Hi! I am Andolaurina. Digital artist. Traditional artist. 3D developer. Graphic Designer. Writer. I am a freelance artist, and I also sell 3D content at Renderosity and Content Paradise. How can I help you with your illustration, artwork and writing projects?
SALE! This week I have quite a few products on sale at Content Paradise.
Check out these gorgeous color palettes handpicked by Andolaurina. You will find 14 designer-quality color swatch groupings, perfect for Christmas web design, Christmas cards, artwork, brochures, programs, children’s rooms and much more. All palettes are ready to go in HTML HEX colors.
Enjoy & Merry Christmas!
It’s almost time for Christmas, a commonly celebrated holiday to some degree worldwide and especially in predominantly Christian countries. Want to spread a little Christmas cheer? Here are some tips and goodies to get you started designing this year!
Design Basics: Why Christmas?
If you live in a country where Christmas isn’t celebrated much or is purely secular in nature, you might not be familiar with all of the Western nuances of Christmas. (Westerners, bear with me… 
)
What is Christmas? Well, it all started to honor the birth of Jesus Christ (Christ means Messiah), hence the name “Christmas.” Christians believe that Jesus is the Son of God and came to earth to save humankind from their sins and restore their relationships with God. Today, Christmas is one of the pivotal holidays for Christians (along with Easter).
During Medieval times, celebrating Epiphany (Theophany) was actually more popular than Christmas. However, Christmas as a holiday was revitalized in popularity during Victorian times (1800s), in part due to the popularity of Charles Dickens’ novel, A Christmas Carol. Since then, families have adopted all sorts of traditions across the world, including Santa Claus bringing gifts each Christmas Eve, decorating homes with evergreen garland and decorated trees, hosting parties for family and friends and much more.
Most countries celebrate Christmas—the day of Jesus’ birth—on December 25th, although this date 
is commonly believed to be more tied to ancient Roman celebrations of the winter solstice than on the actual date Jesus was born. Some countries such as Russia, Georgia, Egypt, Armenia, the Ukraine and Serbia celebrate Christmas according to the Julian calendar which places the date of Jesus’ birth on January 7th. Some branches of Christianity still celebrate Epiphany as much or more than Christmas. Christmas is not a formal public holiday in China, (excepting Hong Kong and Macao), Japan, Saudi Arabia, Algeria, Thailand, Nepal, Iran, Turkey and North Korea.
Christmas is a time…
Here are a handful of places where you can learn more about Christmas:
Design Motifs
Here are some typical symbols of the holiday season to include in your art:
Typical Design Colors
Ready for the Super-Freebies???
Here are a few Christmas- and winter-themed freebies to help you create some inspired artwork and designs for the holidays. Most all of them can be used commercially as well as personally, but always check the terms of use. Some require attribution.
Enjoy, re-tweet & please leave a comment – thanks!
Merry Christmas!
Freebie Photoshop Brushes
SUPER-FREEBIE #1: Cute Christmas brush pack
SUPER-FREEBIE #2: Christmas tree brushes pack
SUPER-FREEBIE #3: Christmas vector brushes and PNGs
SUPER-FREEBIE #4: Snow brushes
SUPER-FREEBIE #5: Snowflake vector brushes and images pack
SUPER-FREEBIE #6: Snowflake brushes pack
SUPER-FREEBIE #7: Another snowflake brush package
SUPER-FREEBIE #8: Snow + Flakes brushes and PNG images pack
SUPER-FREEBIE #9: Christmas ornament brush pack
SUPER-FREEBIE #10: Christmas Tweee Brushes
SUPER-FREEBIE #11: Coolwing’s Christmas Brushes
SUPER-FREEBIE #12: Holiday brushes and vectors
SUPER-FREEBIE #13: Christmas tree branches brushes
SUPER-FREEBIE #14: Frost Brushes
SUPER-FREEBIE #15: Christmasy Brushes
SUPER-FREEBIE #16: Christmas Brushes by Yasny-Chan
SUPER-FREEBIE #17: Snowtime brushes
SUPER-FREEBIE #18: Christmas Cookie Brushes
SUPER-FREEBIE #19: Holiday Brushes (some Hanukkah as well)
Freebie Photoshop Patterns
SUPER-FREEBIE #20: PS Christmas Patterns
SUPER-FREEBIE #21: Vintage Retro Christmas Patterns
SUPER-FREEBIE #22: Cute Christmas Patterns
SUPER-FREEBIE #23: 36 Christmas 09 Patterns
SUPER-FREEBIE #24: Christmas Day Patterns
SUPER-FREEBIE #25: Gold & Silver Snowflake Patterns
Freebie Vectors & PNGs & Clipart!
SUPER-FREEBIE #26: 19 Awesome Christmas Vectors
SUPER-FREEBIE #27: Christmas free vector set vol. 2 by Pink Moustache
SUPER-FREEBIE #28: Christmas free vector set vol. 1 by Pink Moustache
SUPER-FREEBIE #29: Snowflake vectors
SUPER-FREEBIE #30: Christmas lights transparent PNGs
SUPER-FREEBIE #31: Christmas Ribbons and Ornaments transparent PNGs
SUPER-FREEBIE #32: Christmas gift and background vector set
SUPER-FREEBIE #33: Vector Christmas backgrounds and titles
SUPER-FREEBIE #34: Vector Christmas ornaments on background
SUPER-FREEBIE #35: Christmas vector frames
SUPER-FREEBIE #36: Christmas vector icons
SUPER-FREEBIE #37: Stylized Christmas tree vector set
SUPER-FREEBIE #38: Christmas ornament vectors
SUPER-FREEBIE #39: Christmas vectors + brush sample set
SUPER-FREEBIE #40: Gingerbread cookies vectors
SUPER-FREEBIE #41: Doodled Christmas tree vector patterns
SUPER-FREEBIE #42: Santa vector
SUPER-FREEBIE #43: Vintage Christmas Clipart (Many pieces of clipart to choose from)
SUPER-FREEBIE #44: Christian-Themed Christmas Clipart (Many pieces of clipart to choose)
SUPER-FREEBIE #45: Tons of free Christmas clipart (lots of vintage Victorian)
SUPER-FREEBIE #46: Christmas elf vector
Other Stuff
SUPER-FREEBIE #47: Vintage Christmas Photoshop Actions
SUPER-FREEBIE #48: Gimp Animated Snowfall Action
SUPER-FREEBIE #49: Snow text Photoshop Action
SUPER-FREEBIE #50: Christmas Photoshop Styles
BONUS: SUPER-FREEBIE #51: Photoshop Christmas Styles
I hope you enjoyed this article. Please leave me a comment and let me know what you think!
Merry Christmas! Andolaurina.
It’s almost time for our Thanksgiving holiday here in the United States. It’s a time of thankfulness towards God, our family and friends for all the blessings in our lives.
Typical symbols of the holiday include turkeys, autumn colored leaves, pumpkins, cornucopias, trees as well as colors such as red, gold, green, orange and brown.
Here are a few autumn-themed freebies to help you create some inspired artwork and designs for the season. Most all of them can be used commercially as well as personally, but always check the terms of use. Some require attribution.
Enjoy, re-tweet & please leave a comment – thanks!
Happy Thanksgiving!
Thanksgiving III Photoshop Brushes
Distressed Leaf Photoshop Brushes
Thanksgiving Photoshop Brushes
Branches Photoshop Brushes
10 Fall Leaves Photoshop Brush Set
Leaves Brushes Mega Pack
32 Ultra Photoshop Quality Leaf Brushes
Autumn Leaves
Tennessee Leaves Photoshop Brushes
Branches & Foliage Photoshop Brushes
Autumn Decoration Photoshop Brushes
Autumn Photoshop Brush Set
Autumn Fairytale Photoshop Brush Set
Autumn Wings PSD File
Turkey PSD File
Autumn Butterfly Wings PSD File
Autumn-Colored Vintage Photoshop Gradients
Autumn Photoshop Gradients
Autumn-Toned Photoshop Actions
More Autumn-Toned Photoshop Actions
Autumn Leaves – Gimp Active Brush Set
Cornucopia Stock Photo
Harvest Bokeh Stock Photo
Pumpkin Texture Stock Photo
Fall Stripes Texture
Fallen Autumn Leaves Transparent PNGs
Corn Stock Photo
Vintage Thanksgiving Postcard
Turkey Stock Photo
Squirrel & Nut Stock Photo
Autumn Mucha Portrait Photo Pack
