In the spirit of digital technology, we decided this week to spotlight some of our favorite websites that we use to help build our skills, create pieces, and connect with customers. Of course, there are the obligatory social media, Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, etc, but this is a deeper dive into those tools that we have discovered that have made our lives easier in one way or another.
Tools
- Canva (https://canva.com/) – online graphic design tool. We use this for creating patterns, social media posts, banners, and mockups
- Rapid Resizer (https://www.rapidresizer.com/) – Create heat-transferable patterns. Resize existing designs or make your own
- Meta Business Suite (https://business.facebook.com/) – Manage your social media accounts and schedule posts for your Facebook and Instagram audiences
Education
- Teachable (https://teachable.com/) – Offers courses to learn a wide range of skills. I’ve used this to teach myself Procreate and Macrame
- YouTube (https://www.youtube.com/) – The definitive website for free and on-demand content to learn just about anything
- Udemy (https://www.udemy.com/) – One of the largest online learning marketplaces on the web. Brian uses them for music and technology but they have an instructor for just about any craft under the sun.
Fonts / SVGs / Stock Images / Inspirations
- Design Bundles (https://designbundles.net/) – A great resource for both paid and free SVGs to use as templates as well as AI image generation. They run One Dollar Wednesdays and Saturdays where they offer deep discounts on individual images and bundles
- Design Cuts (https://www.designcuts.com/) – Tons of resources for creatives (fonts, brushes, textures, SVGs) as well live streams on how to use them held by the artists who create the products for sale on the site
- Creative Fabrica (https://www.creativefabrica.com/) – Fonts and SVGs as well as AI tools to use for inspiration. If you sign up for a paid subscription you get all-inclusive access to everything on their site.
- Creative Market (https://creativemarket.com/) – SVGs and some fonts. If you sign up for their email they send out weekly fonts for free. A good selection of Procreate brushes. Plenty of free resources as well
- Pexels (https://www.pexels.com/) – Free high-quality, professional stock images
- Deviantart (https://deviantart.com/) – A community for artists to post their work. Great for finding inspiration
Opportunities
- Eventeny (https://www.eventeny.com/) – Platform for artists to find and participate in pop-ups, markets, and festivals
- ZAPP (https://www.zapplication.org/) – Platform for finding and participating in Juried Shows
We hope you found this list helpful. Did we leave something out? Tag us @bz_furfur and let us know your favorite tools. Until next time, stay unique.
