom get commercial experience under their belts, especially if their courses do not offer placements. They also need to build up a portfolio of mocked-up sites,” he says. To some extent universities and colleges are taking theses criticisms on the chin. They say the blame lies chiefly with funding and with the explosive growth in courses on the back of the dot.com boom – something course leaders believe has lead to large variations in the quality offered by different educational establishments. This

point is backed up by the Universities and Colleges Admissions Service (UCAS) Website, which contains a staggering list of 153 full-time Web-related degree courses. TOO MANY STUDENTS? Aidan Rowe, Programme Leader of the Surrey Institute’s Graphic Design and New Media BA says it’s a simple case of “too many students and too many courses”. “The eighties and nineties saw a proliferation of design-related courses because students could see a labelled job category upon graduation,” says Rowe. “Higher education providers cashed-in on this and created, modified or expanded undergraduate design courses, which in many instances have not been fully thought through or positioned properly.” At the University of Plymouth, Programme Manager of the interdisciplinary Medialab arts degree, Chris Speed, believes his course better positions graduates for the outside world through its one year paid placement programme, which typically sees students spending a quarter of their four-year course working full time in new media companies. While this goes a long way to equip undergraduates with real world skills, Speed admits there are still crucial gaps in their knowledge. “Our students get the arts and cultural perspective from us and the science and

technology stuff from the experts, but still genuinely struggle with graphic design skills. Studio space is on the decrease as Universities expand and budgets tighten, students have less money to invest in design culture and we cannot attract good designers into higher education teaching because the salaries are not nearly as rewarding as the industry,” he says. So while the immediate outlook for new graduates may seem bleak, there’s still a feeling within the industry that a ready supply of new talent is important and will always be welcomed by employers as long as it comes with the right attitude. “Hard work is always recognised,” says Shuman. “If you want a job, work for free somewhere for a couple of weeks and show people what you can do.” INFO www.skillset.org www.plymouth.ac.uk www.surrart.ac.uk www.media-contacts.co.uk www.pod1.com

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FONT SHOWCASE

INFO Web: Origen is available exclusively at www.unionfonts.com. Price: £95 Other top-selling Union Fonts include Airbrake, Monodon, Country Fang, Anarcharsis, Dispose, Nova, Digna, Ether, Mundence Rock and Cattlebrand.

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CRISTIÁN GONZÁLEZ SÁIZ

Origen

Add some South American charm to your work with this adaptable Chilean typeface Born in Santiago de Chile in 1977, Cristián González Sáiz studied Graphic Design at the Finis Terrae University and graduated in 2001. The following year, he continued his studies on the Typography Diploma at Pontificia

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Universidad Católica de Chile, where he created Origen, his first commercial font. Origen is a sexy, soft typeface, that was originally created from a logo designed for a potter. It not only retains its legibility in small sizes but also the

particularity of each character at sizes of up to 24pt or higher. Christián is Art Director at Ce Diseña, one of the most important global branding firms in Chile, and an independent designer for several artistic projects.

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