Nuts and Bolts: Re-invent your Creativity – No Change, No Gain.
Now that 2020 is upon us, what are your goals to increase profitability within GCU? Do you wish to
increase your sales? Are you hoping to be rewarded for all the long hours you’ve invested in designing?
If the answer to these questions is YES, then allow me to share with you how I have turned things
around and now enjoying the monetary results of my hard work.
admit, I knew zilch about designing cards. Photography was my thing at the time so I started submitting
tons of flowers and bird photos. Popped a title on the top then waited and waited for them to sell. Then I
realized I had to be more creative in what I submitted. That’s when I started my journey with Photoshop
and began to teach myself that program. Little by little my cards became a little more interesting as I
added different elements to my cards.
have added Illustrator to my workload and am presently teaching myself new things to help make
my cards more interesting.
felt they’re getting anywhere in sales, is to stop and begin to think of ways you can REINVENT YOUR CREATIVITY.
We’ve all heard that saying, If you continue to do what you’ve always done, you’ll continue to get the
same results. Think about that? That’s what I discovered. I knew I had to find ways to make my cards
more interesting and stand out.
first one I submitted I had to laugh at the reviewer’s comment which was, “Her face doesn’t match the sweetness your card speaks of, actually she looks a little naughty. Please try to make her expression look sweet.” My thoughts were, yep, she’s right but I can’t do it.
So I researched faces of graphic little girl images online and could see the error in my ways. After picking up ideas how to change her hair and eyes from observing other graphics I redesigned her
and submitted the design for the 2 nd time thinking it was a good improvement, however, the reviewer came back and said, “We’re getting there, much better but still not quite right because
she looks startled, please try again.” My thoughts were, AGAIN, I don’t think I can improve it any more but I was still determined to get it right and attempted to improve it for the 3rd time.
After carefully observing the graphic faces of little girls and getting ideas about what I could do to make them look sweeter, I went back to the drawing board for the 3rd try but this time I had a good feeling I got it right . . . she looks much sweeter and so I submitted it. The reviewer was pleased and approved the card and was very appreciative I put in the effort taking take her advice.
My simple and humble advice to those beginning and those trying to increase their sales is simply look for ways to improve your designs. Use unique fonts for titles and don’t be afraid to change fonts within the title for interest. Placement of the design on the card is huge and doesn’t always have to be centered. Get those creative juices flowing.
Strive to make your cards stand out from the others by having something in the design that grabs the attention of the consumer. It might only be a vivid color. The sky’s the limit.
Research other designs on the internet to get ideas but use your artistic abilities to make them your creation. There are plenty of tutorials and tools out there that can aid in teaching you knew things through Photoshop, Illustrator and other great programs that will help you achieve and be the best you can be in designing your cards.
Bottom line, GET OUT OF THE BOX and start learning new techniques and incorporate new ideas into your designs and you’ll be surprised by what you are capable of. Make it a point every day to learn something new because it will give new life to your designs which equal more sales. So, if you want to be successful and make all those long and hard hours you put into designing pay-off, you MUST keep learning and finding new ways to improve your designs. You can do it!
Thank you to Trudy for sharing her improvement process and not hesitating to step out of the box to
learn something new. And a big thank you for working so well with the GCU review team to make your
submissions marketable and the best that they can be.
GCU Community Manager
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Wanted New Cards: Thank You Host Football Watching Party
Remember, when you’re submitting your new Stock Card, add a little note about the intended category in your Notes to Reviewers. Be inventive, be clever, be creative. Good luck!
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Freebie Wednesday: Vervelle Script
Freebie Wednesday:
Vervelle Cript Font (by Astageni std.) feels charming and vibrant and will turn any design project into a true standout. Get inspired by its unique charm! It’s free at Creative Fabrica so be sure to check it out.
This product comes with a complete commercial license.
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Nuts and Bolts: Fortifying Meta-data – Animals & Breeds
People love their pets, and they enjoy receiving cards with the type of pet they own. I am going
to share what I have discovered as an animal artist, a person who shows dogs in conformation,
and a writer who is a member of both the Dog Writers of America Association and the Cat
Writers Association. Much of what I will share applies to dogs and cats but also is true for any
other animals. People have an affinity to animals, and it can be a particular breed of dog or cat or
a distinct animal or reptile.
First, it is good to know some of the nuances and structure of a particular breed. For dogs, an
excellent place to check out information is AKC.org. They list the various breeds, giving a
wealth of information on each AKC recognized breed that you can use as keywords. They also
describe the nature of dogs, which is helpful if you are trying to depict the temperament of a dog
in your card.
information on the internet. In addition, each breed has local clubs that can also be useful.
You can find the various colors that each breed comes in. You might consider making a
Dachshund card as a long-haired, short-haired, or wire-haired. Also, consider the variation of the
dachshund colors. Using my breed, the Saluki, they come in a variety of colors, including black
and tan, cream, fawn, parti, red, tri-color, and Grizzle, people have favorite colors. They want to
find their breed but also their breed coloration. Some breeds have Merle colors.
specific name of the breed, most people looking for a specific dog will search the breed name.
List the color. Note things like toy dog if it is in the Toy group or herding dog if it is a Corgi or
Border Collie. AKC.org lists each breed by their group. It the dog hunts birds, include bird dog,
or gundog. If it is a hound and/or sighthound as the Greyhound, utilize those keywords.
Most us of do not realize that cats come in a variety of breeds, and like dogs cat people are very
in sync with their breed of cat. There are approximately 71 breeds of cats. For more information,
check out the Cat Fanciers Association or The International Cat Association or google cat breeds.
are several categories, including Seal Point, Blue Point, Chocolate Point, and Lilac Point. People
will search for these particulars, so use them in your keywords and titles.
cats, short-haired or long-haired cats. These suggestions will help narrow down a cat card buyers
search and hopefully help you get sales.
Siamese Cat: Seal Point, Siamese, Siamese Cat, Seal Point Siamese Cat, Cat.
Like dogs and cats, we want to narrow our options down, especially when a category has lots of
animals. For example, on GCU, if you use elephant, you will find 73 blank cards, but perhaps we
want to be more specific. There are two distinct types of elephants, the African and the Asian.
We can further narrow it down to 18 subspecies. Maybe you want to consider the Indian
elephant. In giraffes, there are four types to consider. We all know there are different types of
monkeys, so use those types in your keywords.
keywords.
up with those in your keywords, especially when your card is listed in a competitive category.
GCU Community Manager
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Freebie Wednesday: Aire Family Font.
Freebie Wednesday:
Aire Family Font (by Lian Types). Aire was designed to be playful yet formal: While none of its alternates are activated it can be useful for short to medium length texts; and when the user chooses to make use of its open-type decorative glyphs, it can be useful for headlines with dazzling results. It’s free for the next 5 days at Creative Fabrica so be sure to check it out.
This product comes with a complete commercial license.
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Wanted New Cards: Baby’s 1st Tooth.
Remember, when you’re submitting your new Stock Card, add a little note about the intended category in your Notes to Reviewers. Be inventive, be clever, be creative. Good luck!
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Rainbow Connection: 2020 Color Trends.
Some lovely 2020 Color Trends I spotted on Pinterest this week:
