Oakley is offering a fantastic opportunity in the form of its Design Brief challenge. The idea is to design a pair of Oakley Hijinx sunglasses and its packaging - and anything goes! I reckon that this is the most exciting challenge I’ve seen for a while and reckon that it’s the opportunity of a lifetime for the designer picked as the winner. You can find out more on the challenge’s website: www.oakleydesignbrief.com.
In issue 45 of Advanced Photoshop we had a great tutorial by Doug Sirois on fantasy painting. Now he has released his first book, showcasing his favourite paintings and sketches. It is definitely worth a look and you can see it at http://stores.lulu.com/dasillustration for the incredibly generous price of £11.02.
I love Blurb.com for creating professional-looking books, and I am sure that if you haven't already taken a look, you'll be just as enthusiastic as me when you do. Now you can enter your self-published photography titles into a competition to win $25,000 to start (or finish) a project of your choosing. Of course, the prestigious award also comes with worldwide recognition, so it's perfect for anyone who wants to get their photography seen. Entires are being judged by a pretty impressive panel of editors, publishers, curators and photographers. If you have published your photography book through Blurb, then it's all pretty easy, as you don't need to send anyone a copy of your book - Blurb will make sure that the jurors get their hands on one. And if you've published a book using a different service, you can still enter. Find out more, as well as access entry forms and terms and conditions, at www.photographybooknow.com.
The Coningsby Gallery is hosting an exhibition showing off the works of two fantastic illustrators. Jim Smith (www.waldopancake.com) is an ‘illustrator, designer and copywriter specialising in humorous, comic approaches’ and Alice Daisy Smith (www.alicepictures.co.uk) has had success with her children's book I'm SO over fairies, published by Orion, and also has her own range of greeting cards with The Artgroup. You can find out more about the exhibition at www.coningsbygallery.com.
Yorkshire Sculpture Park is currently featuring the work of two international artists: Sophie Ryder and Helen Escobedo. Both are open air, and Ryder’s work will be on view also in the Longside Gallery, with Escobedo’s work also in the YSP Centre Upper Space. The former artist’s work is wire wall drawings and freestanding wire and bronze works, while the latter’s work comprises 25 cylindrical sculptures. Find out more about the Yorkshire Sculpture Park, one of Europe’s leading open-air galleries, at www.ysp.co.uk.
In order to keep the magazine relevant, I want to know which tutorials you enjoy in the magazine and which you don't. Head over to http://www.advancedphotoshop.co.uk/forum/viewtopic.php?t=1394 to enter our poll and leave your comments. I will take on board your votes and comments to make sure that there's more of what you want and less of what you don't in the mag.