#creative-tools

#creative-tools

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Illustrator, designer and co-publisher behind Caboose Books, Clay Hickson joined us in Los Angeles to talk about finding self expression through chosen sketchbooks and pens, both of which are key to his own creative practice and illustration process.

There is no greater feeling than seeing a child open their birthday gift from you and knowing you TOTALLY nailed it.

Creative professionals live between the tangible and the imagined. Their tools need to keep pace with ideas that arrive at odd hours and demand immediate capture. Finding gifts that match this rhythm means looking beyond generic stationery sets toward objects that respect both craft and practicality. These five selections balance functionality with thoughtful design, each priced under fifty dollars and built to earn permanent desk space.

The dawn of the artificial intelligence (AI) era for creative agencies is upon us and it will represent a massive sea change in how work is produced forever. Agencies will all soon be using readily available and easy-to-adopt smart-copy generation tools like Jasper for content creation, hyper-charging SEO results with Surfer and making royalty-free music for campaigns with platforms like Boomy.

Creative work demands tools that are both precise and intuitive, but most input devices stick to the same formulas that have existed for decades. You've got your mouse, maybe a graphics tablet, and countless keyboard shortcuts to memorize. The result is a workflow that feels fragmented, forcing you to juggle multiple devices instead of focusing on actual creative decisions. The id360 TOUCHSTONE concept imagines a different approach entirely.

Google's new Create tab in Photos offers powerful editing tools that enable users to transform photos creatively, including adding 3D effects, creating collages, and turning photos into videos.

The heart of Spark is Spark Shot, an interactive scene builder that works like a virtual set, accessible directly in the browser.

Users won’t always report design issues, but they'll feel disruptions in momentum when such friction points arise in creative tools.

The beauty of budget photography lies not in expensive equipment but in smart choices that maximize creative potential.

The 3Doodler Pro pen (2025) has exceptional performance and potential, standing out as one of the best 3D pens available for creative professionals and industrial uses.

ON1 Photo Raw offers a way to organize and edit vast collections of raw files from photo shoots, elevating its capabilities with the latest release. This software is available for both PC and Mac users.

"We understood that what holds users back is not the technology, but the frictions in the usage model," says Freepik co-founder and CEO Joaquín Cuenca. "Instead of counting tokens or worrying about how many images they can generate, we want them to focus on creating."

Maxon is running a special deal on Maxon One, offering 40% off on key 3D software like Cinema 4D and ZBrush, ideal for creatives.

The Apple Pencil Pro is at its lowest price since its release last year, making it an attractive option for creative tasks with advanced features.

Epic Games and the Lego Group are introducing new updates to Unreal Editor for Fortnite that significantly enhance building and creativity through Lego's digital system.

The AlgoLaser Pixi is a compact and fully featured laser cutter designed for beginners, requiring minimal setup and providing accessibility for creative projects.

In the decades preceding my discovery of Canva, I spent years of my life in PowerPoint and Adobe Photoshop.

The Wacom Intuos Pro, with 8,192 pressure sensitivity levels, is ideal for digital artists but requires additional equipment like an external screen.