It's almost that time of year again and if you're scratching your head wondering what to get the digital or 3D artist, graphic designer or general creative in your life, then look no further.
The Creative Bloq team spend hours testing and writing about products for creatives all year long, and here, I've gathered up the team's recommendations into one simple guide to Christmas gifts for the creative in your life. I've divided them up by price.
Under $50 / £50
Rock, Paper, Pencil is a great gift for digital artists, says our editor, digital art and 3D, Ian Dean. "I've been using Rock, Paper, Pencil on my iPad Pro for a year and the mag-strips have finally begun to tear off, just in time to get a replacement this Black Friday. Rock, Paper, Pencil sits on top of your iPad screen and offers a subtle textured, anti-glare finish that feels just like paper. If you love digital painting on iPad, or have a friend who does, but hate the 'slide' of the display, this is a perfect solution."
Our ecommerce writer, Beth Nicholls, is a 3D printing enthusiast, and it was a 3D pen that initially piqued her interest. "Before getting fully into 3D printing, I dabbled with using a 3D pen to bring my creations to life," she recalls. "It took a bit of trial and error, but I absolutely loved the creative freedom and results that it produced, and I was able to make tiny little cameras out of wood filament.
"Now, I mainly use my 3D pen for patching up any errors in my larger 3D model projects, but if you're someone looking to give it a go then I can't recommend a 3D pen enough. The 3Doodler Start+ is aimed mainly at children for its safe design, but it's also an excellent choice for beginners and adults to get to grips with.
Natalie Fear, Creative Bloq's staff writer, recommends a needle felting kit for the creative in your life. "Needle felting is my favourite way to flex my creative muscles away from the screen," she says. "It’s a very forgiving beginner friendly hobby and there are plenty of starter kits available. As a cat lover, I adore this little feline themed kit. It comes with all the kit you need including finger cots and a needle felting pad – trust me you'll need them, it can be a treacherous hobby."
The link above is for a needle felting kit in the US, buy a needle felting kit for £25.99 on Amazon UK.
Creative Bloq's regular freelancer, Joe Foley, chose a classic Moleskine notebook as his ideal gift. "With tablets and phones, we can now take notes and even sketch digitally wherever we find ourselves, but there's still something about putting pen or pencil to paper that feels more fluid and immediate – perhaps even more inspiring in a way. And it means you can escape from your electronics for a moment and avoid all the distractions that come with them.
"Moleskine notebooks are still the classiest that I've found, with thick paper and quality binding. They come in many sizes and presentations and are delight to use be it for notetaking or sketching."
These markers come in a pack of 60 and are really fun to use. The quality is excellent for the price and I had a great time trying out the range of different colours. They include a brush tip and a fineliner, which really is nice and thin for detailed work and they are "paper-friendly" so they don't bleed through paper.
If you want to go bigger, then I also recommend Ohuhu's Honolulu 320 marker set, although these do tend to bleed through paper so you'll need to get special marker pad.
Creative Bloq's sister magazine ImagineFX makes a great gift. Signing up to either a digital or a print subscription means the price you'll pay per issue is an absolute bargain. The magazine is packed full of advice and inspiration from the world's most exciting digital and traditional artists and the step-by-step tutorials enable you to hone your own art skills, too. Single back issues are also available to buy.
$50 - $100 / £50 - £100
Our design editor, Daniel John, was gifted the Kaweco Brass Sport pen a few years ago by the Creative Bloq team, and it remains his top pick. "'If only I had the right [insert implement], I would be able to write,’ most unproductive writers have thought at some point or other. Turns out for me, it was metallic rollerball," he says. "Since being gifted this beautiful pen, which looks, feels and even smells like an antique, I’ve been much more inclined to put pen to paper. The admiring glances I receive while using it in a cafe may only be in my imagination, but that’s enough for me."
I recently received a Prixel DIY Rubber Stamp Kit and I quickly became completely addicted to it. You use the little rubber stamp pieces (handily divided into sections in the box provided) to make your design on the plate, use the ink to colour it and then press it down into your paper and you've made a print! I feel like I've only just started to get the hang of it by making a bat (pictured above), but the possibilities really are endless. It comes with an Ideas Book to get you started and is one that a range of ages would enjoy – though it's not for very young children as the pieces are very small.
Over $100 / £100
Our tech reviews editor works from home, and has found that since he got the Majority Homerton 2 for his kitchen, spending time in there to cook, wash the dishes and do laundry has become less of a chore. It's got Bluetooth, DAB, FM radio, internet radio, Spotify Connect and a good old-fashioned CD player." How does this help his creativity? "Making that part of my day more efficient and fun has then helped me be less distracted at work, so it's a win-win for work and home," he says.
The Majoirty Homerton 2 is only available in the UK, but this Nostalgic Bluetooth Stereo System is similar, and costs $74.79 from Amazon.
The Kindle Paperwhite provides a great way to switch off from other screens and mimics the feel of paper. Our editor, Georgia Coggan, is a fan. "I like it because it does the job simply, and stops me getting distracted like other tablets would. The display being like paper is important for me as well because of wanting to reduce screen time. Sometimes I use Kindle Unlimited if I know I’ll be reading a lot but I also like to buy books."
If you've got a bit more money to spend, then we're sure the creative in your life would appreciate a new pair of headphones. Apple's AirPods Pro 2 are our ecommerce editor, Beren Neale's, favourite. "I can't seem to get any work done without music, and when I'm working out and about, I don't have the luxury of blasting my music from my PC speakers. That's why high quality earbuds are so important to me. And the AirPods Pro 2 are in a class of their own – great audio quality, and some of the best noise cancellation available," he says.
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