Some time ago, I wrote about Communication Arts—an ultra-professional graphic design magazine that’s a great source of inspiration. Computer Arts, the topic of today’s post, is often confused with Communication Arts, probably because the two magazines have very similar names. Computer Arts is however something very different, though no less inspiring.

UK-based Computer Arts produces several monthly magazines: Computer Arts, Computer Arts Projects, 3D World, and MacFormat. The last two are highly specialized, but the first two are incredibly useful to digital artists and designers of all sorts.

Computer Arts Projects covers a different theme in-depth every month.

Computer Arts is geared towards digital artists and illustrators. It always includes great tutorials, product reviews, artist profiles, and a CD-ROM full of software and other goodies. Computer Arts Projects is quite similar, but as the name suggests, it’s slightly more instructional in nature. Also, each issue of Computer Arts Projects is built around a specific theme.

I just picked up the “Create Perfect Characters” issue of Computer Arts Projects. It explores many areas of character artistry, everything from development to animating in Flash and After Effects, designing in 3D software, even sewing a plush character. To be honest, I only grabbed this issue because it contains a feature on one of my favorite character designers, Pete Fowler, but honestly, the magazine as a whole really inspired me. The artist and classic character profiles as well as the detailed tutorials will make you want to create your own character right away. The included CD-ROM and vinyl toy are just icing on the cake.

Since these magazines are UK imports, they aren’t cheap, so do your shopping carefully. Computer Arts is worth subscribing to if you like tutorials and reviews. Computer Arts Projects, on the other hand, is kind of a hit-or-miss proposition. One month’s issue may be about portfolios (November 2007), information every designer can benefit from, while another may be about sci-fi art (July 2005), which doesn’t appeal to everyone.

Even if you’re not ready to pick up an issue, the CA website should be a frequent stop for daily news, forums, and inspiration. Complete tutorials from all four CA publications can also be found on the site, so you can brush up on your 3D skills or learn new Photoshop special effects, with help from some of today’s hippest digital artists.

Learn to create cloth in 3D Studio Max on the Computer Arts site.

I realized something when writing about Communication Arts and now Computer Arts; I get much more from magazines than books these days. Both can be useful references, and of course, books dive deeper into major software topics. But magazines combine the most current information with trendy visuals, and individual issues deal specifically with the latest software and provide a look at today’s top designs and designers. Plus, magazines just look cooler on your coffee table.

This entry was posted on Monday, October 29th, 2007 at 2:54 pm and is filed under Book Reviews, RESOURCES. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.