Dash of Inspiration: Composition – Professionalism
A Dash of Inspiration, A Cup of Creativity by Doreen
Composition: Professionalism
Let’s continue with a visual review and discussion of the areas listed in GCU’s Submission Guidelines. Today we’ll continue the series with the third area in the COMPOSITION grouping of the Submission Guidelines which is:
COMPOSITION: Professionalism
The Submission Guidelines state this:
Whether a photograph, illustration or digital art, the creation process must appear to have been applied with a complete understanding of the medium, giving the overall appearance of a professional greeting card. Declines may include, but are not limited to: distracting elements and/or background, household items, snapshots of people, babies, crowds, buildings, street scenes, knicknacks, and food, photographs from moving vehicles or through windows, and children’s art; i.e., messy, distorted and/or poorly drawn art.
So let’s talk about Composition: Professionalism
Distracting Elements and/or Background: This really should be fairly easy to understand. It does apply mostly to photographs, though could apply to digital compositions as well. It’s one of those Photography 101 lessons to compose your photograph without things like; poles sticking out of the heads of your subjects, branches and dead leaves in front of your subject, body parts that don’t belong to your subject, etc. Remember; if it does not add to your overall image then it’s a distraction. ANYTHING that draws your eye away from the subject, is a distraction. Fences, buildings, cars, etc. are all considered distractions if found in the background of your image and they are not part of the subject.
More on the subject: Guide to a Winning Photograph
Household Items: There are two issues here, one is that in general, unless of studio quality, photographs of household objects are just not attractive imagery for the greeting card industry. Secondly, there is always the possibility of intellectual property right issues when including wall art, trinkets, collectibles, and fabrics in your photograph. If you wish to photograph a vase of flowers inside a home, you have to remove other household objects in the image, either when composing the image or in post-processing. A good photograph of a dog laying on a simple couch is fine if the image is otherwise top touch. However, a photo of a dog laying on a couch with the leg of a table in the image, a bit of carpet or curtains showing and the dog’s homemade patchwork quilt askew is most likely not going to be considered a marketable image – regardless of whether the dog is cute or grandma made the quilt.
Snapshots: For those of you who having a tough time differentiating between a snapshot and a professional shot, I would encourage you to go browse some place like iStock with a sort on most popular (try babies, pets,or home for examples). You should be able to see the difference. Snapshots of people have unwanted distractions, such as; limbs from other people, household/garden objects, etc. Snapshots have unflattering lighting and people often in unflattering positions or with undesirable expressions. We talked about buildings before – it’s nearly impossible to photograph buildings without the proper training and equipment and expect them to be considered professional in quality. Street scenes and travel photos are rarely acceptable as they almost always have a feeling of an editorial (newspaper) image or vacation snapshot. To have a photograph of food be acceptable for a greeting card, it needs to have amazing lighting and the perfect angle. If the food does not make your mouth water, then it’s a snapshot.
Photos from Windows/Moving Vehicles: You might think, well duh, but you’d be surprised how many people take photos out of a moving vehicle or through a hotel/home window and think it’s a great shot. Moving vehicles cause photographs to have two issues, the reflections in the windshield/window and the added movement of the camera causing camera shake. Not to mention the portions of dashboards and car doors that often end up in the image. Photographing through a window, even from home, will show finger prints, smudges, and water spots in addition to adding blur, reflections and flare. It doesn’t mean there aren’t exceptions to the rule. There will always be a small handful of those rare occasions when everything fell into place for a great shot against all odds. However, these exceptions are accomplished when the photographer applies special techniques to reduce reflections and camera shake.
Messy, Distorted, Poorly Drawn Art: Many of you may say that this is very subjective and I suppose to some small degree it is, however it really is easy to see the difference between a drawing/painting of someone who has not developed any real technique compared to the imagery of those artists who work in a trained yet whimsical style. Generally, declines for this area are those which look like a child drew them. They often lack depth, have poor perspective, unsupported elements and/or proportional issues.
I know that calling it Composition: Professionalism gets under your skin, but what difference does it make what it’s called when descriptively, GCU has been so thorough in offering possible reasons for decline? Combined with all of these visuals, you should be able to identify within your imagery the area(s) that caused the decline in this category.
Lacks professional technique, lacking in overall professional quality … call it what you will, this category refers to those designs which simply do not look as though they were created by an artist with a complete understanding of both the technical aspects and quality aspects of their chosen medium. Whether it’s a photograph which looks like a snapshot for the family album rather than a shot created for a greeting card, poor blending after background removal in a digital composition; or messy, distorted, poorly drawn art … the bottom line is, it lacks Professionalism.
Next week we’ll tackle Composition: Placement/Position. Till next week, I hope I’ve inspired you to go look through your store and see if you can weed out any images that the reviewers will find during their weeding which might fit Composition: Professionalism.
For great resources & tips visit the SalonOfArt
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Critique Clinic – April 19-21, 2013
How does it work? For three days a week (Friday-Sunday midnight), I will open the clinic to any artist who wants an honest peer review and critique of a card which gets plenty of clicks but no sales, so something’s probably not quite right, or you’ve got a new design you want to test drive, or you’re unsure about the marketability of a card. Or perhaps you’re a newbie who isn’t sure if a card is up to a marketable standard. Anyone is welcome to participate. In fact, I encourage everyone to at least look at the cards in question and read the critique comments – you may learn something. The purpose of the clinic is to help artists improve the commercial appeal and marketability of their cards.
THE RULES
- ONE card per artist only.
- Card must be intended for sale at Greeting Card Universe.
- To submit a card for critique, post a link to the card at GCU in the comments section of this clinic post. Allowances will be made if you’ve had a card declined, or made a new design you’d like advice on before submission. Give us the link where we can see the card, such as your private gallery, Flickr, Tinypic, etc. If you do give a private gallery link, be sure your private module gallery is ON. Please do not post links to your Manage Cards section – do you really want strangers tinkering with your cards? And please don’t ask us to critique a card that’s pending review – we can’t see it until it’s approved.
- Any artist is free to comment and/or give a critique of a submitted card. HOWEVER, post-and-run comments like “great card” or “you suck” will not be tolerated, nor will abuse. Criticism should be constructive, not destructive. Play nice or you will be banned.
- I also won’t tolerate temper tantrums if you decide your “artistic integrity” is being stepped on because you asked for a critique, and someone told you the photo you’re using isn’t in focus. If you can’t take honest criticism, don’t submit. Once gets you a warning; twice and you’re banned from submitting in the future.
- Artists who critique may do so by giving their opinion, posting an example of another card, or pointing the submitter to a video, on-line article, or other helpful suggestion.
- Don’t forget that artists who are giving you tips and helpful advice are volunteering their time and trouble. Be nice. A link back to their store on your website or blog is appreciated (but not mandatory).
- You are free not to take any advice offered. There’s no guarantee any card will be a bestseller, so don’t come into the clinic with unrealistic expectations.
- Rules may change as we go along and we see how things turn out, okay?
So without any further ado, I declare this week’s Critique Clinic open!
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Nuts and Bolts: Holiday Calendar Heads-Up! April 2013
Really organized artists work about a year ahead of holidays, but everyone should be working 3-6 months in advance. Right now, here are the cards you should be working on (and any holidays beyond these in the calendar, too). You’ll find a very brief description of the occasion + theme suggestions. If you’re unsure, check the appropriate GCU category to see examples OR do an images search in your favorite search engine.
DESIGNING IN APRIL
August 8 – Eid al Fitr
Islamic holiday celebrating the end of the month-long fast of Ramadan. Traditional and classic Islamic patterns and designs will always work: minaret, crescent moon, Moorish tiles, henna patterns, florals. Don’t attempt Arabic unless you know the language (Internet resources aren’t always reliable). Avoid depicting people/animals.
September 2 – Labor Day
Celebrating the American worker. A U.S. federal holiday— most employees get the day off. Themes range from patriotic to messages like “relax.” Picnic, barbeque, and beach are also very popular, someetimes in combination.
September 8 – National Grandparents Day
Honoring and celebrating grandmothers, grandfathers, great-grands, and so forth. All grandparents are included. Almost any design is acceptable provided it is relevant to the relationship between grandchild and grandparent. Popular themes include holding hands, hearts, child’s handprints, illustrations/photos of older people, baby’s footprints, etc.
September 11 – Patriots Day (U.S.)
Commemorating the 9/11 terrorist attacks in New York City and remembering the victims. Patriotic American themes will obviously be the best choice. This is a solemn occasion. Avoid phrases like “Happy Patriots Day.”
September 14 – Yom Kippur
Jewish religious holiday also known as the “Day of Atonement,” Yom Kippur is the holiest day of the year usually observed with fasting and prayers. Themes include traditional Jewish design elements like Star of David, Torah, shofar (ram’s horn). Avoid messages like “Happy Yom Kippur” as this is a solemn occasion. Instead, stick to messages like “As you pray and atone, may you have an easy fast.” Avoid Hebrew unless you know the language (Internet sources aren’t always reliable).
September 19 – Sukkot
Jewish agricultural festival after Yom Kippur (see above). A joyous occasion also called the “Feast of Tabernacles.” Themes include fruits, the sukkah (an open sided structure built to hold the participants), Star of David, palm fronds. Avoid Hebrew unless you know the language (Internet sources aren’t always accurate).
September 22 – Mabon (Autumnal Equinox)
In the pagan/Wiccan calendar the first day of autumn is called Mabon, a holiday celebrating the harvest. Themes include the Goddess, colored leaves, harvest fruits/vegetables like pumpkins, and general themes of magic and Autumn. Use “Blessed Mabon” rather than “Happy Mabon.”
September 25 – Simchat Torah
Jewish holiday celebrating the Torah with public readings. Themes include the Torah, Star of David and other traditional Jewish designs, a man or rabbi wearing a yarmulke holding or studying the Torah. Avoid Hebrew phrases unless you know the language (Internet sources aren’t always accurate).
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Font Frenzy: Uncle Lee
Choosing the right font is as important to a greeting card as choosing the right image – you always need to keep the occasion and intended recipient in mind. Uncle Lee is a playful, irregular, hand written font family that would go well with informal and kid’s designs. There are three fonts in the family: Light, Outline, and regular, so you can get creative to your heart’s content. Right now, you can get all three fonts for $8.06 or one for $4.03. Examples below. Have fun!
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Inspiration Station: Getting Results
Where do you go to get inspiration on the Internet? Many artists use Pinterest or Google Images to search for pictures and graphics that give their creative juices a jolt. There are a couple of other places we haven’t talked about, though, which can give you fantastic inspiration that helps you make the best designs.
Here are some of the best sites to find images/graphics that inspire, inform, and invigorate.
Type a term like “greeting card” for example into the search box and get ready for some interesting results. Dribbble also allows you to browse by designers, color, tags, etc. It’s loads of fun.
Another fun site. Do a search and you’ll no doubt get lots of beautiful results that’ll fire you up. Like Dribbble, an excellent place to find cutting edge and fashionable designs.
An aggregator yielding search results from Behance.net (like on-line portfolios of artists and graphic designers), Dribbble, and Design Inspiration (see above). This one’s brand new, so it’s still in the beta stage.
Enjoy exploration and refuel your imagination!
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Dash of Inspiration: Composition – Balance of Elements
A Dash of Inspiration, A Cup of Creativity by Doreen
Composition: Balance of Elements
Let’s continue with a visual review and discussion of the areas listed in GCU’s Submission Guidelines. Today we’ll keep this series going with the second area in the COMPOSITION grouping of the Submission Guidelines which is:
COMPOSITION: Balance of Elements
The Submission Guidelines state this:
A feeling of visual equality. Objects, values, colors, textures, shapes, forms, etc., are used in creating balance in a composition. Balance is a visual interpretation of gravity in the design. Large, dense elements appear to be heavier while smaller elements appear to be lighter. In art, harmony is the combination or adaptation of elements to form a consistent and orderly whole. It can also be described as a combination of parts or details with each other to produce an aesthetically pleasing effect. Harmony describes the combination of the pictorial elements; color, tone, line, form, content, brushwork, etc. needed to harmonize into a consistent and orderly whole. Declines may include, but are not limited to: poor combination of clip art and photographic elements, uncomplementary color or pattern combinations, chaotic designs, random placement of non-essential elements, etc.
So let’s talk about Balance of Elements.
Poor Combination of Clip Art & Photographic Elements – It is very difficult to make this combination work, because it takes a tremendous amount of blending techniques to actually pull this off visually if at all. It’s best to keep clip art with clip art and photographic elements with photographic elements.
One of the most common things to do is to put a cartoon style clip art Santa hat on a photograph of an animal and this really just looks unprofessional most of the time. I’ve fallen victim to this myself and am reworking a few old cards with a more realistic Santa hat element. I don’t want to choose examples from GCU because I don’t want to offend anyone, but these issues exist and will most likely be found during GCU’s weeding process, so if you’ve combined clip art with a photograph, you should be going back to those cards and see if you can create a more professional balance of elements.
Below in an effort to give you an example, I’ve replaced my ‘realistic Santa hat’ with a clip art hat so you can see the difference. Every element in this design was layered together and yes the gift box is a graphic element, but it’s realistic enough that when I added some depth to the gift box it blended well with the overall image. All other elements are photographic in origin.
Uncomplementary Color or Pattern Combinations – This is a tricky area, especially for people who don’t have a natural ability to work with color. The best advice to those of you who struggle with choosing colors that work together is to ALWAYS pick a color palette you like from any of the places Corrie so generously offers us and stay within that color palette.
Often this comes into play on a greeting card when the artist chooses a colored background and/or colored text. In design, typically there is a defined color palette for any given design with as few as two colors to as many as eight and that is all that is used in the design. Designers who use photographs often make a common mistake by choosing an uncomplementary color as a border or background and then add further insult to the image by choosing colored text, often of a color not even in the color palette of the image.
Something photographers need to keep in mind when creating greeting cards is that most often a white/off-white or black background against the photograph is the best choice to help the image pop rather than tone the image down or cause a muddy appearance. Remember photographs take on the hues of colors around them.
Working with patterns is really no different. You can combine stripes and polka dots or plaids if your color palette stays true within the patterns. Most likely it would not be a good choice to combine a rose floral pattern with cheetah print for example. Again it takes some training of the eye to be able to combine patterns and pull it off.
Below I created an image to show you the difference between uncomplementary color choices and the same image with an improved balance of color.
Chaotic Designs, Random Placement of non-essential elements – This absolutely goes back to the very basics of design theory and photographic composition. Those elements that do not add something to the overall design become distractions which can be interpreted as chaos. Repeat that mantra several times until it sticks!
When creating a design, each object needs to have well thought out placement (including your text). An element needs to have balance within the overall design AND maintain balance with every element within the design. Randomly placing doodads, whether that is clip art or decorative elements, or text will usually result in visual chaos. Though I’d love to offer some examples of this, I just can’t seem to create a chaotic design to show you so I’ll ask Mindy if she can add some links in the comments areas to images GCU considers chaotic.
Next week we’ll tackle that dreaded category section in Composition: Unprofessional. Till next week, I hope I’ve inspired you to go look through your store and see if you can weed out any images that have a poor balance of elements.
For great resources & tips visit the SalonOfArt
Worth a Read/Review
Elements and Principles of Design
Better Designs = More Approvals = More Sales
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Critique Clinic – April 12-14, 2013
How does it work? For three days a week (Friday-Sunday midnight), I will open the clinic to any artist who wants an honest peer review and critique of a card which gets plenty of clicks but no sales, so something’s probably not quite right, or you’ve got a new design you want to test drive, or you’re unsure about the marketability of a card. Or perhaps you’re a newbie who isn’t sure if a card is up to a marketable standard. Anyone is welcome to participate. In fact, I encourage everyone to at least look at the cards in question and read the critique comments – you may learn something. The purpose of the clinic is to help artists improve the commercial appeal and marketability of their cards.
THE RULES
- ONE card per artist only.
- Card must be intended for sale at Greeting Card Universe.
- To submit a card for critique, post a link to the card at GCU in the comments section of this clinic post. Allowances will be made if you’ve had a card declined, or made a new design you’d like advice on before submission. Give us the link where we can see the card, such as your private gallery, Flickr, Tinypic, etc. If you do give a private gallery link, be sure your private module gallery is ON. Please do not post links to your Manage Cards section – do you really want strangers tinkering with your cards? And please don’t ask us to critique a card that’s pending review – we can’t see it until it’s approved.
- Any artist is free to comment and/or give a critique of a submitted card. HOWEVER, post-and-run comments like “great card” or “you suck” will not be tolerated, nor will abuse. Criticism should be constructive, not destructive. Play nice or you will be banned.
- I also won’t tolerate temper tantrums if you decide your “artistic integrity” is being stepped on because you asked for a critique, and someone told you the photo you’re using isn’t in focus. If you can’t take honest criticism, don’t submit. Once gets you a warning; twice and you’re banned from submitting in the future.
- Artists who critique may do so by giving their opinion, posting an example of another card, or pointing the submitter to a video, on-line article, or other helpful suggestion.
- Don’t forget that artists who are giving you tips and helpful advice are volunteering their time and trouble. Be nice. A link back to their store on your website or blog is appreciated (but not mandatory).
- You are free not to take any advice offered. There’s no guarantee any card will be a bestseller, so don’t come into the clinic with unrealistic expectations.
- Rules may change as we go along and we see how things turn out, okay?
So without any further ado, I declare this week’s Critique Clinic open!
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Rainbow Connection: Color Palette Resource
Today we’re bringing you the Color Collective, a “designer’s resource” for colors and color palettes. As you can see below, each post contains a photograph and a color scheme. You’ll find some very interesting palettes here, some trendy, some classic, all chic. Even savvy artists will find something new here, we’re sure.
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Design Spotlight: Alena Lazareva
Today’s Design Spotlight falls on Alena Lazareva whose fantasy art is jaw droppingly stunning!
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I have been drawing since childhood. I studied at the School of Art as an artist. In digital painting I like Fantasy style. I like to represent fairies, angels, mermaids and mystical images and to use many light effects. I use: Photoshop CS, Wacom Intuos3. You can see more of my art at my fantasy site.
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Tips and Tricks: Cards for Hospice Patients
Cards For Hospice Patients
Some of you may have noticed that GCU has created new categories under Occasions > Goodbye/Farewell > Hospice/End of Life/Final Goodbye. These are for greeting cards designed to send to a patient in hospice care, a loved one with a terminal condition who has accepted they are dying.
Artists who want to design cards for this new category should be aware of a few things. Here are some tips to help you create the right atmosphere and tone and set the right message for this most difficult subject.
- Choose Your Color Palettes Wisely: This isn’t going to be a cheerful note or a positive message. This card is intended to help someone say goodbye to a person they care about, so avoid too bright, “in your face” colors, but don’t be funereal, either. Stick to softer and/or more neutral hues. Some good choices would be woody greens, taupes, blues, lavenders, ivories, dark reds. Darker grays/black might be too somber.
- Choose Your Designs Wisely: I’m going to be frank – always keep in mind the recipient is dying, but they aren’t dead yet. Do not use white lilies, gravestones, cemeteries, or any other death and/or funeral related visuals. Avoid jarring, busy, frenetic designs. Keep it simple.
- Choose Your Words Wisely: Avoid gallows humor – that may come off as insensitive. Let the sender decide if the recipient would appreciate a joke. Craft your verse in a conversational manner, as if you (the sender) were speaking directly to the recipient. Speak from the heart. More on this subject below.
Probably the most important aspect of any card is the verse, the message inside. While you’re pondering what to say inside your card, keep this in mind – people who are dying want to know:
- They are loved
- They are missed
- They haven’t been forgotten or abandoned
- They’ll always be remembered
Put yourself in the sender’s place. If someone you love was dying, what would you say to them? That’s going to be your best starting point. Or try “Thinking of you” or “Praying for you” as a place to begin.
- Don’t focus on sickness – the patient’s had enough of that already.
- Don’t use religious messages like, “it’s God’s will.” Avoid “hellfire and brimstone” type verses or trying to convert the unbelievers. Scripture is okay provided you focus on comforting the recipient, not bullying or frightening them with religion. If you aren’t sure, ask your pastor or priest for advice. They can usually give good suggestions.
- Don’t use the past tense too much – “I love you” as opposed to “I loved you” or “I miss you” instead of “I missed you.” Past tense is for those who have already left us. Stick to the present whenever possible.
- Don’t be too formal. A couple of casual, heartfelt sentences will mean a lot more than a formally drafted paragraph.
- Don’t say things like “feel better soon” or “this too shall pass.”
To design for this category, just speak in a loving, caring, comforting way. And always know you’re helping someone connect to a dying loved one, so remain sensitive to the occasion.
