Digital artists make their work available for free

The simplest ideas are often the best, and here's a case in point. TEN is an annual creative challenge set by stock image library Fotolia involving 10 artists, 10 themes, 10 months and 10 PSDs.

Now back for a third season, Fotolia is pairing 10 internationally renowned artists into five pairs of one photographer, one designer. These pairs will each create an original digital artwork depicting their vision of the future. Each of these will be made available to the community as a free download on - you guessed it - the 10th of each month.

The first duo, Quebecois photographer Eric Pare, and Michigan designer Mike Campeau, will present "Creating Her Own Future" on Monday 10 March, when a PSD can be downloaded free for 24 hours at www.tenbyfotolia.com.

The PSD file includes all the layers, effects, photographic meter settings, as well as the Fotolia source files. A free 'making-of' tutorial video, sharing the artists' techniques and creative processes will also be available. Photos used to create the image, and 10 more taken during the shoot will be made available to buy at www.fotolia.com. Here's the teaser trailer:

And then it's your turn

As well as appreciating the artists' work, Fotolia wants you to do better. So on 12 March, the TEN Contest launches, calling upon designers and photographers everywhere to challenge all five duos. Full details can be found at www.tenbyfotolia.com.

Prizes for winners include Wacom tablets, subscriptions to Adobe Creative Cloud, Roland VersaStudio BN-20 printers, Exaprint prints, and more. The closing date to upload your entry to the Facebook page is 31 March.

Liked this? Read these!

• The golden rules for digital icons
• The best free cursive fonts
• Useful and inspiring flyer templates
• The designer's guide to special characters