FREE RESOURCES

Books

The following are free e-books that are of great help from starting to be creative, maintaining creativity, and how to manage it all when it becomes overwhelming. 

The Creative Aid Handbook

Co-creators of this book -Richard Tapp and Nicole Smith of Kooroo Kooroo- rightly describe this book as an outside-of-the-box resource to get your creative juices flowing: “We wrote, designed, and illustrated a book featuring unusual tips to nurture your creative well-being, boost your creative intellect and foster internal inspiration. Meant to serve as a mini-resource for your creative projects and food for your creative thoughts.” And included with this is free companion artwork you can download as well in AI format: “This means you are free to download, keep, re-use and alter all art for whatever creative needs, purposes or endeavors you may have.”

You can read the book at:
https://prodesigntools.com/pdf/Creative%20Aid%20Booklet.pdf
... And download the artwork at:
https://prodesigntools.com/pdf/Creative%20Aid%20Art%202.ai

Creative Turnaround

This book contains inspiring and practical advice from world-class experts on how to take your own vision and turn it into a reality. Creativelive created this guide as a free gift the hopes that something here will move you to open your heart and take a risk: start a project, share your work, leave your day job, follow your dream, start your own business. Wherever your creative passion takes you, this can be a helpful resource for you at every step of the journey. So what are you waiting for? Go for it and good luck!

You can read the book at:
https://www.creativelive.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2015/06/Creative-Turnaround-2015-PDF.pdf

The Creative Self Workbook
When was the last time you felt connected to your creative self? This book is an invitation for you to engage with your creative self as a practice, over five days of exploratory exercises designed by creative coach Tina Essmaker. In these pages, you’ll begin with discovering, or rediscov­ering, your voice and purpose. Then you’ll think about how you can best nurture the parts of yourself that support your creativity. You’ll be encouraged to consider people who are a source of strength to you and communities where you can thrive creatively. Ultimately, you’ll be asked to lay the foundation for an ongoing practice that embraces actions and truths to sustain you into the future and continue long beyond today.

What is Creativity?
“Be more creative” is something we hear often, but what does it mean to be creative? Written and illustrated by Shelli Walsh, the book is an intro­duction to what creative thinking is, with nine chapters to teach thinking skills and techniques on how to be more creative. It’s chock full of helpful tips and inspirational quotes from luminaries that you probably have never heard before. The second half of the book asks noted industry thought leaders five key questions about what inspires them, entitled “What does creativity mean to you?”
How to be Creative
Author Hugh MacLeod -an advertising executive and popular blogger with a flair for the creative- gives his 26 tried-and-true tips for being truly creative. highlights the value of authenticity and hard work, and reveals the challenges and rewards of being creative. Caution: this book does contain some colorful language.
Time Management for Creative People
One of the curse of being a creative person is not having the best track of time. And so, in order to create anything well, you’ve got to have the time to get it done. And while our increasingly digital and con­nect­ed world brings great promises, it also brings great distractions. Happily for us, longtime business coach and trainer, author Mark McGuinness has learned a lot about what it takes to get original work done in the midst of the demands and distractions of the 21st-century.It’s full of practical advice for creatives, including: Finding the method in your creative madness, Identifying and prioritizing your most important work, Getting in the right state of mind for focused work, How to minimize interruptions and distractions, Managing e-mail effectively and How to remember – and fulfill – all your important commitments.

Software
The following are free online games that'll not only help hone your digital design skills, 
but also let you have some fun along the way!

Pixactly

Pixactly is great free online game that puts your intuitive feel for pixels and on-screen dimensions to the test by firing out dimensions. You're then challenged to produce rectangles with the requirement measurements. It sounds easy but it's not, and if you're hopeless, the game won't pull its punches!

Click the link to play:
https://www.pixact.ly/

Kern Type
Kern Type is a fiendish game that explores the science – or black art – of kerning. Game play is simple. You're presented with a word whose kerning leaves a little to be desired. Just pick up the letters and sort out their spacing. You'll need a steady hand, a sharp eye and plenty of finesse. Each new round ushers in a different typeface. It's great fun and good practice.

Click the link to play! 
https://type.method.ac/#

Hex Invaders

The aliens are coming and it's your job to save the world! Hex invaders is a variation on the classic Space Invaders. As you play, the game flashes up a color's hex code and you're tasked with taking aim at the invader whose color corresponds with the code. Beware: This game is addictive!

Click the link to play!
http://www.hexinvaders.com/

The Bézier Game

The Bézier Game is designed to help designers master Photoshop's Pen tool. As you play, the game displays shapes and you need to redraw them using only the prescribed number of clicks or nodes. As each turn progresses, the shapes become more complex. You'll even be introduced to some super useful keyboard shortcuts!

Click the link to play!
https://bezier.method.ac/

I Shot the Serif
This is an awesome game to help you get more familiar with fonts. To be a winner at I Shot The Serif you need to take aim at the serifs and leave the sans typefaces alone. It sounds easy but, given the time constraints, it's surprisingly difficult. If you're a winner, you'd be promoted from junior, through middle-weight and hopefully right up to senior.

Click the link to play!
https://www.tothepoint.co.uk/us/fun/i-shot-the-serif/

BONUS RECOMENDATIONS

The following books aren't free, but I've added them here as a recommendation because they have also been of great help as a result of containing detailed insight not normally found in traditional learning, but from people who have "been there".

One Little Spark!: Mickey's Ten Commandments and the Road to Imagineering

This book by imgaineer Marty Sklar and 48 of the current 75 Imagineers is about the famous "Commandments" imagineers use when creating: Know your audience, Wear your guest's shoes, Organize the flow of people and ideas, Create a “weenie” ,Communicate with visual literacy, Avoid overload, Tell one story at a time, Avoid contradiction, For every ounce of treatment, provide a lot of fun, and Keep it up, Plus some bonus "commandments": Story, Mentor, Education, Collaboration, Be Curious, Become The Best.

Starting Your Career as a Theatrical Designer: Insights and Advice from Leading Broadway Designers

This is a really remarkable book for the simplicity of its goal: to talk to working designers about how they got started and how they maintain a career in the theater industry. Each interview is illuminating and unique, showcasing the determination and sacrifices it takes to work as a designer. So many books give you reference for how to design but how to make a career is terrifying. To hear the point of view of so many inspiring designers is thrilling. And sage advice by way of true experience is priceless. 

Vision and Art
(Updated and Expanded Edition)

When it comes to lighting design, I especially loved the 2nd half of the book that chronicles how artists discovered and exploited the many concepts of human vision and perception. Overall this book synthesizes biological vision and artistic ideas. There are many points of overlap between the biology of sight and artistic practices. It will be useful for artists who want a deep understanding of the "mechanisms" that help them create.

Theme Park Design & The Art of Themed Entertainment

A great  textbook or encyclopedia for designing immersive experiences. It goes into so much about Disney's concept of "Imagineering". Combining their Hollywood skills with Engineering know-how to create their amazing parks and attractions. The level of detail in the book is astounding. It gives great info on how everything is examined. Everything is deliberately designed. Everything serves and tells a story. 

DIY

"Hologram" Special Effect

I created a nativity scene in which an angel would appear and disappear from a cloud of sparkles. The effect was created using the principle of the "Pepper's Ghost" illusion where you can adapt to your themed project to turn virtually anything into what looks like a hologram. My project got a great reaction and if you would like the same, feel free to download the attached PDF in which I describe how I built mine. Have fun! 

P.S. if you have any questions regarding this build, please don't hesitate to contact me!