SloDive - Design Resources & Inspiration

The Deviantart community is not only one of the biggest on the web but has some extremely talented members that make a lot of great items and don’t mind sharing it with the rest of us. Below is a compilation of some of the best vintage Photoshop brushes on Deviantart and they are free for you to enjoy.

Armed with photoshop and a ton of natural ability, Dani Kaulakis makes illustrating look like a walk in the park. She currently resides in Pennsylvania and supports herself through her artwork which we always love to hear.

There are so many great free fonts to choose from these days but let’s face it, 99% would never really be used more than once or for a special occasions. Don’t get me wrong, I love the Star Trek font but it’s not going into any of my designs but it’s fun to have. What I need are sensible fonts that are tasteful yet have their own style. Most of the free fonts listed below meet that criteria although a couple would definitely be considered a little over the top.

As is the routine lately, we love to look for inspiration in other forms of design. It doesn’t have to be digital all the time does it? Below are some awesomely creative book carvings by Brian Dettmer. Now get inspired and go create something.

When I design, I very rarely use a background with just a solid color or gradient. For me it’s just too smooth and clean, so I will go to my textures folder and grab one for adding some contrast and contour. If I want to keep it subtle I go to my paper textures and blend lightly over my background color. It’s one of the first things I do when starting a new project and almost always gives me ideas for where to go next in the design.

Anthony has an amazing talent for illustrating in general but I absolutely love his caricature drawings. They remind of the video for “Land of Confusion” by Genesis. One of my favorite videos from my childhood and maybe a favorite of Anthony’s as well.