Font Frenzy: Ginusto Family
This font family comes with 4 different fonts, an ornament pack and a link to a Video tutorial ( how to access alternate glyph in ilustrator (gunisto typeface) and how to maximize gunisto font ).
Download the Ginusto Font pack here
The font package is free for commercial use. See example below. Download to your designer’s toolbox today and have fun!
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Dash of Inspiration: Don’t be a Copy Cat
With GCU refining their Submission Guidelines this past year to include a “No As-Is” Policy on 3rd Party Resource use, I thought it helpful to re-publish this post from the past. Some of it applies to this subject.
You can not call yourself an artist if you take a photograph, graphic, painting or illustration that someone else created and just add a border, text or re-color the image to make it a greeting card. An artist is inspired by that 3rd party element and uses it in a brand new creation – and that’s what GCU is looking for – anyone can take imagery created by someone else and change the color, add a border and/or add text then call it a greeting card.
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Initially posted March 17, 2014
Let’s face it, as a greeting card designer, a prerequisite would be CREATIVITY.
Definition: cre·a·tiv·i·ty (krē-āˈtivitē) – noun – The use of the imagination or original ideas, esp. in the production of an artistic work.
Synonyms: inventiveness, imagination, innovation, originality, individuality, artistry, inspiration, vision
In fact, GCU enforces their policy which states: “Creative Works Misuse Policy is enforced in order to prevent the misuse of the original creative works, image/art and verse, of artists. All GCUniverse artists have agreed to and accepted in our Terms & Conditions that they have or own the rights to use and sell all images/art and verse they submit. Artists also agree to this each time a card is created … GCUniverse will not tolerate the copying of another artist’s creative work – no copy cats, poachers, no “borrowing”, no stealing. If it’s not your idea, artwork or unique verse – Don’t use it!”
So, what does this mean?
1) Be inspired by another artist’s design, don’t copy it. Your creation should have your own unique style, which when complete, no longer resembles the design that inspired you. Inspiration should be a wave that washes over you to create something new and entirely different.
2) Do not use verses, poems, song lyrics, and quotes you find on the internet and claim them as your own. Either be inspired by them to write your own or don’t use them. If you choose to use them anyway, then GIVE CREDIT, both where the words are placed and in your Artist Notes – regardless of whether it’s Public Domain or not … if you didn’t write, it’s NOT YOURS.
3) Though images in Public Domain can be used on greeting cards, how non-creative to simply plop a public domain image/photograph on a card, add Get Well Soon on the card front and call it yours to make money on. Even if you use a public domain image and do not create a derivative work, you should not claim it as your own; which is what you are doing when you say Image by XYZ© or Image by XYZ. REVISED: GCU no longer allows the use of 3rd party elements “As is”.
4) If you use elements in your design, whether free or purchased, in public domain or as a creative use policy – you should offer credit in your Artist Notes. I realize some artists/photographers do not require attribution – however as an artist, isn’t it a bit unethical to not attribute those who so generously created elements for you to use?
5) Let’s not forget, that even Bible verses fall into Public Domain and copyright protected versions. Use the King James version as it is in the public domain.
Tips
- ALWAYS keep track of the URL links to the elements/imagery you use in your card design and put those links in your Notes to Reviewer. As an example, here are my Notes to Reviewer for the card shown in this article:
Notes to Reviewer: Mountain scene can be found here: http://www.adigitaldreamer.com/gallery/displayimage.php?album=2&pid=175#top_display_media – Raccoon is from: http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Raccoon_Cute_Pose.jpg and Hawk from here: http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Circus_hudsonius_juvenile_flight_Hudson_Bay.jpg
- Protect yourself by always offering credit in your Artist Notes. As an example, here are my Artist Notes for the card shown in this article:
Beautiful lake view with mountains and woodland creatures in this digital photographic Announcement. Original design by Doreen Erhardt ©2013. Elements courtesy of A Digital Dreamer, Harlequeen & George Gentry of the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service at WikiCommons.
- ANYTIME you use a verse, poem, quote or song lyrics and you feel you have the right to use it – a) give proper credit AND b) give a link to where you found it in your Notes to Reviewer.
- If you want to use song lyrics or a poem, do your own research – if it’s not in Public Domain, GCU will not allow you to use it.
- If you were inspired by another design, give the link to the original design to the Review Team in your Notes to them so you can get a 2nd opinion on whether your design is unique enough to not be considered a copy.
- Learn what constitutes a Derivative Work. Recoloring, adding a border/words, are both considered using in a Stand Alone manner.
- Just because something is in the Public Domain today, does not mean that status can’t change. It’s not unheard of for artists to remove their work from Public Domain if they feel it’s being abused, or for the family after a contributors death to decide they no longer want to give that persons work away as Public Domain. You can protect yourself by always giving credit in your Artist Notes, and when attribution is required add credit to the image itself – prove that you are not taking credit for that which is not yours.
Remember, GCU has the right to not only decline cards for Creative Use Policy, but to close stores when the artist continues to abuse this policy. So be inspired, but be the creator of something new and different. Use the many elements/images offered to creatives by creatives, but create new derivative works of art which you can claim as your own. And, if you didn’t take the photograph, write the verse, author the quote, illustrate the artwork, then it’s not yours to claim.
Here are some previous posts which offer some further details on this and related subjects:
Give Credit Where Credit is Due
Submission Guidelines – Examples Creative Use Policy
Understanding TOU (Terms of Use)
So, until next week … Learn … Create … Inspire!
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Wanted New Cards: Thanksgiving Cards in Other Languages
We’d like you to create Thanksgiving cards in other languages. There are plenty of categories in this section with 0 cards (like Chinese, Dutch, Finnish, Danish, German and more).
Consider using Stock Card Creations to create new cards quickly, these cards are automatically set for expedited review so no need to Fast Track.
Holidays – Thanksgiving Cards > Non-English / Other Languages
Remember, when you’re submitting your new card, add a little note about the intended category in your Notes to Reviewers – cards submitted for underused categories are much more likely to be approved provided they follow the Submission Guidelines. Be inventive, be clever, be creative. Good luck!
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Nuts and Bolts: Stock Card Creations (BigStock) – Improvements
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Tips and Tricks: 100 Merry Christmas Elements
The Hungry JPEG is having an amazing sale – get 100 Merry Christmas Elements for just $1! The pack contains a range of 100 individual graphics in both PNG and AI Format, along with 8 incredibly festive patterns that would make even Mr Scrooge feel all warm inside. As with all purchases on TheHungryJPEG.com, this pack comes with a lifetime guarantee (allowing you to access it again, at any point in the future).
This beautiful set of Merry Christmas hand and mouse made graphics by Julia Dreams is available for the next month at just $1!! The files come in transparent PNG format, so there is no need for fancy design software.
As always, this pack comes with a full commercial license, this even covers use on products for sale.
Have fun and happy creating!
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Dash of Inspiration: Tis the Season for Sales!
Most of us anticipate great deals for gift giving this time of year, but don’t forget that all your favorite font and scrapbook element sites have huge sales this time of year too! Many have what they call Flash Sales which are only for 24-hours, but you can get some of those kits you’ve been drooling over for more than 50% off!
- Be sure to create a free ‘log-in’ at all your favorite places to shop for card design elements and fonts, then sign up for their emails. This will give you notice of their sales and you can take advantage of those Flash Sales when they happen.
- If you have particular designers at these sites you love to buy from, look for their BUY MY STORE offers this time of year! Many of them will sell you access to download their entire store for $25 to $50, thereby receiving hundreds, if not thousands of dollars worth of goodies for your one-time limited download.
- Don’t get so excited with the great prices that you fail to take the time to FULLY READ and UNDERSTAND the specific designer’s TOU (Terms of Use). CU (Commercial Use) often has limitations, such as; no POD (Print on Demand) use and GCU is a POD.
- And, remember … GCU no longer allows 3rd Party Creatives to be used as is. You must create something new and unique in order to gain approval, so keep that in mind when you’re browsing.
Here’s hoping you get some great additions to your design arsenal at once-a-year prices!
HAPPY SHOPPING!
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Wanted New Cards: Black Friday Shopping
GCU has added two new categories in need of cards.
Black Friday is the beginning of the official Christmas shopping season in the US. For many stores, it starts at midnight November 26, Thanksgiving; other stores open at regular hours. Stores offer special deals and sales and many shoppers go in groups of family and friends. There’s a bit of a shopping frenzy, everyone looking for the very best deals! It’s estimated that in 2014, 133 million were out and about, stalking deals and having fun.
New categories:
Occasions >> Good Luck >> On Black Friday Shopping
Invitations >> Party by Theme >> Black Friday Shopping Party
We encourage artists to make cards to fill these two categories. These cards may be Fast Tracked and we encourage artists to make use of our Bigstock process. Information on Bigstock can be found here:
Nuts and Bolts: Bigstock Guidelines To start the process of making a Bigstock card, please go here.
Artists should keep in mind that Black Friday is a day of shopping frenzy, with shoppers looking for special deals. It’s often done in groups of friends and family, and some shoppers get into the spirit of competition with much enthusiasm. More information about Black Friday can be found at Black Friday (shopping)
Remember, when you’re submitting your new card, add a little note about the intended category in your Notes to Reviewers – cards submitted for underused categories are much more likely to be approved provided they follow the Submission Guidelines. Be inventive, be clever, be creative. Good luck!
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Promotion in Motion: Equine Sympathy Cards
GCU Artist Stephanie Laird was interviewed for an article in Equine Enthusiast web magazine to talk about her Equine Sympathy cards (look for the article on page 21).
Stephanie has an impressive line of 107 Equine Sympathy Cards in her GCU storefront at the moment.
“I have horses and my friends have horses and when they lose a horse it’s kind of hard to show support. So that’s when I started thinking that it would be a good niche business.”
There is a lot of free publicity out there for us greeting card artists. There are blogs, websites, publications, podcasts, you name it. The great thing is that these folks are always looking for new content. Another good thing for us is that our cards are visual and provide a high impact that way, so the interviewer not only gets an interview they get visual content as well.
For my specialty, equine sympathy cards, I try and target horse and veterinarian related websites, publications and blogs. You can start with an internet search on the cards that you want to showcase, say for example, wedding invitations. Just with a quick key word search “Wedding Blogs” I found this. There is usually contact information that you can submit your idea to, and sometimes they actually have a submission page.
It’s hard to put yourself out there, and don’t take it personally if they do not pick up your idea for an article about your cards. Art, is always subjective, and it depends on personal preference a lot of times. Just try another site. I had actually contacted the Equine Enthusiast publication with my idea of an article on my cards, months and months ago. I never heard back, however one of my cards was quoted in the New York Breeders Magazine (inside cover) and then I won a best of show in an art competition that the local paper reported on and only then was I asked for an interview. There is kind of a momentum that builds with this. I have two more interviews scheduled now that are a direct spin off of this publication. Just keep trying. I always think of it as a kind of game, that way it’s no biggie if they do not like my idea. Someone will!
For the interview itself, as you can tell by this interview, I am still working on this! Being an introvert by nature, interviews are a bit painful for me, however I love creating cards and it’s really fun to see your work being featured. I would say have an idea of what you would like to put out there or convey. It’s hard because you never know what the questions are going to be and sometimes they seem very irrelevant but I do feel the interviewer wants you to sound good too. And don’t worry about misquotes, I think that is just interview law.
So, if I can get publicity for something as unusual as equine sympathy cards, just think of what your niche greeting cards can do! There are publications just waiting to publish about you and your greeting cards!
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Dash of Inspiration: New Year’s Cards 2016
The Holiday Season is well on it’s way, so hurry and get those New Year’s cards updated for 2016! If your 2016 updated card is showing up in the below 2015 search, then you may not have updated all the necessary fields.
Remember when you make these updates to:
- Update your Card Title, Keywords and Artist Notes.
- Take the time to update your CUSTOM cards to the new year to increase their marketability.
- If you have Chinese New Year cards which DO NOT reflect the ‘year of the horse’, then update those as well.
If you want to sell your cards for the upcoming New Year season, then best get busy with those updates or your cards will be left behind. Let’s help GCU pull off a professional front when promoting our New Year’s cards by showing potential customer ONLY CURRENT cards.
AND … here’s a special reminder from the GCU Review Team and Mindy:
Chinese zodiac specific designs are the strongest selling Chinese New Year (CNY) cards on GCU. For this reason GCU will discriminate card and category approvals of Chinese New Year (CNY) cards. Only zodiac specific designs will be approved under the zodiac specific categories (ie: Holidays >> Chinese New Year >> Year of the Monkey, etc.). The front of the card must have zodiac specific image and / or text. Cards that are also year specific (ie: 2016) on the front or inside will be approved under the appropriate subcategory (ie: Holidays >> Chinese New Year >> Year of the Monkey >> Year Specific, etc.).
CNY cards that are NOT zodiac specific in the front design will be approved under the appropriate”genera” category. This includes many of the universal symbols of the holiday (bamboo, koi, tea, fruit, firecrackers, red envelopes, etc.). If the card has year specific content (ie: 2016) or the zodiac is addressed on the inside verse only these cards will be approved in Holidays >> Chinese New Year >> Year Specific.
Note: The Dragon is the only zodiac animal sign GCU will considered as a universal symbol of the holiday and permitted to be used outside of its zodiac year (Year of the Dragon).
Please note: GCU needs to maintain consistency of design to the pid#, it should reflect the same card over time so shoppers coming back for a specific card can find that design updated for the current year. Minor improvements and edits are acceptable and encouraged but major design changes will cause confusion for shoppers and may result in lost sales for repeat orders. Please update the YEAR showing on the card but the basic imagery and CATEGORY must remain the same. Example: a Year of the Ram card cannot be updated and moved to the Year of the Monkey category.
We encourage you to create new designs for the current year and simply update the year on the cards from years past. This expands your opportunity for sales, you will have the established design available for repeat orders and new designs will offer further opportunity.
Off you go to make updates, see you on the New Year’s 2016 pages!
JJBDesigns©
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Wanted: New Cards – Holidays – Kwanzaa – Family Relation Specific
There are still some categories that need cards. We’d like you to create at least one card for this category using the Stock Cards function (Bigstock).
Remember, when you’re submitting your new card, add a little note about the intended category in your Notes to Reviewers – cards submitted for underused categories are much more likely to be approved provided they follow the Submission Guidelines. Be inventive, be clever, be creative. Good luck!
Today’s categories that still need some cards are:
Holidays: Kwanzaa – For Family Relation Specific – Foster Family/Parents
Holidays: Kwanzaa – For Family Relation Specific – Future Son in Law
Holidays: Kwanzaa – For Family Relation Specific – Half Brother
Holidays: Kwanzaa – For Family Relation Specific – Half Sister
GCU Community 
