Creative Business 101: Let Go Of Fear

by Linda | Feb 23, 2012 | my creative journal

Last week, I wrote about my doubts in offering digital downloads of my artwork and the dilemma of wanting to get my work out into the world, but still retain ownership and rights. Although I do not know if there is a huge market for digital downloads of artwork, people seemed to like the general idea – even though they shared my concern for piracy. Offering the print quality source file for sale, brings up immediate concern of attracting copycats and scammers in this world. Some might even say that it goes against the “fine art print” aspect of Art.

The topic of infringement in the art world has been discussed and blogged about so many times. Every now and again, a shocking infringement case will surface and our little world is rattled up with fury. I certainly cannot make sense of how people can blatantly copy and not feel and know in their bones that it is wrong.

But then again, there’s a whole lot of people in this world driven to do bad things. There are many reasons, albeit not justifications… but it doesn’t change the fact that there will always be risk involved, in all facets of life. We fear so many things, but we can’t let that fear control us and bind us down. We can listen to that fear, but then… we figure out what we will actually do.

After much thought and consideration, I’ve decided to offer my Girls With A Message series for sale as digital downloads. (Note: no longer available online)

We live in an everchanging landscape and I want to embrace the technology that we have available to us. This will be my little experiment and I certainly have my reasons for taking a chance. I know there are those who don’t even consider digital art as a true art form. However, it’s always a question of time and education for people to accept new ways. Instead of concentrating on all my fears and worries, I want to look forward to all the pros in this situation.

• Digital downloads = instant gratification
• Reach anyone in the world with an Internet connection
• Unlimited quantity to spread, so everyone can enjoy my work
• No shipping fees for you the customer
• No packing materials for me to fuss with (I live in Italy and 99% of my supporters live out of this country)
• With the source file, you can always renew your prints – just print it again!
• Variety of applications since one could print on paper, cloth, transfer paper…
• Or even use digitally as your desktop, screensaver, phone wallpaper…
• Easy to change the size in proportion with digital files, print at 100% size or a mini copy to use as notecards

I certainly don’t want to encourage piracy, because the digital copy is for personal use only. I’m doing my part in officially copyrighting and registering my work, but I know the risk is there. I think the digital format makes it easier for people to mis-use the work. But that isn’t going to stop the rise of the digital revolution. Ebooks are everywhere and so convenient – taking over the publishing the world.

The funny thing is that I’m already offering my work digitally. I design digital scrapbooking products at CatScrap and have my own digital stamp shop. Why the hesitation for art prints? I have to admit, there must have been some kind of haughty, snobby, worth-more thought in my mind… and I realized that it’s silly. It’s all my work and I put the same passion into my efforts, no matter what the end result becomes. I’m already out there in the digital world, why not go full force?

And in a way, I would love for my girl illustrations to spread like wildfire. It’s funny how the messaging is urging me take the leap as well. Ultimately, the whole point is to spread all the positive and motivational messaging. I hope that people who support me, would simply direct interested parties to buy their own copy of the download. It’s really the same situation for any kind of product that can be scanned and ripped off. The risk is not stopping people from releasing their work and becoming successful. I figure the best way to combat the fear, is to work on getting my girls out there and known. There will be no question that I’m the illustrator and ultimately, to be recognized for one’s work… that is a great feeling of success. I believe true fans will come back to the source. I also believe that if I put my good intentions out there, it can’t be a bad thing. Good things will come out of it.

I’m going to let go of fear and shoot for stars… please wish me luck.

Update: Currently you can find products in my Zazzle shop!

Also, here are some articles around the topic of copycats and copyright for artists:

Pikaland – Copycat Lessons We Can Learn

Fine Art Views – Don’t Fear The Copycats

Kate Harper Blog – Fear of Getting Your Art Stolen? Look at the Numbers

Protecting Your Art: Interview with Alyson B. Stanfield

EmptyEasel – Copyright Information for Artists: How Copyright Laws Protect Your Art

Tara Reed – How copyright infringement is like stealing my sandwich…

For Lia, For Love

by Linda | Feb 17, 2012 | my creative journal

I wanted to point everyone to Lia’s story, something that my bloggie friend Gretchen (juneatnoon) brought to my attention.

I know it can so heartbreaking to hear of unhappy circumstances. We can never understand why this happens or make sense of it all. Personally, I have such a hard time dealing with these types of realities, because I am constantly searching to understand, make sense and put things in their “place” in my mind. But we all know that life doesn’t work that way and we can’t understand everything. Regardless of the unfortunate circumstances, when I looked through the website, I saw joy and love in the photos of Lia. Despite everything, there is still goodness and happiness to be experienced. That is what I choose to focus on and I think it can be so inspiring. I suppose that is why I love scrapbooking so much… even difficult stories, because there is so much goodness to remember and celebrate… even if there is pain.

I decided to donate some little pieces of art for the benefit of Lia, because I immediately thought of my girls with a message illustrations… namely Be Brave and Be Strong. Some magnets and keychains will be at their upcoming art auction, so help out if you can – whether it’s donating or buying something at the auction. I hope that my little contribution can help to bring a smile, a little bit of happiness and love. It’s not much, but it’s something.

You can find my girls with a message illustrations in my Zazzle shop and this experience is making me think about my artwork differently. More and more I am wanting to offer them as printables, to spread them far and wide for joy…for love. I feel like they need to be out there in the world. It’s not about keeping them for me and my benefit, one way or another. I created the first set of girls a while ago and they haven’t done much good with me staring at them. Lots of thoughts in my mind. More to come… and thank you all for listening.

Photo and Art Prints DIY With A Home Printer

by Linda | Feb 28, 2012 | my creative journal

I know that when it comes to digital printables, most are worried about the process of printing at home. We want the best quality possible, but very few of us have professional heavy duty equipment! I admint that the process of printing seems to be a whole art form in itself! However, these days the technology available to us gives pretty fabulous results… and many independent artists selling art prints, actually print at home as well. Regular home printers are pretty darn good and I’m able to get really great quality prints with ease.

Most of us are able to print a quick photo at home with our inkjet printers and it works the same for art prints and other downloadable printables as well. There are many factors that contribute to a beautiful looking print and with a bit of testing and experimentation, I’m certain you’ll find what is acceptable to you – for your particular use at that time.

YOUR PRINTER

To print at home, you obviously need access to a printer. Most of us have inkjet printers…the most common for households these days. They have a lot of features and the trick is to inform yourself of what is possible. Of course, the more expensive the printer, the more quality and control comes with it. Artists in the business of printing their own artwork usually have large format printers that accept thicker, speciality papers. They usually have more control over their ink colors as well – 4 to 8 different ink cartridges. It can provide better picture detail and color quality.

I personally have a very inexpensive “home office” Canon PIXMA MP240. It’s nothing special, but does give me a lot of flexibility when it comes to borderless printing at any custom size. It’s not the best out there, but the quality is pretty darn good and more than anything, it’s about understanding how to maximize my printer’s potential. Let’s use and make the best of what we’ve got!

INK

An extremely important aspect for me, is to use ink from the same brand as my printer. I know that it costs and might seem like all the same thing in the end. But if you think about it, there’s a compatibility when you use products from the same company  – whatever that company might be. They test and use their own products, so that it works together. When they claim that pigment ink can last up to 100 years, it’s on their paper and using their ink.

I personally don’t know if the generic brands are really the same thing chemically or not. However, instead of fussing around with injecting refills which I abhor doing… I always go with the name brand. I think it’s totally worth it and makes a difference. There are exceptions I’m sure and I think the only way to go is to test and see what works for you at the best price.

PAPER

Another major component in the quality of your print is the paper choice. In fact, I think it’s a pretty HUGE deal. I use Canon brand papers with my Canon printer, but sometimes opt for other professional papers as well. The key here is professional. There is a huge difference. Just do a comparison. Print on regular paper, on photo paper, on canvas, different brands, etc. You will see the difference in vibrance of color when printing on regular cardstock versus photo paper. Perhaps you can see in this photo how much more bright and true to color the top sheet is – matte photo paper, versus the bottom which is regular cardstock – same printer centers. It’s about how the paper absorbs the ink.

The bottom sheet looks completely washed out by comparison, right? And no, my printer was not running out of ink, I actually printed on the cardstock first and realized my mistake! The reason why photo paper looks so much better is because it’s manufactured to capture vivid and bold colors. The ink doesn’t sink down and become absorbed by the paper and fibers. That’s why there’s always a right side to print on and the back side, has their logo and looks dull. I also print on high resolution paper that is much brighter white to begin with – ever realized how dull and yellowish regular copy paper looks? That aspect also makes a difference in your end product.

Your best bet is to print test prints on the different types of paper you have. Just print a tiny 1inch by 1inch square, something large enough so you can compare with perhaps a crop or graphic that has different colors. You’ll see the difference in how your paper takes your ink and can make a judgement from there. Obviously, for whatever budget you have, get the best quality you can afford and go with that.

SETTINGS
A huge tip when printing from home is to set your printer settings on the best quality possible. There is a noticeable difference between high quality and standard quality in my experience. Some people don’t use the high quality because it uses more ink, so you just have to do a bit of testing and see what is acceptable for you.

Selecting the specific paper you are using also makes a difference. If you think of a putting a puzzle together, when you have all the right settings, your image will look great. When you don’t have them matched up properly, it can be off. Dig into the printer menu and settings! Look through everything and understand what options your printer has.

I usually print directly from the preview image program on my Mac – simply because I prefer the menu options. Of course, you can print from any graphic program and simply open up your printer settings specifically.

Things to check:

• What are you printing, how many copies? Consider doing a test first! Can you see a preview?
• Select your proper paper size
• Select the proper sizing for your image  – do you need to scale it down? (my girl art prints are 10″x10″ at 300dpi, so you usually will be sizing them down. the even number makes it easy to just enter percentages for whatever size you are going for, 50% for 5″x5″, etc)
• Select the proper paper type – it makes a huge difference!
• Select the highest print quality possible

I have certainly run into problems myself when printing at home, but I know from experience that it simply took a bit of education and experimentation to find the sweet spot. When I tried all the Canon products together, my prints looked pretty fabulous! In fact, I have upgraded and use even the super thick fine art museum etching paper – and WHOA it makes a huge difference!

So give printing at home a try and know that it takes just a bit of experimentation to maximize the use of your printer. These days, the quality is really fantastic.

I should note that if you aren’t satisfied with the quality at home, you can always send the image to a profesional printer or even a photo printing service. Anything printed as photo quality looks significantly better!

Let me know if you have any tips and tricks for printing beautiful artwork at home. How you find the process of printing at home? I know that with different equipment and materials, we will all get different results. I also know that some artists cringe at the thought of letting others control the quality of their work. However, I want my girls to spread far and wide and I want people to see them and feel better seeing them! Even if it’s maybe not that vibrant of a print, I don’t think it degrades the worth of the original work and idea. I think that the power of the visual imagery and message, still carries through. So although it’s wonderful to see the high quality prints, I think the not so professional copies still have just as powerful effects. I suppose that in this digital age, it’s no longer about that physical tactile item sometimes. It’s much greater and intangible…