Watercolor art is no longer exclusively for the canvas. More and more sites are taking the brush to the screen and incorporating some beautiful hand-painted creations. Intersecting mediums provides a fresh approach to a web design and the look achieved with water color for the web is fantastic. As you browse this selection, notice the effect that brush strokes have and allow these 25 watercolor web designs to inspire you.

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Globalization is one of the biggest business buzzwords of the 21st century. Companies of all sizes can operate internationally, thanks to the advent of the Internet era and affordable methods of online marketing, communications and networking. With this in mind, there are several points worth observing when building a website for an international audience.

In this photoshop text effect tutorial we’ll be creating a grungy, burnt wood text treatment. We’ll go over some basic blending modes and use some filters and layer styles to create a look that would be perfect for a Hollywood movie poster.

Visual Swirl and Emma Looney are proud to present the third installment of your Desktop Wallpaper Calendars for 2010. March’s calendar is another beautiful example of the work of graphic designer, Emma Looney. Keep reading for a little insight from Emma about this month’s design.

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Just getting started in design? Tempted to try out crowdsourcing or spec work? Before you head down that path check out these 99 alternatives to build your portfolio, expand your skill set, and make a few bucks.

There’s been quite the uproar from the design community in the last few years over the phenomenon known as crowdsourcing. Hailed to be the answer for cheap, easy design projects for businesses, crowdsourcing is the process of sending out design requests to a large number of designers with the expectation to pick from finished work rather than pitches or proposals. Dozens, if not hundreds, of designers “compete” to win a bid based solely on their best guess at what the client requires from their brief. This article looks at one instance where a designer can benefit from the crowdsourcing model.

Fire photography captures moments of the awesome power of vapors and flames. This collection of 22 fire photography examples displays various states of it’s existence and qualities, from the spark of a match to the explosion of a fireball.

Articles, resources, tutorials and inspiration from around the web. Kick off your weekend with some tasty snacks.