I’ve seen so many people still asking why they’ve still not sold any artwork on Redbubble! So I’ve compiled all my enterprising, marketin…
I’ve seen so many people still asking why they’ve still not sold any artwork on Redbubble! So I’ve compiled all my enterprising, marketing, sales and money-based articles written over the last two years. I really REALLY hope you enjoy reading and applying them into your sales-campaign. First, let’s take a look at you, the artist within. Wait, that sounds like the first article… 01. Defining the Artist Within / 02. I Have a Special Condition! / 03. Keep that Entrepreneurial Spirit Alive / 04. Two Crafty Ways to Become a High Profile Photographer / 05. Playing the Popularity Game Without Caring if You Win or Lose / 06. What Makes You Think Your Art is Good Enough? Here is the guts of this article, the really in-depth stuff that should help understand how to better use Redbubble in your venture to either make money or make a name for yourself: 07. Are You Selling More Artwork ? / 08. Helping YOU Make a Profit on Redbubble ! / 09. Pleasure from Profit from Pleasure / 10. Quality Marketing Equals Sales / 11. Selling Your Art Successfully / 12. Sell, Give, Donate and Use Your Skills / 13. My Marketing Strategy / 14. How to Sell Anything / 15. Selling My Artwork At Amended Prices / 16. Twelve Months on Redbubble The trick is to read each article, and then ask yourself: ‘How does this apply to my situation?’. I’m very sure you’ll find a way to incorporate the ideas I’ve used here to improve your situation and increase your sales! I look forward to hearing how much more sales you make over the next few months!! EDIT [11:32 PM 15/05/2009] / Some of you will now want to run an exhibition, gallery or stall of your artwork. For that I have compiled another list of links that should help you! / ... Running Sheet for Exhibitions Since this is my article, I have to get a few shameless-plugs in here somewhere. I have T-shirts for sale that will get you noticed! / ... Your Name on a PHOTOGRAPHER Shirt / ... Photographer Shirts / ... Redbubble Shirts for Artists, Writers and Photographers Postscript / I started writing simple tips that any Redbubble Artist could use. I don’t write them so much any more, but I keep them here for my own reminder. I hope you enjoy these two that relate to this post enormously: / ... Tip #001 / ... Tip #004
I made some free buttons for your w…
I made some free buttons for your website and feel free to use them. When you need another text, just ask me, I will do it for you… You just need to copy the address under the button and copy it to your profile / My bubble -> account -> edit your profile -> about you You write for this the copied address between two exclamation marks without a space / !copied address! After this you write a double point and the link url-address (http://www.redbubble.com/link…..). At the end it should look like this: / !copied address!:link And at the end a little tip…. When you would like the visitors to see also your older work, not just only the first page… then lead them randomly to any page in your collection… All you have to do is to fill in this form and copy the address you get as a link for example to your my clothes button.... After this visitors will land not only at the beginning pages of your collection, by randomly everywhere…. :) http://images-2.redbubble.net/img/art/size:ularge/view:main/1865589-2-art.jpg http://images-0.redbubble.net/img/art/size:ularge/view:main/1865593-2-clothing.jpg http://images-1.redbubble.net/img/art/size:ularge/view:main/1865597-2-writing.jpg http://images-0.redbubble.net/img/art/size:ularge/view:main/1865604-2-calendars.jpg http://images-3.redbubble.net/img/art/size:ularge/view:main/1865608-2-wallart.jpg http://images-3.redbubble.net/img/art/size:ularge/view:main/1865610-2-greeting-cards.jpg http://images-2.redbubble.net/img/art/size:ularge/view:main/1865614-2-bubblesite.jpg http://images-2.redbubble.net/img/art/size:ularge/view:main/1865621-2-sold-work.jpg http://images-0.redbubble.net/img/art/size:ularge/view:main/1865624-2-bestseller.jpg http://images-1.redbubble.net/img/art/size:ularge/view:main/1865630-2-favorite-work.jpg http://images-3.redbubble.net/img/art/size:ularge/view:main/1865637-2-featured.jpg http://images-1.redbubble.net/img/art/size:ularge/view:main/1868788-2-website.jpg Read also: Tricks how to sell more… or Well balanced color palettes… or Ultimate Link Collection for creatives!
Here is an amazing bunch of Photography Essays and Tutorials I found buried within luminous-landscape.com...
Here is an amazing bunch of Photography Essays and Tutorials I found buried within luminous-landscape.com early this morning. I plan to do a LOT of reading! Understanding Aspect Ratios and the Art of Cropping Understanding Soft Proofing Understanding Sensor Issues Understanding Printer Colour Management Understanding Raw Files Understanding Local Contrast Enhancement Understanding Contrast Masking Understanding Digital USM Understanding MTF Charts Understanding Histograms Understanding Digital Sensor Cleaning Understanding Digital Work Flow Understanding Mirror Lock-Up Understanding Medium Format Understanding Depth of Field Understanding Polarizers Understanding Lens Contrast Understanding BOKEH Understanding Bit Depth Understanding Sharpness Understanding Resolution Understanding Camera Movements Understanding Colour Theory Understanding the DSLR Magnification Factor Understanding SLR Viewfinders Understanding Exposure Understanding Digital Blending Understanding ProPhoto RGB Understanding Lens Diffraction Understanding Panoramic Stitching Yikes! Yes, there is a so much here to read, but certainly worth it!
Looking for a ‘check list’ or ‘running sheet’ for your next exhibition? Thanks to the power of google.com, and a spare hour on a Saturd…
Looking for a ‘check list’ or ‘running sheet’ for your next exhibition? Thanks to the power of google.com, and a spare hour on a Saturday afternoon of sporadic rain, I found a few PDF’s that should help you: Events Management Check List ... I really like this one! It’s comprehensive, has tick-boxes, and could easily be modified to suit any type of event. Running, Promoting and Organsing your Event / ... Page 1 to 17 have great information on setting up and ensuring your t’s are crossed and i’s are dotted. Page 18 to 20 are the pages you want to print! Club/Association Management Program / ... This is a most extensive booklet (36 pages) outlining EVERYTHING about exhibition running. Whilst it is aimed at sport clubs, the information is easily transferable to anyone’s exhibition. Page 19 says … / ” It is essential that an event has an evaluation process that is more than simply monitoring the planning and implementation. Evaluation should be carried out through the life of the event as well as at the end. Information recorded from monitoring provides a record and can be kept as a historical record for events that are held regularly. Criteria for success, and methods for measuring those criteria, need to be set when the event is first planned. Measures depend on the important questions to be answered. Questions may have to do with attendances, quality of staff, revenue, public opinion and press coverage. Methods for obtaining the information needed to answer the questions might include statistics for attendance, questionnaires from participants and spectators, and financial records. “ Survival Guide to Event Management / ... Another long-winded yet comprehensive (56 page) PDF that has a lot of useful information. Visit these pages for the details you really want: 9, 16, 24, 27, 32, 36-37. But you MUST read every other page in conjunction to get an overall and complete view of how to run your exhibition properly and successfully! Submission form for Major Events / Activities in Adelaide / ... Maybe your exhibition is SOOOO BIG that you need to fill this in. Event Guidelines / ... This could easily have been ripped off from any one of the suggested PDF’s above, but it still has some interesting information. You’ll want pages 21 to 24.
I’ve been reading the American humorist David Sedaris. He rabbits on about himself. He makes…
I’ve been reading the American humorist David Sedaris. He rabbits on about himself. He makes me laugh and wince and sometimes ponder. In his art he puts a mirror up to himself and tells us what he sees. He is in equal measure intolerably self-obsessed and sublimely self-reflective: “After a few months in my parents’ basement, I took an apartment near the state university, where I discovered both crystal methamphetamine and conceptual art. Either one of these things are dangerous, but in combination they have the potential to destroy entire civilizations.” (from Dress Your Family in Corduroy and Denim) You get the idea. Ironically, in creating his art he has lifted himself out of the alcoholism, drug addiction and mental illness that provided the initial fuel for it. As you cruise through many of the journal entries on RedBubble you will find that Sedaris is not alone in finding his art to be profoundly healing. Try here. I regularly build and fix things at the farm and will often stare back at what I have done. Well-laid concrete will transform a gloomy day. Hours can pass in the creation with my mind at rest. Anxiety or despondency sinks in when I am no longer creating. Or even worse when I constantly measure what I create by what others think of if it or what it may achieve. Farm work isn’t art. Art ponders on the very act of creation itself and reaches towards an even deeper significance. I am going to do a glass blowing course next month. Without RedBubble I doubt I would have sought to journey further into the reflection. Martin (aka Pilgrim)
I am not sure if someone else has already posted a tutorial on this, so I thought I would have a go at it. I read “this (How to add a Po…
I am not sure if someone else has already posted a tutorial on this, so I thought I would have a go at it. I read this very insightful tutorial by admin Xavier Shay about posting a Portfolio into an email signature. I was toying around with the code, and discovered how to place the code on your Red Bubble profile page. I have noticed that some people have already figured out how to do this, so there are some who probably already know about this. I, however, did not know this until I toyed around with it and, so, I am sure that there others out there who might find this of value. I would first recommend that you read Xavier’s post and the comments that follow, as they were a very big help in learning how to do this. (1) The first step is to use the image location link that was provided in the forum tutorial: http://redbubble.com/people/username/recipe:banner;back_color:ffffff;orientation:horizontal;limit:4/username_banner.jpg (2) Next, paste this image location link somewhere in your “About Me” section between exclamation points, like this: !place the image location link here! (3) Now, notice the bold areas of the above link. You must insert your Red Bubble username (not your real name) where it says username (there are two spots in the link where you have to do this). So, my link would like like this: http://redbubble.com/people/bchrisdesigns/recipe:banner;back_color:ffffff;limit:4_;orientation:_horizontal;/bchrsidesigns_banner.jpg Can you tell where I have replaced “username” with “bchrisdesigns”? (4) Finally, if you take note of the italicized text in the image location link directly above, you will notice that the values of “back_color”, “orientation”, and “limit” are all italicized. These values are yours to control and manipulate to get the proper look and feel that you would like on your page. back_color: is the image’s background color, which you can change to any color using the standard HTML Color Code. Note, that you do not need to use the # (pound sign) that normally precedes HTML Color Code (i.e. ”#ffffff”) – you just need the code (i.e. “fffffff”). #ffffff is the color code for “white”. limit: is the number of thumbnails that will be seen in your banner. I have experimented with this in my blog and have discovered that the most you can set it to is “6”. On your Red Bubble profile page, the most you can really set it to is “4” for horizontal images and “6” for vertical images orientation: is the way your portfolio will be seen. This can be changed to either “horizontal” (from side-to-side) or “vertical” (up and down). And, that is it. Once you have decided how you want your image to look, just save your profile and presto! You’ve got a nifty banner on your page. BUT… If you would like your banner to be click-able, you need to add a link code to it, such as: ”! image location here ! ( link description here )” : hyperlink here You can copy and paste this example into your “About Me” section and then fill in the blanks with your information (make sure you delete any and all spaces). In the above example, replace the underlined text as follows: image location here: replace this text with the finalized image location link that we worked on in steps 1-4 above. link description here: replace this text with a description of what you would like people to see when they hover over your banner. (Mine says “View My Red Bubble Gallery”.) hyperlink here: replace this text with the actual hyperlink that you would like your image to link to (i.e. a specific Red Bubble section or your profile page; you can also link to your blog/website/etc.). Once you replace the text as indicated, simply save your edited profile and check out your radical awesomeness! Here is an example of mine (with hyperlink): I hope this helps everyone! Cheers! P.S. I am adding this to all of my groups in the hopes that everyone can use this tool to display their beautiful works of art (from Atmospheric Optics to Zoophoria). Much love!
So this is what happens when Melbourne bubblers get together for a pre-xmas dinner: amongst green tea and white wine, and quivering balls…
So this is what happens when Melbourne bubblers get together for a pre-xmas dinner: amongst green tea and white wine, and quivering balls of octopus flesh, we fell into a passionate table thumping debate about the seven deadly sins and their role in our lives. For each of us with an ardent connection to a particular sin, there was another with a distinct aversion to it. The merits and downsides of each were analysed and debated (this is where the table thumping came in – seaweed salad almost went flying), and to our surprise there were greatly differing opinions and various semantic interpretations. Isn’t lust also passion for your creative desires? If so, how does that relate to the Buddhist treatise that desire is the root of suffering (don’t get me started on this one!)? Surely pride links to wrath, and what’s the difference between revenge and retaliation? Is sloth always a sin, and surely there’s room for gluttony? This arose as the delectable black sesame icecream arrived, and the dueling of the spoons began :-) During this discussion we revealed layers of ourselves to our beloved friends with honesty, trust and recognition, and at the end of the night we realised with a start that the six of us each laid claim to an individual sin. Except one. Which is where YOU come in. We’ve decided to do a collaboration of the Seven Deadly Sins. Each of us will write of our particular sin, whichever way we interpret it, and upload it on New Year’s Eve. I’ve wrestled with wrath for much of my life, as my lovingly detailed Medusa tattoo attests, and this is my challenge. Jessica Tremp will take envy, Yasemin Sumner knows pride, Lucky Vegetable will write of gluttony, Michael Alesich will write of sloth, and Sheamus D will take lust. And if you know your sins…and I think you do….you’ll know what’s missing is greed. If greed is a sin you wrestle with, write a piece relating to it and tag it with sevensinscomp, and upload it on New Year’s Eve (maximum 1000 words). We’ll decide on the entry we feel fits best, and we’ll personally take the winner out to dinner and invite them to be guest of honour at the next Melbourne writers’ meeting. If you’re not a Melbourne local, feel free to still enter – Red Bubble has offered as a prize either a copy of In The Moment or Gaia , which will be posted out to you. The offer of dinner will still stand, and might inspire you to plan a trip to Melbourne – just think of the table thumping and black sesame icecream opportunities available with fellow Red Bubblers in our beautiful city! There are often collaborations between photographers, so this is a way for the writers to connect and get ideas flowing. If you don’t feel up to writing a piece about it, feel free to leave your thoughts below on the sins that pertain to your life …sometimes when you get ideas flowing, the piece writes itself. So get your thinking glasses on and start writing….. There will be wine….. There will be laughter….. There will be always be words to play with….. So come to our table….and bring your greed with you!
An update journal has been posted to …
An update journal has been posted to let you know that Facebook has reverted back to its old terms of service while they “resolve the issues”. ^^^^ February 17, 2009 Update: Read the article on the PCWorld site, Facebook Owns Your Business Data which was posted on February 17, 2009. User beware if you are a Facebook member! They have recently changed their terms of service and now have rights to everything you have posted, including your writing, artwork, and photography! Even if you delete it all today, they retain rights to everything you have posted up to that point. Your profile can be kept in Facebook’s archives indefinitely even though you are no longer a member. I saw this disturbing news on several blogs this morning. Here’s a link to one of the sites. Then if you want further confirmation, go to Facebook’s terms page and see it for yourself. If you are a member of Facebook, be very careful what you write as it could possibly come back to haunt you one day if Facebook decides to publish it. Before it is published they have the right to (and I quote from the terms) “modify, edit, frame, translate, excerpt, adapt, create derivative works and distribute” it. If you want to retain sole copyright of your writing, artwork or photography, DO NOT UPLOAD IT TO FACEBOOK.* What is currently uploaded now can be used in any way Facebook deems appropriate, including sublicensing it. As a member of Facebook, I have used it in the past as a social network to stay in touch with friends and family and only recently to market my work. I don’t have many images posted to my profile, but now that work has been sublicensed to Facebook forever. I never join a site without reading the terms. These new changes to the terms makes me so angry. I was never given an opportunity to opt out of the site before these changes went into effect. I feel as though I have been duped.
More new stuff for you, and a few hints on what’s on the way soon… 1. Change the order of your art and designs! And check out the st…
More new stuff for you, and a few hints on what’s on the way soon… 1. Change the order of your art and designs! And check out the stats on how many views, comments, favourites and sales each has received. 2. The Portfolio in MyBubble has been split into Art and Clothing sections. This is a precursor to giving art, writing, and clothing their own separate public areas. 3. “Journal entries” have been renamed blogs. We are working towards separating out “written work” (e.g. poems, stories, articles) from blogs, which should make a big difference to all you writers! 4. The old “people” page has been upgraded to community . Find out what’s happening on RedBubble, see which work is popular right now, meet featured people, and get involved in activities and competitions. Phew! It’s been a big week, but there is plenty more on the way soon…
Thought some of you might like to read this – It’s my 50 things without 48 or so…
Thought some of you might like to read this – It’s my 50 things without 48 or so….. I have to thank my very good friend RJ Colby for putting my name in front of the editor!! Thanks Dick :) If you’re looking for The Searcher and Hi Lite they come from my arty farty alias halftone
I just wanted to share some really cool brush resources for those of you interested in adding some plugins to your Photoshop software. I…
I just wanted to share some really cool brush resources for those of you interested in adding some plugins to your Photoshop software. I have used some of them and they rock! All are freeware and some cite that you must give a link back to them in order to use them. The following is a comprehensive list of ALL of the websites where I have downloaded brushes from. Any of my pieces that feature a brush from one of these sets will be linked back to this journal for proper crediting. Brush gurus: 50ml Brushes Seishido Pixel Chick Damned in Black Dubtastic Juuichi Aquired-taste Photoshopsupport.com’s Brush Page I hope you all find these as useful as I have! If you need help installing these, check out my Photoshop Tip #1: Where to get brushes? journal entry. These are my pieces which use any of the above dingbats/fonts (will add as I create more):
My favourite film is one by Stephen Poliakoff’ called ‘Shooting the Past’. There is this line that sticks with me almost everytime i lo…
My favourite film is one by Stephen Poliakoff’ called ‘Shooting the Past’. There is this line that sticks with me almost everytime i look at a photograph, either my own or someone elses. It goes along the lines of: / ’ I just have to say one thing to make this picture electrifying, these people are about to be hit by the most terrible change, their whole worlds turned upside down …. they have no idea, uncertainty beyond their wildest dreams.’ And i suppose this is the power of photography, the smile frozen in that split second of time, with no knowledge of what the future may hold. This quote has special meaning to me also because i not only go ‘click’ with my camera, but i even find my brain going ‘click’ – i am constantlly framing life. An example of this was several months ago my sister had her first child, a little boy called Oscar – such an amazing day – then on the Sunday, they were supposed be coming home and i can remember ‘click’ i am in the dining room, ‘click’ the phone goes and i walk into the living room to answer it …. ‘click’ my mum is sobbing because he is being rushed to the heart unit for an emergency operation. Every moment for me was mentally frozen in time – and when i look at photographs of Oscar on the day he was born that quote comes flooding back to me. On a positive note, Oscar is now 8 months old – he had another operation a couple of months ago and is thriving. But to sum up, I suppose i just wanted to say that photography is almost like oxygen to me – i need it – i need to record all those around me that i love and tell the story of their lives. I would love to know why you love photogaphy, or painting or writing or anything creative. Love Debxxx
What makes you think your art is good enough to upload to RedBubble? 1 Gut instinct? / This is the best way to know if your art, ...
What makes you think your art is good enough to upload to RedBubble? 1 Gut instinct? / This is the best way to know if your art, writing, or photography is good. For photographers, we simply know when the shot matches what we were trying to achieve. For writers, it’s when we write from the heart. For artists, and I mean people who manipulate binary-pixels as much as I mean painters etc, I imagine you know when your art has reached its point where it cannot be modified any further without ruining it. That’s right, ruining the final result. / Gut instinct tells you when you have just reached that pinnacle and achieved the art you imagined in the first place or saw through the view-finder. 2 Did someone in your family like the shot? / Trust me, I know from bad experience that relying on the opinion of family (to tell me what makes a GREAT shot) is never a good idea. As much as they believe in your artwork, they cannot see through your eyes. / I only upload a few distinctly better shots to RedBubble out of every few hundred. I might shoot between twenty and a hundred photographs from the one location, but I know almost immediately if it was a good shot or not. On occasion I only have to take one shot to get THAT shot, the one that gets shown to you, my friends and my family. What makes you think your art is good enough to have printed? 1. You received 1,000 ‘Oh, Nice!’ Comments ? / Nope, this is not a good enough reason. Your art needs to be an extension of who you are. Despite what you see here on RedBubble, your art should not be a popularity contest, nor a multitude of ‘nice’ comments. Much as I enjoy getting a few nice words about my work, I’ve recently learned that unless the person actually says something constructive, unique and interesting about the actual photograph … the comment may just be a stock answer to everything they see here. NOTE: OK, so sometimes it can be difficult to put into words what you like about some one else’s art, but at least say something unique. Yes, my photography of flowers have DOF, POV, macro-detail, lots of colour and are ‘hot’, ‘cool’, ‘wow’, and ‘whippitycrack’. Now tell me WHY you like it, WHAT it is that makes it good and HOW many you are going to purchase! :D 2. Only you can know if your art is worth selling on RedBubble. / Do you think someone would purchase it as a card? Or are you just showing off an image that you want others to consider before you commit to it? Ok, so we all do that occasionally. I’m not saying it’s wrong to upload the incomplete and unfinished, but this is RedBubble. It’s not just a community, forum and friend-making location: It’s an online print-shop. 3. Don’t be concerned with anyone’s opinion before presentation. / Upload those few shots you really believe capture what you were attempting. If you really believe the art is good, show it to the RedBubble world the whole internet. Because everyone online and offline is now going to see you and your art. RedBubble is a name, not a fortified location. Our comments, words, suggestions, responses, queries and ‘drool’ will be carbon copied across the planet and archived on the “WWW” Today I shot 5GIG of photographs in 5 hours. / I had a day in the Adelaide CBD, revisiting previous locations, visiting a few new places and discovering new things at each location that I did not see the first time! This added up to around 1,000 photographs. / ... I’ll be the first to admit that less than 200 are any good. / ... Less than 60 are very good. / ... I’ve uploaded only TWO of them to RedBubble. I might add a few more. / ... SEVEN have been loaded to my flickr gallery . All are getting lots of traffic, with very few comments. Just the way I like it. Each of those photographs got some pixel-manipulation. Yes, I do, when necessary. Each of those photographs were one of a several exactly the same … but I decided that one would serve the purpose I was looking for. / I didn’t ask anyone on RedBubble or Flickr if they would like to see it : I made that decision while perusing them on my 500GIG HD. A lot were shot purely because I like architecture, but many were shot because I figured they’d look good as a card or framed image. One of them is a test-image, to see the response/traffic rate. See if you can pick it. 4. Would you delete or replace a photograph if enough people said they didn’t like it? / Seeing as how so many of us rely on the comments of others to fulfill our online life, IF someone was to suggest a fault, change, modification or complete make-over of your art work, would you? I believe I might change an image. I have certainly changed my opinion on pixel-manipulation! I know I’d delete an image, but only from the RedBubble-database. I’ve done that several times. Where’s your thoughts on this? You’ll notice I rarely make comments on other people’s art. There is a LOT of great work on RedBubble. I just don’t have the time to tell you. Anyhow, you know your work is good. Or you would never have taken the time to put it on RedBubble …. right?
I have read out there there are many suffering depression as I do. Not only those but the people about them who care for someone who suff…
I have read out there there are many suffering depression as I do. Not only those but the people about them who care for someone who suffers. / Being the generous helpful soul that I am, I feel compelled to help by offering what I have learned and developed for my own solutions, and encouraging others to read it and help themselves find their own solutions. I am fortunate and have worked hard to retrain my brain and try to control the dark thoughts like non-depressed people do. I have not taken drugs feeling that to just be a cop out, a diluting of the problem not a cure and in such dilution the acuteness of the triggers are not discovered or dealt with. Instead I have sought counselling and from the multitudes of sessions have reasoned out my own re-education of my thoughts and these are the tools I learned developed and use. I have written them out and over the months posted them in my folio but to make hunting them easier I have collated them here for any sufferer’s to read and use if they feel they help. Please read the comments too for in these there are other helpful information from other artists. Firstly to tell my story of where I became lost and why. There are deeper darker reasons that I have not chosen to share here in the bubble but these were the crucial ones: / Fragile / Paying Dues / Addicted The best tools I have found are: / Rings of Living / 10 Guidelines / Frank” was the poem that started me writing poetry as a focus. / These next two journal entries was to give the lyrics to the two best songs that I felt helped me through my tough times - / In Your Silence was my son’s band’s only song. [my son was the drummer] but the song should be the most heard for depression sufferers and for all the casualties of the depression victims. / Misty Mountains Calling Me helped me to walk away from my children time after time and to decipher what friendship really was. My own Validation, that is my acceptance of what I do best and what sustains me in spite of all attempts of others to belittle it, is written in these poems: / Oralist / My Beast / Creating My Dark Poems are here – you may realise that I cover my sadness with happiness brilliantly on most occasions but sometimes I just give way to writing out the transparency of that happiness. / Growth Gap / Looking Out / sit / Take a Breath / My Journey In redbubble I write poetry or prose or stories prompted by other’s art work. Sometimes it takes a while for the words to gather and then boom! But other times I feel compelled to write on first sight and end up writing it in the comment box beneath the art I’m viewing. You can tell when it hits me from the thumbnail picture I favour the work AFTER I comment! :O) I always feel worried that I am imposing or something on another’s work yet if they didn’t like what I wrote they can delete it! But then validation comes in the forms of people liking what I do to such an extent that they include my words on their work – such an honour – Sun Symphony that Jerry Alcantara added to his published book and Soft the Dawn that Mary Campbell added to a poster; are two that have been printed for publication and thus purchase [details can be found through the links in my work] and I am so thrilled to think that my words are so well liked :O) / And then this tribute: / I wrote this poem I can be Pretty Too! inspired by a bubbler’s art and received a verse in my comment box which I then added to my poem I can be Pretty Two that taught me the elation of the honour of inspiring another artist. And to ease the pains I have included these two “Healing” sort of poems. / Drifting into Peace / Rejuvenate your Soul But the strongest depression killer is ACTION! Mundane boring action which achieves a small reward – doing the dishes, weeding the lawn, vacuuming etc … And I hate to say it folks who help us depression sufferers – “Sometimes, NO Help is MORE Help than Help!” perhaps you can just leave us alone [provided we are safe]. Don’t necessarily leave us but don’t talk to us let us talk to you. A big part of depression is embarrassment, frustration that we allow this overload of emotion to swamp us. When we do come out of it we need reassurance that we are not monsters for feeling overwhelmed by ourselves. The last thing we need is belittlement. Things like “Don’t be so silly” or “Snap out of it” etc, just feeds it! If we could “Stop it!” WE WOULD! But Validation is the cure. We who suffer depression for what ever individual combination of environmental stimulation we all suffer depression because we have been conditioned in the past to feel invalid. / I am a believer of inherited personality traits and inherited memory. I see in my sons, who have nothing to do with their biological fathers whatsoever, the same philosophies the same personality and the same ideas. I feel the history I read is Familiar to me. I see in my mother and what I know of my grand and great grand mother’s the same responses I have to situations. Yes most of that is learned behaviour but why does my siblings not do the same? We have the same parents? I have two brothers who display similar tendencies to depression as me but they deal with it differently, one has the money to take the pills and see the best therapists, the other wears it as a badge! Our mother is in complete denial that she has it! But I disagree with the experts who call it a mental disease! We are not sick! Yes we can take drugs that help us to conform with social levels of mental behaviour. I once read that there is a fine line between genius and insanity. And most of the depressive people I have met are highly creative in some way. Could we depressives not be the descendants of the artists and bards of old? And as such now that society does not value the arts in our education system [it is usually the first to receive cut backs in favour of sport or science] in our employment sector either – writers musicians and artists have no section in the employment categories at the dole office. Funnilly enough Crafts people [potters weavers etc] Dancers and actors do! Yet any money made will happilly create an unemployment benefits debt! / But it is the common people who hurt the most when you try to validate yourself, especially as a writer. A conversation could go like this - / ‘So what do you do?’ / ‘I am a writer’ / ‘What books have you written then? Would I have read any?’ / ‘I’m not published yet, but I write …’ / ‘Well then you are not a writer you only think you are so you can cop out of doing real work!’ Yes I know all throughout history since after the medieval times artists have always struggled for money BUT we have always been respected for the creativity we produce. And to show how fickle the contemporary common people are, the conversation above would have ended in the complete opposite if I had’ve been in print! It’s as if nowadays you cannot be what you are until you have made money from it! My validation is in my ability to write and to advocate for children [and the underprivileged] and to sing! I do many many other things equally as well but I prefer to give my efforts to these three vocations. Yet none of them will give me an established recognised income to be respected for! I have to go out and peddle myself and create an income before I am allowed to be acknowledged in the vocation! The other think we depression sufferers MUST do is find our triggers! No it won’t necessarily be directly connected to our validation desires and every person has their own trigger or combination of triggers. / Mine are money, bureaucratic red tape over income gets me every time, and to a more intrinsic crucial extent my children – if seeing them is in any way threatened or jeopardized I cannot breathe! Physical abuse is nothing in comparison to those two triggers! Put them together and I am incapable of breathing moving thinking or anything! But it is NOT an immediate fix! Like grief depression takes time to control. I equate it to “One month per year depressed, one year per decade to get back in control” So if you were depressed from a trauma twelve years ago then expect it to take a year and two months to recover and be in control again. Having said that it will NEVER be gone! We are people who delve deeply into our emotions and as such sometimes are overwhelmed by them. What we learn to do is curb and control and avoid situations that trigger our intense emotions so that we can live productively along side others that we need. The only reason I advocate for doing this is because in our intensity we can hurt others, the loved ones around us who do not understand what has gone wrong, and that is not good … it also harms ourselves like drinking smoking etc, but so long as it does no harm to others … then what should stop our own choices for ourselves? Just remember abusers of alcohol/drugs/gamboling apart from physically destroys the abuser’s health only harms others who are in contact with the abuser [physical & emotional casualties] or dependent upon the abuser’s money [which of course they use on drink not rent bills food etc] Where as cigarettes by their very presence of being smoked, inconsiderately always invade other’s with polluting the air needed for all to breathe, [ and remember the pollutants are more toxic than the smoke] and leaving the rubbish of their ash and butts all over the place! Ever seen a driver flick his still lit butt out the window of his car or empty out his ash tray on the road? what about those who stand about doorways smoking to drop the butt on the ground and if they’re bored will grind it into the pavement with their foot or if they couldn’t be bothered with that they leave it to roll off still smoking into the gutter or onto someone else’s shoe. [If they see it my children pick the butts up run after the smoker and give them back with “Sorry you dropped this.”] If anyone flicks a butt in my presence I flick them! Smokers are inconsiderate and are lazy litter-bugs they have no care for anyone around them but themselves. The only reason Smoking is not illegal like drug taking is because the governments make an awful lot of income from the taxes on them! Even if they do dispose of their butts thoughtfully what of the air? NOT exhaling defeats the purpose of inhaling! / A very clever practitioner and motivationer, Doctor John Tickell, once stated “Now days it is impossible to be intelligent and a smoker at the same time!” / I stated this in a University Tute once and was argued down by the 5 classmates and the tutor who smoked …. But the next tute session 4 out of the 5 students quietly said to me that they had now stopped smoking because they had thought about what I had told them and realised I and John Tickell were right. / The best was the tutor who announced in the tute she had seen the errors of her ways and degrees and post grads and all sorts of other qualifications meant nothing if she continued to smoke and make a mockery of her intelligence! What a sweet victory that was! Especially as she rewarded us all with packets of lollies that she bought with her smoke money instead! :O) But I digress [I always do! another depressive trait I fear lol :O)] So if any of the work I have collated above can help with what you or your friends / loved ones are experiencing then please feel free to use them as you see fit! / But I re-iterate these are just my tools that I have developed that have worked for me and I am no authority or credited counsellor in any way! I’m just a sufferer with many years experience of helping myself and others :O) My motto too is “Nil Despiradum Illigitimus Carborundum!” [Don’t let the bastard grind you down!] Keep Happy! :O)
Go to an image that you want to display in a journal post and right-click on it, then select “Copy image location”- !http://images-2.r…
Go to an image that you want to display in a journal post and right-click on it, then select “Copy image location”- Now go and open a journal entry (or forum post or whatever) and paste the link in there. It will look something like this: Now, just add an exclamation mark before and after the image and you are done adding an image. Now you can add text and other images and save the work and your image will show up. For Internet Explorer users: 1. Right-click on the image and go to properties. Then: 2. highlight and copy all of that text and then paste it into your journal entry or forum post. 3. Add the exclamation mark before and after the link as shown above. 4. Add other text and images and you should be able to save and see your pictures! —-—-—-—-—-——- Trying to do this using Safari: Here is an image I loaded. I right-clicked and chose “Copy Image Address”. Let’s see if this works:
By Darren Stones Tasmanian photographer Anne O’Connor...
By Darren Stones Tasmanian photographer Anne O’Connor is highly regarded in Australian photographic circles for her photography skills and voluntary contributions to the Australian Photographic Society in which she’s been a member since 1996. At the society’s annual convention – APSCON – held in Launceston during September 2008, Anne was awarded the FAPS and AFIAP photographic honours. Anne is delighted to have achieved her honours, and particularly more so due to not having to travel overseas to achieve it – she did so by photographing Australia. Anne became a member of RedBubble in November 2008 and settled in seamlessly. Her contributions to the Australian Travel Photography and Writing group are high quality and have been well received by the RedBubble community. Anne’s shown a keenness to participate in the travel group’s activities, and it’s not surprising given that travel photography is one of her passions. Anne O’Connor, 61, resides in South Launceston, Tasmania and was a social worker by profession. As time and finances permit, she travels to distant locations in Australia with husband Bill. Recently, I had the pleasure to interview Anne, and it was interesting to learn not just of her antics, but how she is prepared to bare all in pursuit of her photography. D.S. – Welcome to the Australian Travel Photography and Writing group, Anne. Having browsed through your portfolio of work at RedBubble, I took particular note of your Camel train panorama photograph. What was your motivation for making it? And, was it a photograph you planned, or one that just happened as part of your travels? / Camel train panorama by Anne O’Connor A.O’C. – Camel train panorama is one of many photographs I took of the camels whilst visiting Broome in Western Australia. My husband Bill and I flew into Broome from Perth on our way to Darwin with the intention of capturing on Fuji Velvia film the camels at Cable Beach. We only had two nights there, but they were well spent. For the camel shots we needed a low tide, as well as a red sunset. There were a number of different camel trains, and for a time I observed what they did and how they travelled up and down the beach. The camels are led on their walks away from the main beach area before sunset, usually from the dunes, and then they return along the water’s edge. Initially, my photographs were taken with the water in front of me and the camels between me and the ocean. This created stunning silhouettes with the setting sun behind them. I remembered seeing photos of the camels silhouetted in the sand, so I changed direction and positioned myself between the water and them. I ran ahead of them and then waited until they moved back towards me along the wet sand. At one point, I was accosted by one of the camel train operators and he sternly told me that the camels were copyrighted, and that he owned the copyright. I ignored him as he wasn’t the only camel train operator on the beach. I wasn’t the only one taking photos, however I believe my keenness made me stand out from others. I then focused on other camel trains instead. D.S. – Which photograph currently submitted to the art section of the RedBubble Australian Travel Photography and Writing group do you wish you had taken? / Get in line! by Paul Grinzi A.O’C. – To me, Paul Grinzi’s image represents Australia, because our nation was built on the sheep’s back. The photograph has an ageless feel to it as an icon-type picture, and that’s important to me. I believe the image is priceless because it could have been taken in the 1800s or the present. It represents our country and our heritage that we should all be proud of. If I had a choice to take one photo that would represent Australia, this would be it. I wish Paul’s Get in line! photograph was mine. D.S. – From your RedBubble portfolio, which is your favourite Australian travel photograph? / Splash by Anne O’Connor A.O’C. – Splash is a photograph that brings back memories of a trip I did with Bill and my daughter. We drove along the coast from Exmouth to Perth and it was a combination trip – catching up with her and taking opportunities for photos. Splash was taken at Monkey Mia in Western Australia. I planned the trip to suit the photographs I wanted to take and Monkey Mia was on my list. I wanted to visit Monkey Mia to take dolphin photographs, but my better photographs were of pelicans. I was informed that I needed to arrive at Monkey Mia by the first feeding time at 7.30am because more dolphins come in then and they may or may not feed them at later times. That suited me photographically, so we were up at the crack of dawn and travelled from Denham to Monkey Mia. / / There were strict rules in getting close to the dolphins. Everyone had to stand in line and wait until the dolphins came in close. Some children were selected to feed them and they were allowed out in front. I managed one or two shots, but found it impossible to get anything worthwhile. / / I noticed some half-asleep pelicans on the sand earlier, so began creeping towards them. I took a photo, and then took a few steps. I continued to do this for some time. I also sat on the sand near them and one of the pelicans decided to make for the water, and of course I followed it into the water – slowly. I was up to the top of my legs in the water and just waiting, hoping the pelican would do something. Suddenly it did a big stretch and then a gigantic splash. The photos were on slide film at the time, so I had to wait to see what I had, but I was sure I had got the “photo of the day” amongst them. I was right. The movement and splashes were recorded perfectly and I got an image that I had not ever imagined. D.S. – When undertaking a photographic journey in Australia, what is your preferred type of accommodation? And when travelling, do you like travelling alone, with someone, within a group? A.O’C. – I prefer to travel with someone into strange places away from civilisation, but that person has to live with my photography. Bill is great, as he loves to drive, and he understands my idiosyncrasies with needing to be somewhere at the right time. He’s happy to drive and sit in the car with a newspaper and wait the hours it takes. Ruth Timperon and I go away a lot together within Tasmania. We’re like-minded and we never get in each others way. Interestingly, we may go to the same place, but our photos are never identical. We have a different eye and that makes for a good photographic companionship. We generally stay in units near the places we want to photograph. Two nights at one place is good as it allows time to look, and two opportunities to get the right light. Having another person with you can also be safer in some instances, and it’s enjoyable to share the photographic experience. I also go away on my own around Tasmania. I’m happy with my own company and during these times I stay in rented units. In an ideal photographic world, I need a driver with patience, somewhere comfortable to sleep, and a toilet. The right light, plenty of tucker, water to drink, and a stream or beach nearby. No mozzies or flies, people far enough away that you have trouble seeing them, no generators or noise, other than the bush and birds. I can live without the shower, but I first need my comfort stop. After that, peeing in the bush is fine. I have got past being able to balance for more than a pee! / Pipers river with storm clouds by Anne O’Connor D.S. – Which location are you considering for your next Australian photographic trip? A.O’C. – There are lots of places I want to experience with my photographic eye before I die. I want to travel on the Ghan from Darwin to Adelaide, because I’ll have achieved crossing Australia by train from East to West and from North to South. The Ghan is more special because of the history of the train and the many years we lived in Darwin; however it’s something that will happen one day when the opportunity comes along. In Tasmania there are many places that I have not been to. Corinna and the Pieman River are first on the list to visit on my next few days of exploring. D.S. – When travelling on longer photographic trips how do your store and care for your digital images? A.O’C. – Storage is something I have investigated for a while. The information I sourced was through various online photographic forums or through reading various reviews online or in magazines. I did my homework prior to outlaying any money for equipment. When I found a name of something, I’d Google it, and then look at the specifications, etc. before making choices and spending money. My decisions were based on the ease of use, capacity to do what I wanted the devices to do, technical data, size and weight, and the input or reviews from other photographers. My philosophy has always been if you take things, you need to be able to carry them yourself – so light and small is best. Initially I took my laptop computer everywhere – especially in the Ford Bronco on long trips. I used to backup my images onto the laptop as we travelled. I eyed off the Epson portable storage devices when they came onto the market, and have purchased an Epson P-5000 with an 80 gigabyte hard drive. I’ve found the Epson to be everything I wanted, and I recommend it to any person considering one. It has the ability to provide a slide show of images and a screen that is large enough to show people what photographs have been taken on the spot. It has software within it to transfer files to a computer, and the battery lasts quite a long time. It charges fairly quickly and is a great external drive. I have a variety of memory cards and find that more often than not, what I have is enough for a day or more of photographing. I always take RAW images and I never revert back to JPEG – even for happy snaps. In the past, I have forgotten to switch back to RAW after the happy snaps and have been very cross with myself for forgetting. / Bridestowe lavender by Anne O’Connor D.S. – What’s the funniest or most interesting moment you can recall whilst taking photographs on an Australian photographic journey? A.O’C. – Some time ago, Bill and I drove from Cairns to Cooktown to visit Gisella, a friend of mine, who I’d met at an APSCON in Queensland. She and I went on a pre-convention tour to Fraser Island, and we got to know each other well. When we were in Cairns, Bill and I made the decision to drive up to Cooktown to see Gisella and stay for a few days. Whilst there, Gisella took us on a fairly long hike up into an area with a waterfall at the end of it. I cannot remember exactly where the place was, but it was quite a strenuous climb with lots of rocks to scramble over. At one point, Bill took the tripod and camera bag so I could clamber over things to get to the end point. Once there, I took back the tripod and camera and began looking for the right angle with my concentration purely on what was in front of me. It was not an easy place to get the image I wanted and there were lots of rocks and things to move around. Eventually I got myself into some weird position against a rock and half way up a small tree. My eye was stuck to the viewfinder and I was looking at the waterfall as I was trying to fit it within the frame. Suddenly, I experienced a very sharp bite that was excruciatingly painful. I grabbed at the sore spot on my torso to try and get rid of whatever was causing my pain. Before I could blink, I was being bitten all over my body and in some places that I can’t say here. By now I was yelping and slapping myself. My camera and tripod were soon forgotten as I searched for what was causing my agony. My clothes were flying in all directions, and Bill and Gisella came over to see why I was stripping my clothes off. / / In manoeuvring for the perfect shot, I managed to back up against a green ants nest and I became covered in the little darlings. Of course they were only trying to defend their home from a human invader, but I didn’t see it that way. I sure did some weird and wonderful manoeuvres, with Bill helping to pick the ants off me in spots only he could reach, whilst I stood almost naked as a jay bird. Gisella was trying hard not to laugh, and Bill was probably holding it in, too. Before I got dressed again, I had to check my clothes and pick off the ants. I never did get the shot I wanted. I only saw green ants that day and I still had a long hike back home. Gisella and Bill later said they wished they had had a movie camera. It’s something that I remember and have a chuckle over now and again – especially when I see a green ant. I would have liked someone to have had a movie camera to document me doing contortions in the nude and to prove that it really did happen. I have since seen a close-up photo of a green ant in battle formation at the Mindil Street Markets in Darwin. I had to buy a copy so as to remind me of my experience. Green ants make wonderful subjects photographically, but I don’t recommend becoming their enemy. D.S. – Anne, what two pieces of advice can you offer photographers who are about to undertake a travel photography trip in Australia? A.O’C. – I suggest researching before leaving home. Find out about the area before going and use the internet as a place to start. Check the tides, and the sun path – a compass is good to have. Check sunrise and sunset times, and the moon phase. I generally ask questions within a photographic forum, because there are photographers who have visited these places and know what to look for. If you go with a tour group, try and get a photographic one. Otherwise, you will be sitting down to dinner in a hotel, just when you want to go out and shoot photos, or you will be having breakfast and loading up in the mornings when you don’t want to. Think of photography first, food second and sleep third. Make sure you have food available in case everything is shut when you come back to your accommodation. This can happen in small towns and even in larger ones. D.S. – Anne, it’s been a pleasure to interview you. A.O’C. – Thank you for wanting to know more about me as a photographer. © Darren Stones 2009 / Published 11/1/2008
I’ve always loved reading about and looking at beautiful photographs of Australia. I love seeing it for myself even more. Earlier this …
I’ve always loved reading about and looking at beautiful photographs of Australia. I love seeing it for myself even more. Earlier this year I decided to combine these loves and try my hand at photographing and writing about it myself. Being a bit of a research nut, I looked to my good friend Google for some more specific information. One of the first sites that Google suggested was the Australian Travel Writing & Photography group on Redbubble. I hadn’t heard of Redbubble before, so I had no idea what to expect. After an initial look through, I couldn’t believe my luck. This group seemed to be exactly what I was searching for. Not one to leave a stone unturned, I checked out the other Google suggestions, but kept going back to Australian Travel Writing & Photography. Although not as large as some of the other resources, the images were just beautiful and the members seemed to share a common passion. So I joined. As a virtual newbie to both photography and writing for anyone other than myself I was initially pretty nervous about participating. However, the members soon made me feel very comfortable, with their supportive comments and helpful advice. Many of the members are published and are quite willing to share their expertise – invaluable assistance for someone like me. They’ve answered my (possibly) silly questions and guided me along in the few short months I’ve been a member. I’ve even had a buzz out of seeing my work featured a couple of times. I’ve been writing a personal blog for about a year and have come across a number of good writing and photography resources already. However, none of them focused specifically on travel writing and photography, and certainly none had the community behind them that Australian Travel Writing & Photography has. I particularly enjoy learning from other’s comments and work. Added to that, my list of places to visit keeps growing and growing as they introduce me to more and more of Australia. Within a few weeks of joining, I came to realise just how hard the group host, Darren Stones, works to foster this wonderful community and to develop opportunities for its members. His encouragement, liaison and expertise have played a very large part in the success of the group. A major coup by Darren has been securing a number of sponsors for the group, including Greg Barton, editor of Australian Traveller magazine. Buoyed by the support of the group, I decided to have a good crack at the inaugural Australian Traveller Travel Writing & Photography challenge held recently. The opportunity to be published in a major magazine isn’t one that comes along often to new writers so early on. I picked my topic, researched, wrote and rewrote. I scoured my photo library for suitable shots. Then I edited everything again. And probably again – I’m not sure, I lost count! Finally I was happy with what I had. I shut my eyes and pressed the submit button. Yesterday, I received the most exciting news I’ve had in a very long time. I’d won the challenge! My story and photos will be published in Australian Traveller magazine. I haven’t stopped smiling. I’m sure their distribution will spike from me buying copies for all my friends and family. I can’t thank Greg enough for giving me this opportunity (and for the wonderful feedback), Darren for organising it all and the group members for sharing their knowledge. I’d also like to congratulate the other participants. I know it can be a nerve-wracking experience putting your writing out there for everyone to see, but it was a pleasure to read all your work. Well done especially to Sonia and John. With the work that Darren’s doing and the continued passion of the Australian Travel Writing & Photography members, I can see this group flourishing. I’m so grateful to be a part of it.
Words can not really describe the image completely its so moving. / I hope you enjoy it as much as I have and enjoy my feeble attempt to s…
Words can not really describe the image completely its so moving. / I hope you enjoy it as much as I have and enjoy my feeble attempt to share my thoughts on this image. / Very nice Rose and very loving ! / Check out her lovely and creative works here:!Rose! “My Love will stay” I think of you my love oh so far away. / I read your letters that come each day and cry at what they say. / It’s been a year since you were here and I lie in your arms. / And now its dark and I am alone your letters keep me warm. / I need the comfort of your words to help me through the night. / For without one small ray of hope I would surely die. / I see from all your lovely words you love me more each day. / And I for you have gone unchanged my love is ever true. / I miss you so my heart is broke it cry’s a long hard cry. / I know your thoughts are with me, each and every night. / But words of comfort often fail when needs are on the edge. / I miss you love my words can’t say the hurt I feel inside. / But soon I know you’ll come back home and lie down by my side. / I’ll think of you each day your gone and wait for each new post. / And read your words of love to me to comfort my lonely heart.
We’ve been busily working away on a writing section for the site but it’s taking a bit longer than expected. For you, the writer, not goo…
We’ve been busily working away on a writing section for the site but it’s taking a bit longer than expected. For you, the writer, not good news. I could tell you that you’re going to get your own gallery tab in the main nav, how you’ll be able to specify the extract of your work to show in search results, how you won’t ever have to touch that dirty “blog” again, how it’s going to revolutionize your very concept of the form. But words, words, words – you may be writers but I know you just want something tangible. Something you can see. Something that isn’t just hyberbolic marketing spin. So today I’m going to tell you how you can get a sneak preview of what’s to come in the comfort of your own home (or, let’s be honest, work place). You’re going to need sticky notes, scissors and a pen. If you’re like me this may require a trip to the stationery cupboard. Or an unattended desk (I recommend lunch time). (Don’t tell Xavier R). Head on over to your mybubble art page, and print it out. You can do it on your screen if you’re really keen, but seriously, just print it. We’re going for tangible, right? Now, take your print out and put a sticky note over anywhere it says “art” – just like whack-a-mole – and trim it with scissors to not cover up the whole page. Then write “writing” on it with the pen. Use the remainder of the sticky notes to cover up any thumbnails on the left hand side. This make take a while if you’ve uploaded heaps, but I didn’t think about that because I only have two things in my portfolio. Last step is to cross out anything that starts with “For Sale”, because you can’t sell writing works. And that’s it! Admire how you will manage your haiku! In the future. In the near future. Promise. If it’s not out next Thursday I’ll do something highly embarrassing. Suggest in comments.
As a little experiment, I uploaded an image versio…
As a little experiment, I uploaded an image version of my Ode to Nothing poem and bought it on white and black greeting cards. Worked quite well. This might be a way for writers on RedBubble to participate in selling Simply create a greeting card related to your writing: maybe an image, quote, or (if short enough) the whole written work. Then readers who like your writing can buy the card – you get paid and they get a little momento. As another example, kseriphyn has a logo for her story The Callings . If this was available as a greeting card, readers could show their appreciation for the story by buying one. All you need is some way of creating an image file. This is possible even if you don’t have a fancy graphics program (for the poem above, I just used Powerpoint and saved the file as a jpeg) It’s not a perfect solution but it can be done right now. What do you think? I’d love to hear from both writers and readers
You’ve probably gone through a few of my articles, but did you know I’ve been writing since the first day of membership upon Redbubble?...
You’ve probably gone through a few of my articles, but did you know I’ve been writing since the first day of membership upon Redbubble? Feel free to read through my more-interesting and knowledge-filled articles, many that will help you travel the Redbubble path with ease and understanding. If you have any comments, questions, or further information, please comment on the respective article. MY JOURNAL Running Sheet for Exhibitions [26.April.2008] / Linking to Group Rules [ 12.Apr.2008 ] / My Own Private Bubble [ 10.Mar.2008 ] / Which Group Has My Art? [ 16.Feb.2008 ] / Making a Profit Because of Redbubble [ 31.Dec.2007 ] / Redbubble vs That Other Gallery [ 31.Dec.2007 ] / Linking Photographs [ 14.Dec.2007 ] / What Makes You Think Your Art is Good Enough? [ 15.Sep.2007 ] / RedBubble Breeds Winners [ 31.Aug.2007 ] / Idea for RB Administration [ 11.Aug.2007 ] / Advantage of Tagging your Uploads [ 01.Aug.2007 ] / Artist-Linkage and Size-Disclaimer [ 19.Jul.2007 ] / [!] Idea: Change Default to Least Expensive [ 17.Jul.2007 ] / Add This To Your Cart [ 16.Jun.2007 ] / Suggestion to RB Marketing and Code Teams [ 28.May.2007 ] MY WRITING Advantage of Choosing RedBubble / ASCII Characters in your RedBubble Journal / But Wait, There Is SO Much More / Consent for Photography Not Required in Australia / Coding your RedBubble Journal / DPI Determines Resolution, Not Quality / Tip for Answering Comments / DPI – Myth, Mania, or Massive? / DPI – Myth, Mania, or Massive? v.2 / Naming Your Art / Online Purchasing : Safe or Scary? ON FORUMS Tips and Tricks I’m always writing new articles about photography, entrepreneurialism, small-business, web-development, and about other stuff I find on the “WWW” . Expect something new, exciting and enlightening added here soon…
I found out about this ludicrous proposed law on Red Bubble...
I found out about this ludicrous proposed law on Red Bubble and wanted to let everyone else know what they can do about it! If you have not heard about the Orphan Works Act, then you should research it and speak out before it is too late (especially if you are an artist, writer, and/or musician)! No, this Act is not about displaced children or found animals. It revolves around works of art (including fine art, photography, writing, music, etc.) that are not registered with newly proposed agencies. ANY work not registered would be considered in the public domain. This is a dangerous concept and just goes to show how greedy and capitalistic our society, government, and big businesses have become. According to GoPetition.com: “If the Orphan Works legislation passes, you and I and all creatives will lose virtually all the rights to not only our future work but to everything we’ve created over the past 34 years, unless we register it with the new, untested and privately run (by the friends and cronies of the U.S. government) registries. Even then, there is no guarantee that someone wishing to steal your personal creations won’t successfully call your work an orphan work, and then legally use it for free. In short, if Congress passes this law, YOU WILL LOSE THE RIGHT TO MAKE MONEY FROM YOUR OWN CREATIONS!” We would be forced into a world where big business can bully us and use whatever they wanted and not be penalized for it. And, this law not only affects artists, writers, and musicians. It also affect the everyday consumer! If you are planning to get your the photographs of your cousin’s wedding developed at a Wal-Mart or other big box retailer, then you better be prepared to get every image copyrighted or you may just end up seeing them on Wal-Mart’s billboards! Gone would be the days of having rights the minute you create something. Now, if you don’t pay to protect it, then it is like no one created the image and it is up for grabs! Who wants to live in this kind of world other than greedy politicians and businesses? And, it does not surprise me that this has all happened under the Bush administration. Who were the idiots that voted for him and thought he would do us some good? Well, seems like the joke’s on YOU! In an April 10th article in Animation World Magazine, award-winning animation producer/director and speaker, Mark Simon, writes: “It is currently against international law to coerce people to register their work for copyright because there are so many inherent problems with it. But because big business can push through laws in the United States, our country is about to break with the rest of the world, again, and take your rights away. With the tens of millions of photos and pieces of artwork created each year, the bounty for forcing everyone to pay a registration fee would be enormous. We lose our rights and our creations, and someone else makes money at our expense. This includes every sketch, painting, photo, sculpture, drawing, video, song and every other type of creative endeavor. All of it is at risk! If the Orphan Works legislation passes, you and I and all creatives will lose virtually all the rights to not only our future work but to everything we’ve created over the past 34 years, unless we register it with the new, untested and privately run (by the friends and cronies of the U.S. government) registries. Even then, there is no guarantee that someone wishing to steal your personal creations won’t successfully call your work an orphan work, and then legally use it for free.” So, what can you do about it? Well educate yourself on the issues, write to your congress men and women, and sign as many petitions as your can. To get your started, check out this petition, which I have already signed: Say ‘NO!’ to the Orphan Works Act on GoPetition.com Also, be sure to check out these resources for more information: Say ‘NO!’ to the Orphan Works Act on GoPetition.com Mark Simon’s Mind Your Business: You Will Lose All The Rights to Your Own Art IPA Orphan Works Resource Page for Artists U.S. Copyright’s Office Orphan Works Page ASMP’s Update on the 2008 Orphan Works Act You can also find more information about the Orphan Works Act on Red Bubble: Helen Bascom’s Protect Your Copyright – URGENT ACTION REQUIRED Erin Jay’s Something every artist should know about! Crockpot’s The Orphan Works Act of 2008 ~ RELEASE WanderingAuthor’s Writers’ Concerns bchrisdesigns’ Say ‘NO!’ to the Orphan Works Act The Red Bubble forum dedicated to this discussion Say No to Orphan Works Thread @ Burst Anime and Manga Mike Cressy’s IMPORTANT! READ AND ACT NOW!!!
Art, Clothing and Writing So there’s good news, and bad news … Lets start with the bad – Over the last few weeks we have…
Art, Clothing and Writing So there’s good news, and bad news … Lets start with the bad – Over the last few weeks we have been working madly to break up the site into three major sections – Art, Clothing and Writing. We want to value and allow focus on each of these areas separately… Writing is ‘this’ close to being done, but it wasn’t quite right so we had to hold it back and polish it up a bit more… BUT you can look forward to a whole section of the site where written work is treated the same way as any other artwork with things like separate descriptions and excerpts etc. The good news … Art and Clothing are here – The T-Shirt previews in the galleries and zoom views acutally ‘zoom’ in on the artwork, no matter how big or small, so everyone should have a much better idea how hot some of these designs really are. And … One more thing … If you’re into T’s then you can’t miss Issue one of Stitched Comming Soon Writing, updates to ranking and some more special goodies.
Okay, so you’ve seen some amazing work online and wondered where the artist got all those astounding background effects or how they did t…
Okay, so you’ve seen some amazing work online and wondered where the artist got all those astounding background effects or how they did that cool layered effect. Well, as surprising as it may sound, some of those effects were done using a very common Photoshop preset: Brushes. You may be asking yourself, don’t I already have brushes installed with my Photoshop CS3 (or CS2) software? Well, yes, you do. But those are the basics. There are a ton of awesome people out there in internet land who are making additional brushes (and other plugins) for you to use with your software. These plugins are very easy to download and install. I will try to give you a short rundown of what to expect when installing these brushes. For more information as to how to use them or for more detailed installation information or installation for a MAC OS, please consult the very wonderful Photoshopsupport.com, a very neat index of everything Photoshop! (Please note: The following instructions are very, very simplistic because I wanted even the novice Photoshop user to be able to use these tools. I know there are a bunch of different ways to do these things (even some that are easier), but I wanted to put it in basic terms without all the fancy language and extra steps because I remember how it was when I first started teaching myself to use the Adobe programs. Plus, this is not intended to be a full fledged tutorial.) The first step is to download some really cool brushes from an online provider. Some brush sets you will have to pay for, others are free with some restrictions, and others are completely free. Make sure you read the website’s policy before you use them. You can view my Photoshop CS3 (and CS2) Brushes journal entry to visit the websites where I have downloaded most of my brushes from. Most of them have free areas or are completely free and all you have to do is link back to them. Once you have chosen the brush set to download, simply download it to your computer. Because the files are normally saved in a Zip file, I start off by downloading the file to my Desktop first and then moving them over after (this is to avoid confusion). However, if you feel comfortable unzipping them right into the proper file, then by all means go-ahead-with-your-bad-self! After you have downloaded the Zip file to your Desktop, you will need a program (such as WinRAR, which is what I use) to unzip the file. At this point, you may be asking where you unzip the file to? Well, inside the Zip file may be a read me (.txt) file and other junk (which may be of interest to you) and there should also be a brush (.abr) file, which is the one you want to unzip. You can unzip the brush file onto your Desktop and then move it over manually, or you can unzip it to the Photoshop directory itself. Regardless of which method yo use, your ultimate goal is to get that .abr brush file into a specific folder in your Photoshop program’s file. For brushes, the file you will want to place your .abr brush files into is the “Brush” file within the “Presets” file. So, how do you get there? Open your My Computer and find the drive which has the folder “Program FIles”. Now, open “Program Files” and then find the folder labeled “Adobe”. Next, open the “Adobe” folder and you will see ALL of the Adobe programs, which are installed on your system. Locate the “Adobe Photoshop CS3” (or CS2) folder and open it. Find the “Presets” folder and open it. Finally, you will see a folder called “Brushes”. Open it. You can now see ALL of the brushes that are installed to use with your Photoshop program. This “Brushes” folder is where you want to place all of your downloaded .abr brush files. So, the quick breakdown to find the “Brushes” folder is: Program Files >>> Adobe >>> Adobe Photoshop CS3 (or CS2) >>> Presets >>> Brushes Once you have unzipped the files or drag-and-dropped them into this file folder, you can close the folders. You will also need to re-start your Photoshop program in order for the brushes to be finalized and installed and ready for use (sometimes, you have to re-start your computer as well). After you have re-booted your software, open a blank file and click on the “Brush Tool” or simply press its keyboard shortcut ( B ) to activate it. Now, right click anywhere on the page and your brush palette should appear (this is where you control the brush size/hardness, etc.) and in the upper right hand corner you should see a little black triangle with a circle around it. Click on that little triangle/circle icon and…. whaaaaa-la! Your newly installed brushes are there just waiting for you to experiment with them! All you have to do is click on a preset and it will ask you if you would like to load those brushes. Click “Ok” and they will appear in your brush palette waiting to be used and abused! So, go have fun with your new brushes and get creative! The last step, of course, is to add your comments below! Add your brush tips (pun intended) below so that we can all learn from each other! Cheers!
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