Coding and Design Tips & Tutorials

Like buying new exercise clothes to get your ass in gear for the gym, buying a new set of notepads, calendars and binders just makes you WANT to write things down and be that organized person you KNOW you can be. 

Whether you are a natural born scheduler, or a free-flowing tornado of cryptic messages on crumpled napkins, there are loads of clever options available to keep you organized (or at least, organized-looking) this year.

Brands and advertisers are forever trying to capture new and different demographics. Younger, more diverse, more male (or sometimes more female, depending on the product), more "urban" (or any other number of polite euphemisms that refer to the race or ethnicity they're trying to woo) -- whatever ways you divide up your personality, someone is trying to get you to buy something you wouldn't normally, according to their data, buy.

Hotspots are hard to avoid when shooting in the summertime, but they can creep up on you almost any time of year. Even harsh winter light bearing down on your subject can leave your photos with a few shiny spots that end up erasing essential detail or making skin look sweaty or overly-pale.

[caption id="attachment_11720" align="alignnone" width="640"] Image via Flickr[/caption] Here is a truth that is perhaps unpopular to speak but is, of course, extremely accurate: Being in a band basically means owning a small business. You have finances, you have marketing, and you have the understanding that in addition to making great music, you hope to drum up a little bit of cash, as well.

[caption id="attachment_11709" align="alignnone" width="806"] Photo:By Jennifer Trovato[/caption] The two biggest mistakes artists make are on the opposite ends of the spectrum: Showing your work too early or never showing it at all. The problem with the former is if we let others give their opinions before we’ve done enough self-revision then it’s difficult to keep the momentum going and it’s an unfair representation of your project – no architect asks people what they think about a building before the walls have been put up and no baker wants an opinion on their cake before they put it in the oven.

[caption id="attachment_11575" align="alignnone" width="620"] Photo by Alan Levine via Flickr[/caption] Ann Rea is an artist, consultant, and CreativeLive instructor. During her time working with artists, she's met some truly incredible individuals who have reinvented their lives by pursuing art full time.

[caption id="attachment_8028" align="aligncenter" width="620"] David Lachapelle in his studio.