To help you practise this technique in a fun way, we will be creating our own greetings cards!

Greetings card ranges often have a recognizable style that is consistent across a range of different designs, so this is an ideal application for this type of illustration.

To complete the project:

Choose a subject to use for your card and let us know what it is and why you’ve chosen it e.g. I chose a teapot for my design, because I want to make a birthday card for my mum who loves vintage and the shabby chic style.
Decide whether you will be doing a quick sketch or taking a photo to use as your guide (remember, you can only use an existing image if you know that you are legally allowed to do so!); if you are unsure, I would recommend that you contact the author for permission, or stick to the two methods shown to create your own template. You can use more than one template image if this suits your design idea.
Do a screen grab from Illustrator showing your new digital illustration next to your template image; think, a ‘before and after’ shot. The purpose of the template is just to help us get started with our design, it's not really about creating an exact reproduction of the original image.
If you wish, add some colour and text to complete your design and make it your own.
Upload an image of your final card design and pat yourself on the back! (if you’re actually going to print your card to give to someone, we’d love to see a picture of the real thing in action too, but this is purely optional!)

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THE FOLLOWING INFO SHOULD BE SEEN AS A STARTING POINT FOR YOUR OWN RESEARCH. This should not be taken as permission to use any of the images or sites mentioned, shown or linked to in this class, and does not constitute legal advice.

Stock Photography site links: (Always read all licences and terms of use carefully; if you are unsure whether your intended use is allowed, contact the author for permission or do not use it.)

Unsplash - The Unsplash Manifesto The images available on Unsplash are not copyright free as the authors retain all of the rights to their work, but they are essentially allowing Unsplash to sub-licence their images by granting its users an irrevocable, nonexclusive, worldwide copyright license to use the images according to the very broad terms set out in the Unsplash licence.

https://unsplash.com/license/, https://unsplash.com/terms/ and FAQ's (explains the differences between the Unsplash licence and the CC0 and the terms of use for products you sell; it also talks about 'model/property release' issues and trademark rights regarding things that might be depicted in an image, such as logos, for which you may need additional permissions (this is something you should consider under any licence agreement).

Pixabay - Pixabay is described as "a vibrant community of creatives, sharing copyright free images and videos"; at the time of recording my video, this site offered images under the CC0 licence, but now seems to be releasing resources under the terms of 'the Pixabay licence', at least on the desktop site.

https://pixabay.com/en/service/license/, https://pixabay.com/en/service/terms/ and FAQ's

Model & Property Release & Trademarks depicted in images (this is an interesting article, including examples such as The London eye, The Chrysler Building and Lego).

Both Unsplash and Pixabay prohibit the sale of all photos without first adding value by updating, modifying, or otherwise incorporating new creative elements into the photos (i.e. selling unaltered copies of the photos, including selling the photos digitally, as prints or printed on physical goods).

Stocksnap - https://stocksnap.io/license/ offers copyright free images and videos using the CC0 licence - CC0 1.0 Universal (CC0 1.0) Public Domain Dedication

None of these sites require attribution when using an image, but if you do use an image for an application where it is possible for you to give attribution then I would suggest that you do this, as it is just a nice way of saying 'thank you' to the contributor. Some sites also give you the opportunity to donate money or 'buy a coffee' for the author, which is also something to think about if you have gotten value from their images. I believe creativity and sharing should go hand in hand, so why not also consider sharing your own photos in a way that allows other people to use them to flex their creative muscles?

"Art only exists because of other art" - Creating completely from scratch is great, but producing something new from a blank page can be very challenging and even stop an idea in its tracks. When being creative, I believe it's okay to sometimes use available resources, in the spirit that they were intended and under the terms that are allowed in the licence, to help us in the process of realising our vision. We are always going to be inspired by the things we see around us, but it's not about trying to copy others' work or ideas; we need to find a way of making our work our own - trying to create something different, with our own voice, is something we should all strive for.

DISCLAIMER:

I am not a legal professional. The information given here, and in this class, I believe to be true to the best of my knowledge at the time of recording/writing, but it is only my interpretation and should in no way be taken as legal advice. I would always recommend that you do your own research and make your own decisions based on what you find. If, after reading all relevant licences, terms of use and FAQ’s you are still unsure whether it is safe to use a particular image, service or other resource for your intended purpose, then I would recommend contacting the relevant website or author of the work directly to ask for permission. If in doubt, do not use it and stick to the two methods shown in the class for creating your own template images. I cannot be held responsible for any loss, expenses, damages or costs incurred by you or a third party, through your misuse or misappropriation of any intellectual property, infringement by you, of any copyright, trademark or privacy rights, or from your violation of a licence agreement or usage terms of any third party person or website, intentional or unintentional. I also do not represent or warrant that the information contained in this class is complete, accurate or free from error.