Monthly Archives: May 2010

Image of the Week

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Graphic artists are always looking for images that can be screened back to provide texture for backgrounds or to fill in fonts or other images. Free high-resolution, royalty free images can be hard to come by. Oak Creek Printworks is pleased to announce our new “Image of the Week” feature. To start with, we are posting not one but three images for the first week. Whether you are a customer or just browsing our site, feel free to double-click on the images below, and then right click on the full-sized image to download a high-resolution copy of the photograph. Be sure to check back each week for a new offering. We hope you like this new feature, and would appreciate hearing from you if you have any comments.

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Terms of Use: You can use these images for anything you wish (e.g. advertising, printed materials, product packaging, presentations, brochures, greeting cards, postcards, book covers, etc.) as long as you do not copyright them or resell them. Oak Creek Printworks and Oak Creek Marketplace, Inc. are not liable for any damages incurred by your use of the images. ©2010 Oak Creek Printworks

Summer Projects: keeping the creative juices flowing

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by Georgia Lange

Summer is upon us, and many of us are excited about taking a little vacation time. This is particularly true for those of us who have been in school for these past several months. Just because school is out doesn’t mean you should quit working; art is a constant process, and long periods of “time off” can be a waste of creative potential. For a true artist, the work is never finished. There are dozens of ways to keep busy while still having fun. Remember, experience itself can be a work of art (see our previous article on this topic for some more food-for-thought). Here are a couple of ideas to keep your creative juices flowing over the summer.

  • Wherever you go, always be armed and ready with a camera and a sketchbook. Better to have it and not need it than to need it and not have it.
  • Getting a second job, an internship, or some volunteer work helps to build experience. Although the job market is still problematic in this economy, volunteer work is always welcome and has a big payoff when it comes to building up the resume.
  • Start a new series, or work on one that you have already started. Galleries love to see a consistent body of work where all the pieces relate to one another (or at least look good together on the same wall).
  • Social networking is crucial these days. It never hurts to get yourself out there and build up your audience. Do this online and in person; use sites like Flickr, Facebook, Etsy, and Twitter and go to as many social gatherings as possible. Remember that the goal is to meet new people.
  • Get feedback from as many people as you can. When you meet someone new, direct them to your website or show them your sketchbook (which you should carry with you at all times). Getting feedback outside of the classroom gives you a better understanding of what market your work falls into, helping you to navigate your career accordingly.

If you would like to comment on this article, or share with us your ideas on how to stay actively creative while enjoyng the freedom of summer, please double click on the title of this article and let us know your thoughts. Let’s get a conversation going!

School fundraisers feature student artwork

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OLMCS - Student art cards for sale in 2010 fundraiser

Our clients have great ideas. The mom’s at Our Lady of Malibu Catholic School decided to sell the children’s artwork as card sets for this year’s fundraiser. They printed up the cards, but were not sure how to package them. Following a little internet research, one of the moms visited us, wanting to see our clear plastic boxes. After trying a few different sizes to fit both the envelopes and cards in the same package, the result was a professional product for sale, worthy of any store or boutique. And economic too! In addition, the clear packaging allowed them to print a page to insert in the bottom of the box, profiling the artist and showing the prints enclosed.

Congratulations to all the budding artists at OLMCS, who now have the distinction of having sold their artwork. They are off to a great start.

Past clients include public and private schools, and Sister Cities International, which features artwork from children around the world. Take a look at some of their artwork. Perhaps it will inspire you. To check out packaging options, see recent blog article “Greeting card sets – a great marketing idea!” by David Heyman.

"Great Harvest" - ©2008, Sister Cities

"Quilt" - Weathersfield School

"Lions" - Montgomery High School

Apply your artistic talent to home design with free software

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Let’s face it. Some of us are more able to “see” or envision things than others, especially when it comes to 3D environments. Picture this. You are trying to rearrange your living room in your head and you know just where you want everything, but…you can’t get your idea across to your partner. Can you relate?

Whether you want to build a house, set up an apartment, help the kid furnish a dorm room, or plan the layout of the new baby’s room, you can do it with the help of the Autodesk Homestyler, an interactive drag and drop program to help you create 2-D and 3-D versions of your business, home, or room. You can do a variety of things from adding entire rooms, walls, doors, and windows to selecting furniture, appliances, plants, and outdoor landscaping.

Want something a little less complex? Give PlanningWiz a try. This designer has built-in rulers, grids, and basic line and color tools that make it so easy that kids can use it. In fact, besides using it to create home/room designs, you could even use it in conjunction with school lessons to teach perspective, shapes, proportion, measuring on a large scale, and loads of other skills. Check both of these design tools out and see what you think.