Freebie Wednesday: Free Winter Greenery Graphics
Our freebie this week is Free Winter Greenery Graphics from Kendra L features dozens of PNG files that are great for winter themed stationery like weddings & events, home decor, product packaging designs and much more!
- 30 Single Elements
- 4 Arrangements
- 5 Frames
You only need to sign up to the site to download the goods.
Comes with complete commercial license.
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Nuts & Bolts: Artificial Intelligence – Guest Post Corrie Kuipers
How do I use the images I generate in MJ? The process is pretty much as when I used to draw everything by hand. It all starts with an idea. I keep copious notes for those as well 😉 I have perfected certain prompts to get a consistent look and style that fits my brand.
Animals have always played the starring role in my work and now I can really go to town as Midjourney keeps getting more and more sophisticated. So I take my idea into Midjourney and try my prompts on it to get as close to a workable image as I can. Sometimes I can’t get exactly what I want, Midjourney still has certain limits, and then I keep working on it or leave it for the future where it might be possible. You need to have patience.
When an image has potential I save it to my hard drive. From this growing collection I select one I want to work with and take it into an app to enhance the size to make it big enough for print. Sometimes I use just one image as the main component for a card design, or it can be several. I mainly use Picmonkey to build my card (as in adding text, background and effects).
Do I feel using AI for my card designs is unethical? No. Not the way I use it. My generated images are photorealistic and not aimed to copy any living or dead artist. The whole argument of ‘you are ripping off artists because the AI is trained on their work’ is a bit too simplistic. Yes, AI used existing material to train on, but don’t forget it’s all broken down into ones and zeros. So they take minute pieces of everything and mix it into something unique by way of your prompt. You mix and remix and tinker with it until you get something nobody else can reproduce (unless they have your exact seed number, but that’s getting technical). And don’t think you can just waltz in, press a button and your design is done. It really still needs to go through that whole creative process, just like the way I used to make cards.
I love AI, and think I will ride that wave for as long as I can. There are so many new exciting things to come. It has given me and my card designs a new lease on life and I’m happy for it.”
Please remember to use GCU’s policy and instructions for submission:
https://gcucommunity.com/2023/05/05/nuts-bolts-artificial-intelligence-policy/
Mindy
GCU Community Manager
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Wanted New Cards: Congratulations Winter Grads
Not all college students graduate at the end of the fall term. For a multitude of reasons, many college students graduate mid-year, known as Winter Graduation or Winter Grads.
Occasions >> Congratulations >> Graduation >> College >> Winter Graduation / Winter Grad cid#37600
Note: cid# is the speed entry method of adding a category to your card via category id number (cid#) vs using search terms or click and hunt. See here on the blog:
https://gcucommunity.com/2022/06/10/nuts-and-bolts-new-artist-enhancements/
Consider using Stock Card Creations to create new cards quickly. These cards are automatically set for expedited review so no need to Fast Track. 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. Go for it!
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Freebie Wednesday: Free Christmas Coffee Bundle
Our freebie this week is the Christmas Coffee Bundle, 50 PNG files (300 DPI) with a transparant background. Available on designbundles.net for free. You only need to sign up to the site to download the goods.
Comes with complete commercial license.
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Dash of Inspiration: September 2023 STOCK Design Challenge
Let’s roll …
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Theme: Doctor of Acupuncture & Chinese / Oriental Medicine / DACM DAOM Graduate
Requirements:
- This category needs cards: Occasions > Congratulations Cards > Graduation > Grad / Graduate School > Doctor of Acupuncture & Chinese / Oriental Medicine / DACM DAOM
- ONLY Big Stock cards will be accepted in this challenge.
- The judges will be looking for professional quality text layout, typography placement and font combinations in addition to a unique and captivating message that tells the story of the stock image you choose. Your added value needs to wow the judges!
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Entry Deadline: Saturday, September 30th
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How to Enter: Post the PID (card number) and the URL (public storefront link – please WAIT for the card to be available in the public marketplace, please DO NOT post a link to your Manage Cards area) as a post in the challenge blog. We’ll forward your entry to the jury.
NOTE: Submissions will appear immediately in your Private gallery as they await review. If approved, the reviewer will move them to the public gallery – they will then become ‘live’ in the marketplace within 24-hours or so just like regular submissions. Be patient and wait.
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Category:
Occasions > Congratulations Cards > Graduation > Grad / Graduate School > Doctor of Acupuncture & Chinese / Oriental Medicine / DACM DAOM
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Rules:
- Submission must meet GCU’s Submission Guidelines and be Approved through the usual Review Cycle. Big Stock creations are automatically identified as Fast Track – please add in the Notes to Reviewer: September Design Challenge Submission here is the link to the blog post: (include THIS blog post URL)
- Only ONE card per artist per challenge.
- Submissions must be NEW, no existing designs.
- Your entry must meet the Challenge Requirements and Theme or it will not be included in the challenge.
- Big Stock Card Creations ONLY will be accepted.
- Your designs should differ from those already offered in the categories above to offer shoppers a variety of choices, not more of the same.
- No BLANK cards will be accepted.
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BLIND Judging: We hope each of you enters every month. Entries are submitted anonymously for judging by the GCU Challenge Jury which means that before and during the challenge, judges do not have any way of knowing what artist is behind each entry. This eliminates any and all concerns with ‘favoritism’. Results will post on the Community Blog. The jury will judge the entries on the following criteria:
- How well the card meets the Challenge Requirements and Theme.
- How well the card speaks to the Category the artist chooses for the card submission.
- Creativity, Execution and Marketability. Your overall ‘added value’ determines this.
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Winners: 1st Place:
- The winning designer’s card and store will be featured on the GCU Public Blog – the blog which customers view and follow.
- As well as featured on the GCU Public Facebook Page – nearly 58,000 followers, now THAT’S exposure!
- The winning card will be Design of the Day following the announcement of the winners (within 48-hours).
EXCEPTION: Horizontal (landscape) cards may not be featured as DOD due to GCU Home Page space restrictions. In these cases, GCU will choose a different vertically oriented card from your store to feature as DOD. Thank you for your understanding and apologies for this limitation.
- The winning card will be added to the Greeting Card Universe Design Challenge Winners Pinterest Board – currently GCU’s Pinterest Page followers: 12.9K!
- The winning card, should the artist choose, may be referenced in a new series by the winning artist and he/she may Fast Track all cards in the new series (being sure to give the Challenge URL and winning card PID in your Notes to Reviewer for each card in this series).
- Winning card will be included in a marketing email to over 100,000 customers!
- GCU will create a Meet the Team board for the winning artist under the Pinterest GCU account where the winning artist will be able to pin and promote her own storefront and all that makes them a unique card designer and one of GCU’s artistic community team member.
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Winning card will be posted on GCU’s Instagram with 2,000 followers and counting!
- GCU will create a Meet the Team board for the winning artist under the Pinterest GCU account where the winning artist will be able to pin and promote her own storefront and all that makes them a unique card designer and one of GCU’s artistic community team member.
- 10 free greeting card credits added to your GCU account. Apply them at checkout and they never expire.
- A Design Challenge GCU digital award for 2023!
2nd Place:
- Your submission will be Design of the Day the following week of announcing the Challenge winners (within 7-days).
EXCEPTION: Horizontal (landscape) cards may not be featured as DOD due to GCU Home Page space restrictions. In these cases, GCU will choose a different vertically oriented card from your store to feature as DOD. Thank you for your understanding and apologies for this limitation.
- Your card will be added to the Greeting Card Universe Design Challenge Winners Pinterest Board.
- Winning card will be included in a marketing email to over 100,000 customers!
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Winning card will be posted on GCU’s Instagram with 10.8k followers and counting!
- 5 free greeting card credits added to your GCU account. Apply them at checkout and they never expire.
- A Design Challenge GCU digital award for 2023!
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Tips:
- Visit all the available tips, tricks and guidelines offered on the Big Stock Creation blog page!
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Be inspired to create and learn something new!
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Nuts & Bolts: Update Chinese New Year YEAR of the RABBIT / HARE
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Nuts & Bolts – Update Chinese New Year YEAR of the RABBIT / HARE
Chinese New Year in 2024 will be the Year of the Dragon (on February 10), so we say farewell to 2023’s Year of the Rabbit / Hare for 12 more years until 2035.
Please update your 2023 Year of the Rabbit cards to 2035. After 10/01/23, GCU will take any outdated cards offline.
Be sure to review the Chinese New Year specific rules on Change or New Submission. Not only should images be updated but also card titles, keywords and artist notes. This even applies to custom front designs to make them more marketable and avoid shopper errors. Create new cards for 2024’s year of the Dragon:  The difference is made in the details!
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GCU Community Manager
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FREE Watercolor Autumn’s Pumpkin & Spices Collection. – 38 PNG with Transparent background.
Only available on the Hungry Jpeg site for one week, so don’t miss out!
Comes with complete License.
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Nuts & Bolts: Reminder August 2023 Design Challenge
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Nuts & Bolts – Reminder August 2023 Design Challenge
Thursday, August 31st is the last day to submit your entries for August’s Design Challenge.
See August’s 2023 Design Challenge here.
Theme: Grandparents Day – Other
 The difference is made in the details!
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GCU Community Manager
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Wanted New Cards: Retirement Congratulations Barista/Bartender
Occasions >> Congratulations >> Retirement >> Occupation Specific >> Barista cid#37578
Occasions >> Congratulations >> Retirement >> Occupation Specific >> Bartender / Barkeep /
Mixologist cid#37580
Note: cid# is the speed entry method of adding a category to your card via category id number (cid#) vs using search terms or click and hunt. See here on the blog:
https://gcucommunity.com/2022/06/10/nuts-and-bolts-new-artist-enhancements/
Consider using Stock Card Creations to create new cards quickly. These cards are automatically set for expedited review so no need to Fast Track. 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. Go for it!
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FREE Mystical Sun & Moon Illustration collection.
Get 27 celestial-themed watercolor artworks, including dreamy sun and moon scenes, magical celestial elements, and fantasy night sky illustrations.
Only available on the Hungry Jpeg site for one week, so don’t miss out!
Comes with complete License.
GCU Community 