15 Best Affinity Designer Brushes

Developed by Serif, the Affinity Designer program is a vector graphics editor that is one of the strongest competitors to the crown held by the industry-preferred Adobe Illustrator.

One of the features that have brought numerous designers to the platform is the ability to either create custom brush packs or modify Illustrator brushes to work with the Affinity software. This has brought the Affinity software to the forefront of the tools designers use.

With the excitement surrounding the software, we built a list of the 15 best Affinity Designer brushes available so you can start using Affinity with the ground running and become an expert in no time.

Drawing Brushes for Affinity – $14

Drawing with charcoal, ink, and graphite can provide you with fine lines and deep blacks. Unless you’re creating physical art, getting those results can be difficult online. With the Drawing Brushes for Affinity kit, each brush is created to resemble a real-world drawing tool.

You’re sure to be able to find what you’re looking for in this kit from Copic markers to number 2 pencils, this kit has it all. When you’re applying charcoal, ink, or the graphite brush to any stroke can give your illustrations unique lines and characteristics. The set can be imported into Affinity Designer and Photo and also works on both the desktop and mobile versions.

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Spray Paint Brushes – $18

Spray paint can have a lot of uses. While most of them are legal, there are those out there who are extremely talented enough to create amazing images with spray paint. If you don’t want to risk jail time, the Spray Paint Brushes kit from Artifex Forge provides you with a unique brush for your artwork.

By spending hours collecting numerous spray paint marks to build this pack, you can rest assured that the brushes are taken from actual, on-the-street, painted material that pinpoints the way that spray paint splatters and pools that cant be recreated digitally.

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68 Dust Brushes & Overlays – $17

Sometimes no matter how hard you work to make your illustration look as good as possible, it still feels like it’s missing something. It doesn’t have that real-life feeling to it. Maybe adding a little texture to it will give it that look you’re looking for.

Thanks to the 68 dust brushes and 57 overlays in this kit, you can add some dust particles to the background or if you want to make an object look older or have a retro look. The kit includes 44 Dust Stamp Brushes, 24 Dust Stroke/Scatter Brushes as well as a bonus 57 High Resolution.JPG Overlays to help every image look amazing.

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The Affinity Inkwell Brushes – $19

Creating art using an ink brush can provide a look that can’t be matched by other tools. With this in mind, The Affinity Inkwell Brushes provides artists with ink outline and wash brushes that will work in harmony for the digital art you create to look as close to the real thing as possible.

These different brush options include zigzags, wash shaders, splats, blob outlines, and dry ink to make sure that you have absolutely everything you need to create your ink masterpiece as soon as possible.

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Outstanding Oil Paint Brushes – Affinity – $18

The result of hours of experimentation, the Outstand Oil Paint Brushes provide any artist the closest thing to they’ll get to real oil paint without going out to buy it. The biggest benefit of this kit is the diverse textures and the anti-stretch brushes to make all of your artwork look amazing.

Designed with mixing in mind, the Oil Paint Brushes provide you with an authentic look for your artwork and with the included canvas background pattern, your artwork can look like you’re creating it in real life instead of on a tablet.

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The Affinity Airbrush – $16

Adding texture shading to your illustrations can be a hard process but the Affinity Airbrush kit provides versatile shading brushes that contain a wide variety of textures that you can use. These brushes are designed to add a scattered texture to your work. From dense to light or from thick to thin, the options you have are seemingly endless.

Along with the 27 bitmap brushes, which come in a wide range of thickness and density, the kit also has a quick-reference guide that you can use to find the right brush quickly. The kit is set up to make things easy with dense textures included so you don’t spend unnecessary time layering brush stroke after brush stroke.

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Watercolor & Gouache Brushes for Affinity Photo & Designer – $12

Crafted to mirror the painting techniques used when painting with watercolor so that your work looks just like a real watercolor painting. The set works on both the desktop and mobile versions of Affinity Photo and Designer.

Included in the set are small round and dry brushes to help with detail work while large washes help you create beautiful translucent color fields and erasers that will lift the color from the canvas and leave the same impressions as real watercolor. Every brush in the kit has been a specific pressure profile assigned to it to provide a unique feel when using it.

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Fine Liner – Affinity Brushes – $19

Developed after a trip down memory lane through old school and art college books, Artifex Forge has made their popular Fine Liner Brushes and Textures kit available for Affinity and it couldn’t be a better fit.

The versatile tool kit comes with an amazing number of different pen marks including straight and rough outlines, stippling, hatching, zigzags, as well as dots and dashes. The kit contains everything you would need to create amazing looking art from start to finish.

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The Master Engraver – $20

Many times, creating the best art means drawing line after line to get your work just right. That can be frustrating and extremely time-consuming especially if you’re on a deadline. The Master Engraver kit helps move things along with speedier drawing meaning that the brushes draw multiple lines with one stroke and are also anti-stretch so you won’t have to switch brushes as often.

With purpose-built shading brushes, multiple weight brushes and even outline brushes, making vintage vector artwork that will not only wow you but might also wow your clients makes this more than worth the price.

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Finest Vintage – Affinity Brushes – $19

Vintage artwork has a unique look to it that is reminiscent of a bygone era. Creating this type of artwork has been the envy of artists for a long time and the Finest Vintage Brush kit helps Affinity users creating amazing looking artwork.

The best part of this kit is that the brushes are sourced directly from real vintage artwork, giving your look an authentic look every time. Anti-stretch pattern brushes help tile repeat seamlessly in one stroke instead of using the brush multiple times. This means you can spend more time perfecting your designs and artwork and with a huge range of brushes included, you’ll always have the right tool for the job.

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Tattoo Art – Affinity Brushes – $18

People love the look of tattoo art but not everyone wants to sit and get poked by needle hundreds of times to have a personal piece of their very own. For those who want to create tattoo art without the pain, the Tattoo Art kit from Artifex Forge is packed with brushes that work beautifully to create incredible looking artwork.

Outline brushes work with the same inconsistency that real ink uses while scatter brushes help to build up the stippled texture and shading that is normally part of any tattoo. The kit even comes with tattoo-Esque dots and arrows that you can use to add final details to your project.

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Gouache Shader Brushes for Affinity – $17

Gouache is a method of painting that uses opaque pigments that have been ground in water and then thickened. Being able to do this digitally and to add texture is an amazing concept and can keep you from searching all over creation for a texture that you’ll just have to adjust further for your needs.

The Gouache Shader Brushes add seamless textures with a single stroke and the kit comes with edge brushes that have a textured side as well as a smooth edge. The included 10 liner brushes are the perfect tool when you are looking to create beautiful art full of small details and lines.

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Hand-Drawn Brushes for Affinity – $17

Already available for both Photoshop and Procreate, the Hand-Drawn Brushes from Pixel Buddha contains 20 pixel and vector brushes which are essential to the Affinity format. You can create amazing artwork using a wide variety of brushes including pastel, sponge, marker or noise brush to help your social media posts, advertisement projects and inspirational posters and make each one the best it can be every single time.

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Grave Etcher for Affinity – $29

With what has to be one of the coolest kit names, the Grave Etcher kit comes with 118 engraving brushes that you can use in pretty much every illustration situation you can come up with. These brushes work with all kinds of vintage artwork styles on the Affinity application.

The Grave Etcher kit is a great option for adding lines of shading to your work quickly and easily which ultimately saves you time on your project by being able to create multiple lines with one stroke and easily achieve a look of engraving in your illustrations.

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Stained Glass Creator – Affinity – $25

Stained glass can be beautiful and if you’ve even been inside an old church you would agree. The Stained Glass creator kit makes it easy for you to create stained glass artwork with ease.

Over 120 One-click layer styles allow you to apply the texture of the glass as well as lighting effects to your designs easily and the lighting effects can be adjusted as needed. A quick reference guide shows everything that’s included and how you can pick the best option for your needs.

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15 Best Affinity Designer Brushes

The Affinity program is an exciting option for any artist or designer looking to branch out into new programs to create the best art possible. With the 15 Best Affinity Designer Brushes that we have featured here, you can the tools you need to create your best work ever.

Do you use Affinity? Have a brush kit that you have to recommend? Let us know in the comments below!

Island Smiles Dental Care Branding Process & Interview

Just Creative was interviewed on the Logo Inspirations Instagram channel, discussing the logo design & branding process for Island Smiles, a dentist in Maui, Hawaii.

Project Overview

Island Smiles (formally Hyland Dental Care) came to JUST Creative in need of rebrand. After purchasing the dental practice from Mr Hyland, they needed a new strategy, name, tagline & brand identity to reflect the new management.

How did the client find you?

The client found my website and portfolio through Google, which is highly optimized for logo design & brand identity design search phrases.

What was the client looking for?

The new brand had to stand out from the sea of other dentists which were often sterile & clinical, and instead convey a friendly & relaxing atmosphere that is reflective of their practice in Maui, Hawaii.

What did you have in mind for the identity?

Our approach was to create an identity that plays on the vibrant and sunny nature of Hawaii. A place where you can relax and enjoy yourself.

The name was the first port of call. We created an inclusive & friendly name that made everyone feel at home. As Maui is an island and smiles are what the dentist creates, Island Smiles, was the perfect fit.

What was the process when creating the logo & identity?

After finalizing the name, we moved into the tag line and logo design.

The tagline ‘Making Maui Smile’ complimented the brand’s mission and tied the whole brand’s ethos together. It works multiple levels.

The logo mark cleverly combines a palm tree within a tooth, giving off island vibes while also communicating dental care.

The typography, which features two contrasting fonts, is both professional and relaxed, perfectly reflecting the brand’s core values.

The color palette is inspired by the ocean and sun, and beach themes are evident throughout the brand, with subtle nods to seashells and sand, as well as the photography which has been shot at beach locations.

With this new brand direction defined, a style guide and other marketing collateral were created, such as stationery and social media graphics.

How many concepts did you explore?

We explored about 6 core concepts with about 50 variations on these marks.

How was the winning concept chosen?

Dental logos are often cliché and clinical, so we wanted to take a new approach to reflect the brand’s ethos. This mark cleverly utilizes negative space, making it memorable and the beach themed colors ensures the brand stands out in a sea of similar blue dentist brands.

What does the logo represent?

The logo mark cleverly combines a palm tree within a tooth, giving off island vibes while also communicating dental care.

Testimonial

Here is what Island Smiles had to say about working with me:

“Jacob is a branding wizard! He listened with patience and delivered an amazing brand that we are very proud of. I HIGHLY recommend him to anyone that wants an in depth dive into brand strategy & incredible designs that will serve your business for years to come.” – Eric Stanley, Island Smiles

 

How to Start A Business With No Money + Plus Crowdfunding Tips

This article has been contributed by Lidia Staron.

Every successful business started with just a spark, an idea.

It might have come in the middle of the night sending jolts and sweat throughout the body, or a quiet moment of inspiration while on the train home. However it might present itself to you, for whatever reason, it has deemed you worthy.

Congratulations! You feel it in your guts that it’s going to be the next big thing. The problem is, you don’t have money to invest.

Don’t worry, we’re here to help you out.

7 Ways To Launch a Business With No Money

Here are our tried-and-tested ideas on how to start your first business even with zero budget:

1. Get a Loan

The first thing that you can do is to sign up for a loan. There are a lot of financial institutions that offer personal loans online. The application is quick and can be done at home. The process and money turnover is lightning fast as well, with some promising to deliver your needs within a 24-hour period.

We understand, however, that some of you might not want to apply for personal loans. After all, starting a business with debt is not the best scenario. If so, you can move on to the next tip.

2. Keep Your Day Job

A lot of us think of leaving employment once the idea comes. This is especially true if you’re stuck in a job that you’re not exactly passionate about. However, setting up a business can be a long and expensive process. Why don’t you hustle everything business-related on the side while your boring job pays the bills for now? You can always leave the nest of employment if everything goes well anyway. Or stay employed if it doesn’t.

3. Use Your Existing Resources

Most of a business’s initial investment goes to needed equipment and space. What most beginner entrepreneurs fail to realize, though, is that most of the time, they already have access to these tangible resources. Maybe there’s a guest room that you can turn into an office in your home so you don’t have to rent one out for now? Are there pieces of equipment that you can borrow or access at no cost? In fact, there might be people out there who are giving away the gear you need for free. They’re just waiting for you to find them on Facebook Marketplace and other online forums.

4. Consider What You Can Do For Free… Or Use It To Leverage What You Can’t

Businesses can usually be categorized into two types: service providing or product selling. There are unique ventures that lie in between (or beyond) those two categories. But chances are, your business provides either of the two.

If you plan to be a service provider, like an all-star graphic designer, then you’re in luck. You don’t need a lot of capital. In fact, you can start anytime and slowly build your business from there. Product-based businesses, on the other hand, require considerable investment, more so if you plan on developing your product from the ground up.

Since we’re already talking of hustling, that’s exactly what you need to establish a service-based business. Here’s how:

• Go through your skills and determine what you do best.
• Learn about proper pricing and offer either a fixed or hourly rate.
• Offer your services both online and offline. You can start with your existing network of friends and family. As for offering your services online, there are established freelance job marketplaces out there where you can sign up for and start working whenever you deem convenient for you. If you’re juggling a day job with your business, then we recommend offering your services as a side hustle after work hours or your days off.
• From there, you can simply pool your earnings to use as capital for your business.

5. Build Your Skills

While working with what skills you already have is awesome as it is, you’ll find on your path to being an entrepreneur that sooner or later, it won’t be enough anymore. Since we’re working with a tight budget, hiring employees or freelancers may be out of the question for now. The more practical path, for now, is to learn new skills on your own. You might not become an expert overnight (or ever), but just learning the fundamentals will be of great help to a developing business.

Check out our top Futur courses in design and business and the best Coursera courses for designers and creatives.

6. Explore Your Network

Your skills are not the only aspects of your business that you can grow, you can expand your network as well. You can explore your existing network and see if there are family members or friends that believe in your idea.

Here are some tips if you’re looking to meet new people to add to your network:

• Join an online community. There are communities that you can sign up for to meet like-minded people, like Meetup groups. Joining groups where your target demographics are may also provide you valuable insight into your potential clients later on.
• Partner with other businesses. You will be surprised at how many businesses out there are looking for tie-ups. All you need to do is reach out. The best thing is, you can work out a deal that coincides with your interests. For instance, you can get a service sponsored if you can help the provider promote their brand, like product photography.
• Attend events and conferences. The internet is not the only venue where you can meet new people. You can also attend events related to your business to meet new people. Who knows? You might even meet potential investors! Be prepared and print out your business cards beforehand.

7. Get Creative In Searching For Funding Options

Speaking of potential investors, there are a lot of them out there aside from the established industry names that you might meet in a business convention. Here they are:

• Family and friends. Take this a perfect opportunity to pitch your idea as well. As an advantage, you already know this network of people so well, so you know which of them fits the target demographic you have in mind. However, remember that you’re not asking the people who are close to you for charity. You’re not requesting them to sit through your weird business ideas either. You are going to make a formal business presentation of a venture that has a detailed plan.

• Local government offices and non-profit organizations. Finding a business grant and applying for one is not a very easy process. They have certain parameters that you need to fulfill and you have a lot of competition for these groups’ funding. The good news is, once you do meet their criteria, you can potentially get enough capital to catapult your business to more ideal circumstances.
• Crowdfunding. Finally, there’s crowdfunding. It is the method of presenting your business idea online and get it funded by multiple people through donations. You can give them a perk in return that’s relative to the amount they granted.

Crowdfunding significantly changed the face of business. We can’t count how many successful startups have risen to be million-dollar worth companies all thanks to the hundreds of people who believed in them first.

Here’s the challenge, though, there are thousands of businesses and other projects (such as films, books, and inventions) that are waiting to be crowdfunded. How can you get your own campaign noticed? That’s what we are going to talk about next.

 

How to Set up a Successful Crowdfunding Campaign

Here’s a quick step-by-step guide on how to crowdfund, from setting up a campaign and launching it, right through to wrapping it up successfully.

1. Choose a Crowdfunding Platform

There are a lot of them out there, but here are some of the best:

• Kickstarter
  This platform is one of the biggest (and oldest) crowdfunding platforms out there. Since their founding in 2009, they have already helped more than 150,000 projects from tech startups to creative entrepreneurs. The downside of Kickstarter, though, is that you would need to complete your fund goal before a fixed deadline, otherwise, you won’t get anything. It’s all or nothing.
• Indiegogo 
  If you’re looking for an alternative to Kickstarter, then we recommend checking Indiegogo out. Their major difference is their “flexible funding” option. This means that you can still get any funding you receive regardless of whether your goal has been met, as long as it meets the minimum amount of $500.
• GoFundMe
  Finally, for more personal and creative pursuits, you can try GoFundMe. It doesn’t have a fixed goal that you need to meet unlike the other two that has made it very popular for those who want to raise money for medical needs and charitable causes. This platform is not as big as the previous two we have mentioned, though, so the capital that you’ll be able to raise here might not be as substantial.

Here’s a question we frequently get: Is it possible to run the same campaign in two (or more) crowdfunding platforms?

Yes, it is possible. However, we advise against it. Running a single crowdfunding campaign is a work-demanding process already. It will require a lot of promotion and digital marketing efforts. Also, giving your funders options may split their efforts and donations in half which can result in both campaigns failing.

2. Build Your Brand

Once you have chosen the crowdfunding platform that best suits your needs and preferences, you can now begin to work on your brand.

Brand strategy is a big undertaking but here are the basics. There are two parts: the face and the story. The face is the look of the brand itself. Present your logo and use a uniform color palette on everything to make it easier for your audience to remember who you are.

The story, on the other hand, answers this question: why should people fund you? Make it compelling. Appeal to their emotions if needed. Don’t forget to focus on the headline and intro paragraphs as well. You only have a few seconds to capture your audience and make them stay to read the rest of the narrative. In fact, you can take this a step further by creating a high-quality video pitch together with your written content.

3. Set a Funding Goal

Once you have established a compelling argument on why people should pledge their support for you, it’s time to figure out the figures. How much do you actually need in order to launch your business? And more importantly, how confident are you that you can meet that goal within the set deadline? This is especially crucial if you have an all-or-nothing campaign.

4. Offer Different Giving Levels

Now that you have a goal in mind, it’s time to set the amounts that people can donate or pledge for. Remember, not everyone can donate a thousand dollars to starting a business owned by a complete stranger. In fact, what really builds engagement in a crowdfunding campaign over time is the number of lower-level backers you get.

5. Offer Rewards

Here’s a great way to motivate more people to give higher-levels of donation: give adequate rewards. If possible, give all your donors a reward. It can be as simple as a sticker or a pin of your brand logo for lower-level backers. Reserve the bigger perks such as a limited free trial of your product before it launches to the public to your high-level donors. Just make sure that you can actually fulfill these rewards.

6. Promote, Promote, Promote!

With your brand, story, goal, and giving levels all set, you can now launch your campaign publish your crowdfunding page. All that’s left to do now is to promote it. Let’s face it, your biggest pledgers are probably those who are already part of your inner circle, but if you want to expand to other people, this makes it a perfect opportunity to get your name out there. Utilize social media marketing. Send out email campaigns. Reach out to bloggers and social media influencers. You can even organize a live event to drive up your campaign engagement!

7. End Your Campaign With a Bang

We have no doubt that you will be able to meet your goal, but your campaign isn’t over yet. It’s only over after you have fulfilled your promised rewards to your backers. If you don’t, you’re also setting up your business to fail since it will shed a bad light on your image and reputation as a budding entrepreneur. Nobody wants to support a business that doesn’t deliver, after all.

Here’s a pro tip: Follow-up with your pledgers and see how they have received their reward. Did they enjoy your product? Did it exceed expectations? Use this to collect positive reviews online and get insightful feedback in order to further improve your business.

 

By following the tips that we have shared with you above, we’re sure that you will be a successful entrepreneur in no time, even without starting capital!

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About the author: Lidia Staron is a part of the Content and Marketing team at OpenLoans.com. She contributes articles about the role of finance in the strategic-planning process.

25 Best Procreate Brushes for Illustration

While there are many illustration apps available for the iPad, the Procreate App stands alone as one of the most popular for professional and hobbyist illustrators.

Companies such as Pixar and Disney use Procreate. Turning the iPad into a drawing table, it is truly a game-changer by providing the same outcome without having to get an expensive desktop or tablet dedicated to digital illustration.

To help you navigate all of the amazing options out there, we have brought together the top 25 best Procreate brushes for illustration to help you choose.

Dry Brush Vector Brush Pack Volume 1 – $20

The Dry Brush Vector Brush Pack collects 189 hand-made dry brushes that were made to be used with Adobe Illustrator CC+. Hand-painted using acrylic paint along with a large variety of sizes and types of brushes.

Each part of every brush in the collection is aligned and rotated to provide a perfect start and endpoint exactly where you need it to, resulting in a vector brush pack that’s a combination of precision, speed, and quality

Get this Brush Kit

 

Pencil – Inking – Painting Brush Set – Free

Sometimes even though Procreate has an incredible assortment of brushes covering just about any style you can think of, they don’t always work for everyone. That’s the case with the Pencil – Inking – Painting Brush Set from Ram Studios Comics.

Designed to help give artists the best setup for comic book work, these brushes are essentially the standard Procreate brushes with tweaks set to the creators’ settings. The best part of these brushes is their price. Available for free, you can start your comic book today.

Get this Brush Kit

 

Memento Shader Brushes For Illustrator – $17

If you’re the type of person who believes that there are limits to how you can express yourself creatively, the brush and texture options will challenge those beliefs. 28 brushes come included in the set, which is broken down into 4 separate groups that have their purpose and distinctive features.

As a bonus, 12 textures help you complete your artwork before you share it with the world. With the Memento Shader Brushes, you can create anything your creativity can come up with from illustration, posters, and logotypes to even commercials.

Get this Brush Kit

 

Splash Wet Media Brushes – Free

Collecting 48 wet media brushes, the Splash Wet Media Brushes Set is great for anyone looking to use the feel of watercolor and wet effects to a new level, beyond what Procreate can already do. Packed into a single zip file and available free or with a donation. In no time, you can make your images look like they need to be wiped up with a towel.

Get this Brush Kit

Fine Liner Brushes and Patterns – $21

Developed by Artifex Forge, the Fine Liner Brushes and Patterns set is an authentic and versatile tool kit, packed with a wide range of pen marks including, dots and dashes, zigzags and more.

Most of the options in the set use a pattern brush feature. This allows you to tile a section without the brushes over stretching on long strokes which helps save you time and can even streamline your work.

Get this Brush Kit

 

Hatch Effect Procreate Brush Pack – Free

With the brushes fine-tuned so they work well with a stylus, the Hatch Effect Pack comes with enough lines, scribbles, and marks that can improve any drawing with the 35 brushes that are included in an easy to download zip file.

Get this Brush Kit

 

Wood Grain Brushes – $14

Created by live-tracing real wood photographs, the Wood Grain Brushes pack is a more versatile brush than other vector textures. The brushes are designed to bend and have them shape changed to fit the need you have for your illustration or design.

Ideal for backgrounds, art, text, banners and so much more, the set includes 13 Wood Art Brushes and 5 Wood Cross-section Scatter Brushes. With all of these options, these brushes can be used for just about anything.

Get this Brush Kit

 

Galactic Lens Flare Brushes Kit – Free

Built specifically for the Procreate app, the Galactic Lens Flare brushes can take images of unique alien creatures and worlds and bring them to life. The effects that these brushes can produce will quickly turn it into one of your irreplaceable brushes. While many of them are stamp brushes, others are used like regular brushes including the starfield brushes. With all of these different options free of charge, the combination possibilities are endless

Get this Brush Kit

 

Genuine Crafted Chalk – $16

The Genuine Crafted Chalk set contains an amazing 75 brushes that you can use on both Adobe Photoshop and Illustrator. The Brush Set is a complete resource that provides extensive tools for both programs. Each brush provides the look and the feel of creating art with real chalk. The brushes set includes 20 preset brush tools for Photoshop, 55 Vector illustrator brushes, plus a bonus of six chalkboard textures and a quick reference guide to help you use the brush you choose in the best way

Get this Brush Kit

 

Procreate Grain Brushes – Free

Packed with twelve beautiful brushes for the Procreate app, the Procreate Grain Brushes set helps to complement any image you create with amazing shades and textures that may have been seen on some high art posters. If you use the Procreate app to create amazing-looking art, you owe it to yourself to download these brushes and with its incredible price – free makes them even more valuable.

Get this Brush Kit

 

Drunk Sailor | Vector Stippling Brushes & More – $24

Is Illustrator your program of choice? If you do a lot of stippling and shading in your work, you might get frustrated doing so with numerous dots but what if there were a better way? With the Drunk Sailor brush pack, you can add some excitement to your creations with ease. Using real stippling brush techniques, the brushes give you 100% control thanks to their pressure sensitivity. With more than 35 stippling brushes and 20 pen liner illustrator brushes, you can have those hand-drawn elements added to your work with a single stroke.

Get this Brush Kit

 

Cheap Fine-Liner Brush – Free

When you use the Procreate app, the amount of different brush types and add ons that are out there can be staggering. While some are brand new creations, others, like the Cheap Fine-Liner Brush are great emulations of already-established tools. With this brush, the Cheap Fine-Liner is a simple emulation of a 0.6 Technical Pen that is already available on the Procreate app and with its optimization to work with the Apple Pencil, you can draw amazing pictures on your iPad Pro.

Get this Brush Kit

 

Neon Realistic Brush Set – $19

If you’ve ever been to Las Vegas or Times Square in New York City, then you know the glow of neon lights can make anything stand out. Thanks to the Neon Realistic Brush Set from Artifex Forge, takes the bright lights and turns them into a great brush that you can add to your design resources. Sourced from real neon tubing, the colors are as close to the real thing as possible. With more than 25 flexible tube brushes, you’ll be creating artwork fit for a neon billboard in no time.

Get this Brush Kit

 

Comic Ink Brush Set – Free

Dedicated to Will Elder, an American comic book artist who is best known for his zany cartoon style that helped launch MAD comics book in 1952, the Comic Ink Brush Set provides artists with great brushes that can make any illustration pop off the screen and with recent updates, artists can even create art reminiscent of the great comic book artist Jack Kirby. Available for free, if you have an appreciation for classic comic book artwork, this could be a great choice for you to download.

Get this Brush Kit

 

Zen Fine Liner Art and Mandala Creator – $19

The zentangle style of art can be stunningly complex. It can also be a very beautiful form of art to practice but for those who haven’t done it before can feel overwhelmed at the concept of creating your own. For those who have always loved this type of artwork, the Zen Fine Liner Art and Mandala Creator brush pack is a great shortcut to starting it yourself.

Inspired by the art of Escher, the pack comes with stippled, fine liner pattern brushes plus a few at brushes and a set of mandala templates to help get you started. Also included is a quick reference PDF guide that can help you choose the right brush for the job.

Get this Brush Kit

 

Procreate App Brushes for Hand Lettering – Free

Lettering can be one of the hardest things for a graphic designer to master. Whether you’re just beginning your career or are coming up on your 10th anniversary, the brushes packed into the Procreate App Brushes for Hand Lettering set can turn you from a novice to a master in no time.

Get this Brush Kit

 

The Retro Comic Book Tool Kit – $20

Vintage Comic Book art can have a unique feel to it. However, normally getting that authentic aged look can take years to achieve. However, the Retro Comic Book Tool Kit can help you achieve the same look in no time at all.

Packed with a ton of tools including 84 Vector Cartoonist Brushes, 4 Bitmap Comic Book texture patterns, plus 2 Grunge Edge overlays, a bonus set of comic book layer styles and a quick reference guide will help you create artwork that will make you reminisce of the golden age of comics books.

Get this Brush Kit

 

Wood Cutter Lettering Brush – Free

Woodworkers use a variety of tools to turn blocks of wood into beautiful works of art or amazing signs for local businesses. With the Wood Cutter Lettering Brush, you can use it for everyday lettering work or even general-purpose work because the brush is that versatile. The kit also includes a Spring lettering brush which can be a lot of fun, the Ben-Day Dot and Lettering brush are inspired by comic book printing. Others include the Shrub brush and Worm brush but what this package offers in options is only matched by its affordable price.

Get this Brush Kit

 

Rope Brushes – $12

If your illustrations have a nautical or even industrial theme, then you should consider the Rope Brushes kit for your next brush purchase. These can also be a great item to add to websites, stationery or even restaurant menus.

While the kit comes with 14 brushes, the availability of both regular and torn-ended ropes adds to the options that you have. Included with the kit are 2 bonus rope brushes for even more design choices, a quick reference guide and easy to understand instructions. These can be a great kit if you’re looking to add something new to your work or are just looking for that extra something to make your work stand out.

Get this Brush Kit

 

Procreate Brushes by Missy Meyer – Free

One of the best things about the Procreate app is the ability to create your own brushes and using custom shapes and/or textures. Many artists who do this also share their creations online as Missy Meyer has. Her page has numerous brush options you can download including Crusty Old Brush, Filmstrip, and Cartooning Monoweight. Each creation feels new and original and the best part is that they are all free to download for your Procreate app.

Get this Brush Kit

 

Spray Paint Brushes – $18

If you’re ever spent any time in New York City, one of the things you will notice is the graffiti that adorns everything from building to subway cars. Having a way to create that type of artwork without the possibility of getting arrested is the driving factor behind the Spray Paint Brushes kit.

The brushes in the kit are taken from genuine, on-the-street material that has captured spray paint splatters and pools that can’t be recreated through a digital-only process. In the Spray Paint kit, you will find 27 spray paintbrushes with 6 paint splatter brushes as a bonus. There is even a set included that is compatible with Affinity giving you even more value for your money.

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The Ultimate Texture Brush Library – $24

The Ultimate Texture Brush Library is the best comprehensive source of unique and useful features. Converted into vector brushes, the results give the artist a chance to create vector artwork that can stand out while at the same time being easy to use.

Designed with a specific purpose in mind, the Texture Brush Library kit has been organized into groups to make it easier to find and use the right brush with your project so that any artwork you produce can have an excellent textured look

Get this Brush Kit

 

Gouache Shader Brushes for Illustrator – $17

The brushes in the Gouache Shader Brush kit work incredibly well with either a mouse or tablet and can create rich gouache effects in no time at all. Gone are the wasted hours spent searching for unique textures that you can add on top and then mask at odd angles.

Perfect for poster, book or any other Illustrator work that needs to be able to scale. The set comes with 52 gouache brushes that can help you create projects and the only limitation is your imagination.

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Halftone Brushes & Bonus Patterns – $15

With the Halftone Brushes kit, you can add detail and retro depth to any artwork or design you can think up. A halftone, which is sometimes known as a screen-tone are usually found when you look closely at printer materials. While not designed at first to be a feature, it has become a classic design that Artifex Forge has emulated to help you create beautiful imagery.

The set includes the halftone brushes as well as a pressure-sensitive version for those working on graphic tablets. Repeat patterns are also part of the kit that comes in black but can have its colors adjusted to whatever colors you choose.

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Incredible Impressionism – $19

Inspired by the painting during the late 19th century, the Incredible Impressionism brush kit is perfect for stippling, texture shading and pointillist art. Whether your goal is to create great impressionist artwork or even some modern illustrations influenced by the masters such as Van Gogh or Monet, this brush pack will provide you with the tools you need.

A large variety of brushes come with the set that you can use for shading as well as outlining your work. Stroke types include daub, swipe, splayed bristle and much more. These are also available in a pressure-sensitive version for those working on graphic design tablets. A quick reference guide rounds out the brush kit to help you choose the right brush for your work.

Get this Brush Kit

 

The top 25 best Procreate brushes for illustration

The Procreate app is an amazing tool for any illustrator and with all of the brush options available, it’s tough to decide on which brushes are better than any other. We hope our list of the top 25 best Procreate brushes for illustration has given you a look at some of the options you have out there.

Do you have a favorite brush kit that you can’t stop recommending? Let us know about it in the comments.

Best Brand Strategy Courses & Resources

If you’re reading this, you’re most likely wanting to learn more about brand strategy.

And I don’t blame you. It’s a tough market out there as a designer.

Not only do we have to compete with our peers but we now also have to compete with DIY tools such as Canva and cheap marketplaces such as Fiver.

Are you feeling the decline?

Struggling to make a good living from your freelance work?

Never fear, specialisation is here!

Specialising allows you to increase your fees and get hired for your unique skillset without competing on price.

Think about it, if you owned a Porsche and it broke down, would you take it to a regular mechanic or a mechanic that specializes in Porsches?

The same goes for our creative industry.

If you specialize, you get hired for that skill set and you can charge more for the privilege.

When I learned how to separate my designs from my creative thinking I became a specialist and was able to increase my fees and you can too!

Have you specialised yet?

Now’s your chance, learn brand strategy!

Here are the best brand strategy courses on the market, many of which I have taken personally.

Enjoy your trip down the brand strategy rabbit hole.

Top Best Brand Strategy Courses

Here is a summary of all the courses we will dive in to below.

• Brand Master Secrets
• CORE
• Activate Your Strategic Brain
• eResonaid
• Story Brand
• LEVEL C
• Mark Pollard’s Brand Strategy Class

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Top Brand Strategy Courses Compared

Course	By	Length	Cost
Brand Master Secrets	Brand Master Academy	120 Videos, 20 Hours	$497
CORE	The Futur	15 Videos, 4 hours	$489-$1729
Activate Your Strategic Brain	Stef Hamerlinck	8 Hours	$299
eResonaid	Fabian Geyrhalter	15 Videos, 1.5 Hours	$957
Story Brand (SB7)	Donald Miller	10 Hours	$275
LEVEL C	Marty Neumeier	1-2 Days In Person	$1060-$1560
Brand Strategy Class	Mark Pollard	1.5 hours	Free (2m Trial)

 

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The Best Brand Strategy Courses Online & In-Person

Brand Master Secrets (Course + Worksheet Bundle)

Cost: $497 | Length: 120 Videos | By Stephen Houraghan

Brand Master Secrets helps you become a brand strategist and earn specialist fees. And in my opinion, this is the most comprehensive brand strategy course on the market.

Stephen Houraghan, a brand strategist and producer of the course, has truly gone above and beyond with this course to give you everything you need to become a brand strategist.

I thought I knew a lot about brand strategy before I took this course, but by the end, I realised how much more there was to know.

The course gave me all the techniques and processes and more importantly… all the systems and tools I needed to build brand strategies for my clients.

I literally watched every video front-to-back and learned something new in pretty much every module (and that’s coming from someone who has been in branding for 15 years!).

This is the consolidated “fast-track” version to becoming a brand strategist.

I wholeheartedly endorse this course for any designer who wants to become a brand strategist and earn specialist fees.

Check out the 15-minute video about the course, which lays out exactly what you get in the Brand Master Secrets.

If you do enrol, you should know that there is a full cash back guarantee if you decide it’s not right for you.

If you want to ask me any questions about the course, send me an email and I’ll be happy to answer them for you.

You can also check out the video with Stephen and I asking all your burning brand strategy questions.

Who’s this for? For those who want the most comprehensive and best value course on the market (in my opinion), with all the systems, tools, worksheets and processes to help you earn specialist fees.

Learn More

 

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Core Discovery for Creatives

Cost: $489-$1729 |  Length: 15 videos, 4 hours | By: The Futur, Jose Caballer

CORE Discovery from The Futur, taught by Jose Caballer, “empowers you, the creative, to hold Discovery work sessions with your clients to define, align and generate insights for all the key stakeholders, allowing you to go from being an “order-taker” to being a powerful strategic leader and valued partner to your clients and community.

This course focuses on a collection 6 key exercises (Culture, Customer, Voice, Feeling, Impact and X-Factor) in which Jose Caballer walks you through in a series of videos. There are templates and explanations and some print outs for live facilitation too.

This is design strategy framework and while it’s one of the more insightful courses on the market, it is tiered towards senior designers who have been in the game some time. A lot of background knowledge is required, which is why I preferred the aforementioned Brand Master Secrets as it teaches you these advanced principles to actually help you position yourself as an expert and be confident in selling through strategy as a service.

On a side note, you could actually learn the fundamentals with Brand Master Secrets then use the CORE framework for your sessions, so they can work in tandem quite well.

Who is this for? CORE is an advanced ‘course’ for those who understand what strategy is and are looking for a framework to help improve their process and facilitate workshops of their own.

Learn More

 

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Activate Your Strategic Brain

Cost: $299 | Length: 8 Hours | By: Stef Hamerlinck

Activate Your Strategic Brain will help you master the fundamentals of brand strategy and become a more valuable designer, allowing you to create better design solutions for your clients.

Although I still in the midst of taking this course, the modules seem quite promising:

• The key concepts: brand purpose, personality, customer, value proposition,…
• How to sell brand strategy and how to price it
• How to do a workshop with your client
• How to think strategically and get beyond the brief
• How to bridge the gap between strategy and design

The course covers the whole spectrum of brand strategy, from selling, facilitating, positioning to preparing for design. The goal is to become a more complete and strategic designer, so you can charge more and create brands that connect with their audience.

Who is this for? Designers who want to jump straight into the core concepts of brand strategy to help better their designs and service offerings, at a slightly more affordable rate.

Learn More

 

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eResonaid by Fabian Geyrhalter

Cost: $957 | Length: 1.5 Hours, 15 Videos | By: Fabian Geyrhalter

Fabian Geyrhalter is an acclaimed brand strategist, author and podcaster, who I had the pleasure of interviewing, and he has taken his one-day brand strategy workshop, which he has done hundreds of times around the world, and made it into an online course, ready for the taking.

eResonaid will help “Define your company, your culture and your story, while drawing your audience into your offering”.

This course consists of 15 videos that range between 3-10 minutes in length, so it’s short and sweet.

But what I found the most valuable, were the PDF worksheets that came with it, including an interactive PDF workbook that acts as your hands-on guide through the course. You can take this and easily apply it for your own clients.

Fabian also offers 2x free 1-on-1 30min advisory calls within the price, but personally I found these a bit salesy, but I get it.

As a bonus, you also receive Fabian’s two branding books in e-book format.

You can easily complete this course in a day, making it an extremely condensed version of strategy, that will help provide brand clarity, without the fluff.

Who this is for? eResonaid is perfect for someone who wants an ultra-condensed version of brand strategy and doesn’t mind spending a bit extra dosh (relative to these other courses) to have everything consolidated, even though it’s far from comprehensive.

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Story Brand (SB7) by Donald Miller

Cost: $275 (yearly subscription) | Length: 10 hours | By: Donald Miller

Although Story Brand (based on the book) is a messaging framework, it’s worth mentioning because it is solid framework to help sell any product or service. In fact, the principles of Brand Story are used on the home page of JUST Creative.

You won’t learn how to become a brand strategist, but you will learn how to hook your customers with a “story brand”.

The basic premise is this:

“A CHARACTER who wants something encounters a PROBLEM before they can get it. At the peak of their despair, a GUIDE steps into their lives gives them a PLAN, and CALLS THEM TO ACTION. That action helps them avoid FAILURE and ends in a SUCCESS.”

Each of these 7 bolded chapters/modules come with actionable step-by-step guides that help you implement what you’ve learned into your own brand. There is also a free online tool that guides you through the implementation process.

This course used to be $1500 but has just recently dropped to $275 as part of their Business Made Simple subscription which now includes three all-new courses on Marketing, Leadership, and Emotional IQ.

Who is this for? Someone who wants to improve their messaging & marketing skills, with an easy to follow framework, at a great value price.

Learn More

 

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LEVEL C – By Marty Neumeier

Cost:  | Length: 1-2 days In person | By: Marty Neumeier

Marty Neumeier, “the grandfather of branding” is running Brand Masterclass Workshops around the world.

Unlike the other courses on this list, this course is done in person, in locations such as London, LA, Philly and Dublin. I am working with their team, to bring him to Australia too.

The workshop is called Level C because they are on a mission to permanently place the role of “BRANDING” in the C-Suite (aka CEO, CBO, CDO).

This best part? This Masterclass Workshop is a certification so when you’re finished, you will become a Certified Brand Specialist.

Graduates from the London masterclass have already used this credential and are leveling up into roles such as Global Director of Marketing, Head of Strategy, Head of Brand, and more — which means higher levels, broader scopes, more influence, better titles, and more money!

Although not technically brand strategy, you master modern brand building disciplines hands-on, and in the process build connections along the way, meaning you can level up together.

It goes without saying, this is a rare opportunity to get up close and personal with some of the best in the industry and get certified in the process.

Seats are extremely limited, so don’t wait too long on this one.

See their website for upcoming locations.

» Los Angeles Brand Masterclass (Sold Out)

» Philadelphia Brand Masterclass (Sold Out)

» Dublin Brand Masterclass – May 6, 2020 ($1060-$1560)

Who is this for? For someone who prefers to work within a classroom format & wants certification to level up their career.

Learn More

 

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Brand Strategy: Build a Business that Lasts on Skillshare

Cost: $10/m (2 Month Free Trial) | Length: 1.5hours | By: Mark Pollard

In this short 1.5 hour crash course from Mark Pollard, you learn how to create a brand that can stand the test of time. Mark breaks down every brand into three categories—Product-centric, Customer-centric, and Vision-centric—and draws out frameworks for understanding how brands can develop and thrive within each. Successful brands need a bit of all three, but as the class progresses Mark shows how one of these types of brands continually outperforms the rest and shares how to move your brand towards this model. You can download a worksheet to follow along and learn how to write out your brand on a single page to distill it into clear and concise terms.

Whether you’re a freelancer, marketer, small business owner, or entrepreneur getting your brand off the ground, this class will give you a deeper understanding of brands, businesses, and quite possibly yourself.

Who’s this for? Someone who wants to dip their toes into the world of brand strategy without too much investment.

Learn More

 

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Free Brand Strategy Courses & Resources

• Skillshare – Type in ‘brand strategy’ into their search (Includes 2 months free trial)
• Archetypal Branding on Udemy – 1.5 hour course on brand archetypes
• Strategyzer – 30+ downloads & videos that you can use to better design, test, and assess your business
• The Futur’s YouTube Channel – See their video on How to become a brand strategist

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Courses & Resources Coming Soon…

• Brand Builder Academy by Mash Bonigala – Date TBD
• Brand Clarity by Aventive Studio – Date TBD (Join the mailing list for 50% off)
• Melinda Livsey’s Brand Strategy Bootcamp 2020 – Date TBD (Sign up to waitlist)

Have another brand strategy course or resource to add? Please let me know!