Design Spotlight: Natalie Kinnear
Today’s Design Spotlight is on artist Natalie Kinnear – cute card! I love the use of white space, and the balance between the dog photo and the text.
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Hello, my name is Natalie Kinnear. I am a 52 year old wife and mum. I’ve been married to a great guy for 26 years and have four wonderful children, although I’m not sure I can still call them children as they are 18, 20, 22 and 24 years old. I also have four – don’t ask me what it is about the number four – gorgeously unique and wonderful rescue dogs who frequently feature in my card designs. I am passionate about animals, especially dogs, and am actively involved in animal rescue. I live on a little island known as England. Yup, I’m a Brit.
I started to get a bit sensitive about my age after I’d reached 40. When I was 45, however, I was diagnosed with breast cancer so now, having successfully been through treatment, I’m only too happy to be reaching the bigger numbers. The bigger the better!
When people ask me what I do, my standard reply is ‘I mess about with photos’. I suppose I consider myself a serious photography enthusiast. My workflow involves uploading my images from the memory card into Adobe Lightroom for initial adjustments. Then, any images I think I can use I transfer to Adobe Photoshop where I do the editing and design work. I’m now also learning, or trying to learn, Adobe Illustrator, so that I can branch out a little from doing mainly photographic designs.
I’m afraid I’m definitely one of those arty types in that I work best from moments of inspiration and when I get into the zone, as I call it, I become oblivious to everything around me, totally immersing myself in the creative process and losing all track of time. It’s wonderful, I love it.
I was delighted to be asked to do a Design Spotlight but didn’t find it easy choosing a favourite card. I guess if I were really pushed to pick just one it would be my ‘humorous upside-down dog with tongue sticking out’ design – although I might need to work a bit on that title!
The sweetheart who stars in this image is Sally, one of our four rescue dogs. One day, with the three eldest kids away at various universities, we finally got around to making use of a temporarily empty bedroom and turning it into a studio. Well when I say studio, we made a space big enough to put up a white background and allow the use of two large lights. This photo of Sally was taken during my all time first studio photo shoot, very exciting. All the dogs, my assistants (my husband and youngest daughter) and I, had a great fun time. The dogs were particularly keen on all the extra playing with toys and the surplus of treats, hugs and fuss they got. All in all it was a blast!
One of the things I’ve read about design is that it is not only about the placement of the various elements, but also about the type and amount of space that is created around those elements. For this card I deliberately positioned the image in the top right hand corner and going out of frame so that there was a lot of space between the image and the text. This, I felt, would bring about a rather quirky and light hearted effect, emphasising the notion that Sally was being cheeky and playful and, hopefully, increasing the level of visual humour. I also deliberately kept the design very simple – dog, white background, text – so that there were no distracting elements which would draw the viewer’s attention away from the gentle humour being shared.
I usually spend forever trying to find the right font for text. For this card I was looking for something that had a hand written and fun feel to it which would be in keeping with the overall purpose of the design. The font I finally chose is called Valerian Handwriting.
And finally, as most of the sales of this card are likely to be to Americans, I e-mailed the design over to Jeanne, one of my lovely American friends, to check that the humour would work that side of the pond. From this piece of investigative journalism (ha ha), I learned not only that, “yes, Americans definitely do raspberries”, but also that the card had really made Jeanne’s son giggle. Wow, what a great feeling that was, to find out that one of my designs had made someone laugh. That definitely made it all worth while! Although, of course, lots of sales would be quite nice too!
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GCU in the News!
Hello peeps! Just a shout out today to let you know that the good news about Greeting Card Universe continues to spread. Check out these recent articles about Father’s Day in the Minneapolis Star-Tribune (over 600,000 circulation), and blogs Black Beauty Online and the Macomb Daily Blog Online.
It’s really cool to see things like this happening. The more exposure GCU gets, the more exposure WE get, the more cards we’ll ultimately sell. We must keep up our own efforts to promote and market ourselves.
If you haven’t started a blog, now’s a good time. I give tips in the Newsletter every Thursday that will help you. Stuck for ideas? Join one of our Blog Carnivals or Lightning Rounds – not only do you get a topic to make a post on, you’ll get LOTS of exposure since all participants share the master post of links, AND you have an opportunity to put your store link on all the comments you can leave on other artists’ blogs. It’s a win-win!
So “yay” for GCU getting in the news – I hope to see much more of this kind of thing in the future.
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Blog Carnival II: She Sells Seashells by the Seashore
Time to dip your widdle tootsies in the water… you still have time to enter our Blog Carnival II: SHE SELLS SEASHELLS BY THE SEASHORE.
Just make a new blog post or Squidoo lens with a beach or ocean theme – anything goes! You can talk about beach sports, marine wildlife, summer vacations, bikinis, shell collecting, swimming, surfing, sailing…the list is as endless as the ocean itself! Before June 18, add 3 links to cards at GCU with a beach or ocean theme, and you’ll be part of our master list posted on June 19th (which is shared among all participants, so what a great way to spread your name and fame).
In addition, you could win our fabulous prize – a $25 gift certificate to Amazon.com!!!
And, of course, all participants will receive a special GCU Community Star for their very own. 🙂
Don’t be late and miss out on the fun – make a post or lens and submit it today!
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Dash of Inspiration – June 13, 2011
A Dash of Inspiration…A Cup of Creativity by Doreen
All About Color Theory
I studied photography not art in college, so when I began playing with digital art I was stuck with a CMYK Darkroom Color Wheel in my brain. Fortunately I had the honor of studying art and color theory with an artist who became not only my mentor but my best friend over the years. With our new Critique Clinic and Rainbow Connection that Corrie is providing us, I thought this week I’d add some links to inspire all of us to learn more about color theory and the artist’s color wheel. For those of you who would like to learn more about using color in your designs and how you visualize color and even for those who would just like a refresher course…Here’s what I have for you today:
I found two very interesting videos worth your time, Color Theory and Color Wheel; in addition for those of you who like to study the written word here is a Written Color Theory Tutorial with many links to explore. Our friends from Noupe put together 35 Beautiful Color Palettes from Sunset Photographs which is a must see and if you like them, I added them to my own Photoshop Swatch Library and offer this Sunset Palette of Photoshop Swatches to you commercial free ready for download on my DeviantArt site. For those of you who may not know how to convert the cool Rainbow Connection colors that Corrie provides us, here is a tutorial on Creating Your Own Photoshop Color Swatches for you. Go ahead, color your world!
The Sunset of My Dreams - Image by Doreen Erhardt
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The Rainbow Connection – Hot for Men
That came out sounding different than I intended. 😀
Here are some of this year’s (2011) hottest colors in men’s fashion from Pantone. What does this have to do with greeting cards, you ask? Well, you can pick up interesting palettes and perk up your designs with new colors that shoppers will be seeing on clothing in store window displays, etc. And I love playing with new colors, don’t you? I’ve provided the color name, a swatch and the all important HEX number for each one. Have fun!
Barberry – B61745
Beeswax – EEA94A
Blue Curacao – 2ABDC7
Firecracker – F16B46
Flint Gray – 9E9D98
Lavender – 9A90CD
Linen – FOD9C3
Turf Green – 6C8E68
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Don’t forget about our Blog Carnival II – SHE SELLS SEASHELLS BY THE SEASHORE. Make a new blog post with 3 links to beach or sea themed cards at GCU and you could win a $20 Amazon gift certificate! Send in your entry before June 18th!
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Artist Interview: Janet Lee Palaggi
Today we’re interviewing artist Janet Lee Palaggi of Janet Lee Designs who joined GCU in 2008.
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Janet, what drew you to join GCU?
An Artist, Madeline Allen of SmudgeArt Card Shop here at GCU. We were in the same online social group, designing signature tags…(personalized graphic designs) She thought some of us might like to join.
Tell us who you are, where you live, and what you do.
I am a graphic designer, web-page designer, and photographer living in Illinois. I also sketch and paint with acrylics. I design and sell greeting cards, and Zazzle products.
What’s your favorite greeting card on GCU that you’ve created?
That would have to be my Christmas Tree Card, I love a traditional, old fashioned Christmas, and I think this design says just that. That and it happens to be one of my best sellers at Christmas Time.
Where else can we find you?
My Main Blogs:
Janet Lee Designs
Send From Site Cards
Awesome Zazzle Stores
Summertime Food n’ Fun
Facebook
Twitter
Zazzle – Kumfy Keds
Zazzle – Janet Lee Designs
What would people be surprised to learn about you?
My other passion is music. I was singer / organist, at Riverdale Missionary Church at age 11, in a band called “The Christian Cousins” (my sister and two cousins.) We often sang at places like The Moody Bible Institute and Nursing Homes on weekends. Also, I won a model car contest at age 8. All the other contestants were boys, but I didn’t care, I just wanted to see if I could enter and win. (Took 2nd Place, Yah for me!)
How did you become an artist?
In Grade School we did art blotches, (construction paper folded with a few dots of paint inside.) Mine had to be “Special“ so I worked the colors out meticulously in my head, and the metamorphosis began, it became a beautiful butterfly and I became an artist. However, I feel I became a “real artist” after joining GCU and Zazzle and actually began selling my designs. When I received a camera for Christmas, I was hooked on photography as well. I still have a lot to learn about photography and photo manipulation, it’s all great fun.
What or who inspires you?
Family, Friends, People Living Life, Nature, Animals, “Life Itself” Inspires Me.
What motivates you to design greeting cards?
My passion for art and the desire to touch people, make them laugh, smile, or comfort a grieving soul, which is bittersweet for us artists at GCU, but its also comforting to know we can help in some small way.
Where do you find ideas for your work?
Anywhere and Everywhere, From The Wal-Mart Garden Center for Floral Designs to Carnivals, Fairs, Traveling through the countryside, cities, and small towns.
What’s your workspace or studio like?
I call it Controlled Chaos, but it’s homey and comfortable.
What’s the most indispensable item you use to create your art?
My Paintshop Pro.
What tools do you use to create your work?
Paintshop Pro, Wacom Tablet, Adobe Photoshop, Pencils, Acrylic Paints, and Various Supplies.
When and why did you start selling your designs as greeting cards?
Three years ago a friend told me about GCU. I submitted my designs, people seemed to liked my cards, the response was so positive it sparked a desire in me to create more, and also selling my cards also helps fund my passion.
What do you do to promote your greeting cards on GCU?
I Blog, I Reply To Blogs, I Twitter, I Have A Facebook Page, Facebook Share Button, Browser Buttons > HootSuite, Shareaholic, E:mail Signatures, to name a few.
Is there a tip about GCU or promoting your GCU designs you’d like to share with other artists?
Blogging, replying to Blogs, ( Reply to blogs you’re featured in ). Take advantage of The GCU Forums, Wiki, Blog, and Newsletters for more tips on designing, blogging, and so on.
Name three other GCU artists whose work inspires you or that you admire.
Madeline M. Allen
Delores Knowles
Tanya & Craig Amberson
What blogs do you follow?
Here are a few I follow: Day To Day Draw, Art of John H. Johnson, Hope For Cancer, and Red Rose Digital Art.
Is there something you’re really proud of having done?
I designed complimentary Posters and Animated Screen Savers for “The Double Header Tour” Buses of Willie Nelson, Bob Dylan , Def Leppard, Bryan Adams. ( I received a beautiful wall hanging with Def Leppard’s Signatures, CD Cover Guitar Pics used in the show, Photos, and Stage Pass, from my friend and their stage manager.) It was truly an honor for me to so that for the guys for moral support.
If you weren’t an artist, what would you be?
Not Starving, lol. Working with animals, An Organ Teacher, and/or A Ghost Hunter/Book Author.
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Thank you very much, Janet, for that interesting glimpse into your life and work!
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Critique Clinic – June 10, 2011
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WE NOW HAVE OUR FIVE ARTISTS AND THEIR CARDS TO BE CRITIQUED – THE CLINIC IS CLOSED FOR THIS WEEK. Please check the comments section of this post to see the cards and critiques and/or to add your own. Thanks to everyone who participates. See you next Friday!
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How does it work? Each week on Friday, 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 perhaps you’re a newbie who isn’t sure if a recently submitted 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 for sale at Greeting Card Universe.
- Only 5 artists will be accepted per weekly clinic – first come, first served. If you miss out, you’ll have to wait until the next week. International artists, if your time zone doesn’t permit prompt participation, get in touch with me and I’ll try to work something out with you.
- To submit a card for critique, post a link to the card’s details page at GCU in the comments section of this clinic post. Check through the comments before you submit to see how many cards have already been submitted that day. If the number is five, please do not post yours. Any cards posted after the limit is reached will be deleted from the comment thread.
- 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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GCU Community Newsletter #7 – June 9, 2011
It’s getting warmer in the Netherlands, and soon we will experience the annual harbinger of summer: the mosquito. We live close by a canal, and every year the mosquito population comes out to feed unless it’s been very dry. Time to stock up on citronella oil!
Hidden Gems: Fathers Day - June 19 - artist Corrie Kuipers
Last week on the blog, the Design Spotlight was on Diana Delosh and her cute Groundhog Day card; the Rainbow Connection gave you a three color palette of this summer’s hottest wedding colors, and in a new feature, Inspiration Station, you found links to wedding related sites to inspire your new designs + a collection of wedding fonts; the talented Doreen Erhardt’s column A Dash of Inspiration – A Cup of Creativity brought you tree and leaves brush sets; our Nuts and Bolts feature struck a chord with guidelines about front of card text; and finally, we announced the new Blog Carnival II: SHE SELLS SEASHELLS BY THE SEASHORE. Good luck, everybody!
Until next time, don’t forget to pass the love around!
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Four Tips About the Structure of a Blog Post
If you haven’t already started a blog, why not? You can write about what you love (everybody’s got to love something), entertain or educate other people – or maybe both, and promote your art at the same time. If you’re already blogging, you know it’s easy to scribble any old thing down, but somewhat harder to make a blog post that engages readers. Here are some tips that will help.
Hidden Gems: Fathers Day, June 19 - artist Eugenia Bacon
Be sure to define what it is you want to share: Have a think about the point you’re trying to get across. What’s the main theme of your post? Pare your thoughts down to the essential. You don’t want a post that’s crammed full of everything but the kitchen sink – chaotic writing isn’t attractive, and information overload is hard to digest. Stick to one idea.
Be sure to define your target audience: Don’t try to be all things to all people – you’ll end up attracting few or none. If the focus of your post is North American butterflies, don’t go off on a tangent about the quantum butterfly in the hope of broadening your audience. That doesn’t usually work. Stay focused on your main readers.
Be sure to give it a good title: What makes a really good blog post title? The same thing that makes a really good newspaper headline. It needs to inform the reader what the article is about and be punchy doing it. Once you identify the theme of your post, spend a few minutes thinking of potential titles that will attract readers’ attention. Just be careful – you don’t want to deceive readers by making a super fantastic headline and not following it up with a good post.
Be sure to structure your writing: Some bloggers write off the cuff. There’s nothing wrong with that provided you’ve got the skill to pull it off. Many other writers prefer to organize by making an outline of a potential post, and defining the format they’re going to use like a top 10 list, Q&A interview, links list, personal or inspirational story, news or other informative article, comparison of A vs. B, etc. Once you define your structure, you’ll find the writing comes easier.
With these tips in hand, you’ll be able to create blog posts that are catchy enough to catch the readership you crave!
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The Greeting Card Universe fan page on Facebook now posts the daily Design of the Day? If you haven’t “liked” the page, what are you waiting for? You might be chosen next!
Hidden Gems: Canada Day, July 1 - artist Free Spirit Designs
We’re splashing out with Blog Carnival II: SHE SELLS SEASHELLS BY THE SEASHORE. Just make a new blog post (or a Squidoo lens) about anything beach or sea themed: surfing, clambake, seashells, marine wildlife – you name it, as long as the ocean’s involved, it’s fair game! Use your imagination. Include 3 links to beach or sea-themed cards at GCU and publish your post before June 18. On June 19, I will publish the master post of links to share + announce the winner of a drawing for a $25 AMAZON GIFT CERTIFICATE! Who will be the lucky winner this time? Who knows, but if you don’t enter, you don’t have a chance! Plus all participants will get a very cool Community Star to add to their collection.
Unsure if a photograph of yourself or someone else at a monument (or artwork) in a public space is copyright free and okay for commercial use? Here’s a Forum post where you’ll find the answer.
DID YOU KNOW you can “like” this newsletter or any post on the GCU Community blog, or include them in your social bookmarks? Just click the title of the post, which takes you to the permanent link page. At the bottom of the page you’ll see buttons for social sites like Facebook, Reddit, StumbleUpon, etc.
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The next Newsletter will be published on June 16, 2011
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Good morning! Guess what time it is? Time for another Blog Carnival!
The theme is SHE SELLS SEASHELLS BY THE SEASHORE. That means anything ocean or beach related is fair game: clambake, beach volleyball, sailing, surfing, seashells, marine wildlife, sand castle, swimsuits – use your imagination! Make a new blog post in the theme and include links to 3 beach or ocean-related cards at GCU on or before June 18, 2011. On June 19th, I’ll post the master list for everyone to share, and I’ll have a drawing for a neat-o prize: a $25 Amazon gift certificate! AND all participants will receive a special GCU Community star from little ol’ me.
Don’t miss out! It’s a fabulous opportunity to promote your blog, your GCU store, and your cards – come and play with us by the sea, by the sea, by the beautiful sea!
Oh, and in case you didn’t know, GCU is now posting the card chosen as Design of the Day to their Facebook fan page. If you haven’t “liked” GCU, go do it now.
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Nuts and Bolts: Front of Card Text
FRONT OF CARD TEXT
Armed with your favorite graphic editing software, a show stopping illustration or photograph, a plethora of fonts, and a really great sentiment, how could you go wrong when you’re ready to design your greeting card?
Well…creating a good greeting card (by good, I mean commercial quality – marketable – a card that retail shoppers will find attractive and buy) is more than just slapping your text on the front and thinking you’re done. The placement of text on the front of a card is as vital as the illustration or photograph that accompanies it. This will make or break your design.
Here are some basic guidelines to text that will help you make cards that are so professional looking, they can stand up to the big boys *cough*Hallmark*cough* and win.
- Never use more than 3 fonts on a single design. Yes, there are exceptions to this rule. Look at this card of mine as an example. I can get away with it because despite the several fonts, the text is ordered so the eye is never confused. However, for the most part, you won’t need to violate this rule.
- Follow the baseline. What’s that? The baseline is an imaginary line on which your text will rest, and it should always be present in your design. For example, I’ll show you another card of mine. Because the end of the vine is curly, I can curve my text around it. Had the vine stuck straight out, doing curved text would have looked odd because it didn’t follow an existing baseline. How do you find the baseline? Look at your image. In most of your designs, the baseline will be straightforward (that is, straight across). Don’t gild the lily unless the design supports it.
- If you can’t read your font when you type out a block of text, it isn’t a good font. I’m aware there are a lot of decorative fonts out there that are fancy, funny or otherwise blinged out, but if the shopper can’t read what you wrote, all the pretty letters won’t matter. Make your text legible. Investing in a few good, legible, basic fonts (for the love of the Great Bird of the Galaxy, not Comic Sans) that are okay for commercial use will stand you in very good stead, and give you an excellent foundation to build on. Choose a font that compliments your design and is relevant to the subject. Don’t pick one because you think it’s cute. A whimsical curly font, for example, may be okay for a birthday card, but absolutely not on a sympathy card.
- Do not warp, twist, bend, wave or otherwise mess around with your text. If you want to curve your text like I showed you in my second example card (the baby shower invitation), then you need to learn Adobe Illustrator. Text effects may look okay on a website banner, but you will not attract shoppers when you put that scrunched, higgledy-piggledy, warped and waved text on a greeting card. It doesn’t look professional. Don’t do it.
- Always do a layout in your graphics editing program with your picture and text in layers so you can adjust as necessary. If you have multiple lines of text, you can play with the sizes and placements as long as you don’t forget that alignment is the most important thing. Here’s an example where I’ve been creative with the placement of each line, used a different font for emphasis, and manually adjusted the leading (that’s the space between lines), but the alignment of each line to the others and to the rest of the elements as well as to the card’s margins is what makes this a successful design. Repeat after me: the layout grid is my best friend.
- This may seem like a no-brainer, but make sure you use a font color that can actually be read against the background image. A good rule of thumb is: white or black, with color or bold for emphasis as needed (see my card here for an example). If white looks washed out, while black is too strong, consider using a color already present but at its lightest or darkest setting, such as navy blue text on a light blue background.
GCU Community 