Our latest free RF stock photo is an abstract fractal art illustration – a great art element or background for anything you can see fit. Download this stock illustration free for a limited time!

Need something different? Don’t forget about our coupon promo IGOTTHEHOOKUP for another 10% OFF any non-subscription pack image order.

The move towards one price per stock photo (no matter what the size) is something many in the industry are warming up to. With the internet age we’re currently living in of ebooks, tablets, smartphones, digital billboards, and other low-resolution screen applications, we sometimes wonder if the megapixel race is dead, at least for now.  Soon enough tablets and smartphones’ screen resolutions will increasingly grow, but no matter what, as long as the screen sizes stay around 4-10 inches, there really isn’t a need for images much over 1 or 2 megapixels to use effective and clean page designs or advertising.

Currently, smaller web image sizes are sometimes just of as much value as a larger high-resolution size, depending on the application. Whoever started the whole, “smaller sizes are worth less money” concept, was obviously from the time when print media was still king. New medias have changed that. Due to these facts in this ever changing marketplace, stock artists may be soon to realize that it is probably the time to adjust our pricing models.  Does it really matter how large an image is, that determines its worth?  Or the content / subject / theme of the image itself?

What do you think? Would you still buy a stock image at a smaller web size if it was the image you needed, regardless of whether the price was the same as the largest, high-resolution size?  Is there still a market for the cheap, $1 to $2, tiny size stock photo model?

This opens a world of possibilities for you.  You now will have the ability to play Android games on your pc, to use Voxer, and any other app that is only available through your smartphone.  Yes, Google chrome runs some of them, but not all.  The apps FLY from your computer’s processing power (especially on my i7 desktop, compared to my little LG smartphone with its chincy slow processor) and bandwidth speeds are as fast as your pc’s as well.

I’m not a referral or endorser of this app, I just though it was so amazing that I wanted to share.  Chime in with a comment below, and let me know what you think of it.

Google’s commercial is based around their incredible web browser, Google Chrome… but their entire brand is being utilized here.  They also of course included product placement of their chrome book, google plus, and everything else google.  Whether or not you care about their new notebook, their browser, or even google plus… this ad is outstanding.  It tugs on the heart strings.  It’s a story told in a brief 60 seconds of a young woman going off to college, who is still keeping in close touch with her father.  This family was recently affected by a loss.  The daughter lost her mother to death, and her father lost his bride.  They are both working through their situation by relying on the strength of one another to build each other up.  This is what we as families do in real life.  What they’re introducing is the fact that you can use everything Google to keep in touch with one another.  The live hangouts and video chats, the emails, and the social media aspect of the internet.  The ad spot is sad, it’s funny, it feels real, and it’s probably one of our favorite Google ads ever made, to date.  Google has always gone this method, trying to tug on those heart strings, and on the relationships we have with our friends and families.  Bravo, to Google’s marketing and advertising team.  Keep up the good work.  This Google “Jess Time” ad gets our vote.

Here in facebook’s “The Things That Connect Us” ad spot, not once is the product shown – only their logo at the end of the commercial.  It’s done in the style of a public service announcement, where they talk about chairs and liken them to a way that everyone connects.  Then they sort of go out in left field at one point, talking about how we wonder if there is any more life out there in the universe (this is where I was wondering where they were going with this), and that either way we know we aren’t alone.  We all have the need and desire for human interaction, communication, encouragement; whether it be with our friends, families, or anyone else.  This is what facebook was playing on, sort of a similar style of commercial to Google’s, but presented in a different way.

What do you think of each?  Which was more touching to you, which was better exectuted, and which do you think was more effective?

Many of us today step back for a minute and wonder… where would I be right now if I had gone a different route?  Would I still be in this field if I hadn’t gone to college?  How much worse of (or better off) might I be?  There are definitely perks to both sides.

It’s going to be up to you to decide whether or not you have enough general wisdom to be able to skip college altogether.  You might think you do, but you also might be missing something major. You’ll learn a lot of vital things you thought you already had a good enough grasp on while in school, like good use of negative space, typography, and projection lines. Forget learning more about software in school; as they only briefly brush on it for a few weeks. If you can read a software training book, you can learn more than what they’re going to briefly brush on.  Learning the software is basically up to you, but they don’t tell you that.  The training in school is less focuses on the software, but more on the principles of design. I’ve learned the most just by playing around with Photoshop, Indesign and Illustrator, on my own time and while I was on my first design jobs and internships.  Don’t forget that college is cheap… not even community college is cheap anymore.  I worked my way through by squirreling my grocery store job paychecks away, and was able to avoid any student loan debt, but that wasn’t easy either.  Working 20+ hours a week plus full time load of college classes and trying to still have a life… it’s a lot to handle.

You’ll be glad to have a four year degree; it’s always something to fall back on. Heck, you could always apply it to any other type of job that requires someone who has “done the time” so to speak.  Many jobs simply require any type of four year degree, just to get in the door.  Sadly, though… a four year degree doesn’t seem to go as far as it used to anymore.  It seems that everyone has them, and that they’re a dime a dozen.  Education is one of the biggest money making industries in the world.  Sometimes I wonder if I’d be much worse off my whole college degree.  I know I’d have a lot more money saved, due to the lack of college tuition expenses. I also would have had an extra four years of trial and error, getting a lot earlier of a start than I did having to wait the extra four years to completion.  My college professors always encouraged us to work for someone else first.  Make mistakes with the company’s money, and no our own.  There are times you can make a huge mistake, with printing – or if the customer decides they want to sue you over a $10k+ print job gone wrong, what do you do then?  You’ll be stuck to foot the bill yourself, unless you’ve got a bigger company behind you to back you up.

All I can share here is my own personal experience.  For me, college was a stepping stone type of thing. If I hadn’t been able to land my first graphic design job, due to having the degree, who knows if I’d still even be in this business. My first and second bosses both told me that without the degree they wouldn’t have even considered me. Oh, and by then way – they were both not even high paying jobs.  Nonetheless, working in the field got me into using stock images and microstock agency websites, which sparked my imagination into transitioning over.  Here I am today, still in the stock imagery business, 8 years later.  If I had a 4 year advanced start, though – I would have been able to hit the massive boom of the microstock industry instead of catching the wave mid-crest.  Or, maybe I would be in an entirely different niche of the creative arts field altogether.  I might not have even discovered stock, if it hadn’t been for me landing jobs A and B (which were only attainable with my 4 year degree)

Ask yourself these questions, before you decide what you’re going to do.

Do you plan on working for yourself, or for someone else?

How skilled are you already?  Are you advanced in computers and software?

Do you figure things out on your own, or are you the type of person that needs someone to hold their hand through everything?

Are you a go-getter?  Can you be self motivated?  Or, do you perform better when given assignments?

Are you ready to work your hiney off in order to stay afloat on your own?

Do you feel that your money will be well spent in improving your skillset?

No, graphic design is not the most lucrative or glamorous career it’s made out to be.  It can be, if you know how handle the business side of things just as much as the creative side.  If you know you eventually want to be your own boss, and work for yourself, then you might want to weigh your options.  It’s really a tough call, and one that only you can make.  There are perks to having the degree, and some other perks for skipping it.  It all depends on you, your situation, and how soon you want to get out there.

Or, take plan C – go to school and freelance while you’re a student, instead of working a crappy retail or restaurant job like most college students do.  If you can handle that and stay afloat, you’re going to have a hopeful outlook by the time you graduate.

Feel free to chime in below, with your own personal experiences, stories, or where you’re at right now.  We want to help.  Have questions about what to expect in school?  Ask away.

This week’s free royalty free stock photo is a delicious looking turkey sandwich on an onion roll with a side of pita chips. Add this great stock food image to your hard drive’s stock image library. Download this stock image for free, but only for a limited time!

Need something else? Don’t forget about the coupon code IGOTTHEHOOKUP for another 10% OFF any single image order.

This week’s free royalty free stock photo is a grungy, worn diamond plate metal texture – a very useful image for your stock image library.  Grab it free, but only for a limited time.

Need something else?  Don’t forget that you can use coupon code IGOTTHEHOOKUP for 10% OFF

I have been testing one set on my PS3 controller for over 6 months now, and they still look like new.  The amount of control is much improved, and my fingers never slip off the thumb sticks at all.  They do exactly what they’re supposed to, and at a price that won’t break the bank.  One of my controllers had the rubber peeling off of the top in one spot, so instead of taking apart the controller and replacing the entire stick (what a pain) I just slapped a silicone cap over it.  You can pay upwards of $10 per set for these grip caps elsewhere, but focalprice has these thumbstick controller caps as low as $1 each or $1.69 for one set.  Shipping is even free.  These are also available in clear (white) or red.

These may also fit other game system controller sticks, such as Wii, Gamecube or usb PC controllers, but you’d have to test them yourself for fitment.

Grab our free stock photo of the week (available for a limited time) – an abstract illustration of a fiery graphic audio waveform.  Just sign up for a free account, and you’ll also be able to access our free stock images of the week from a few weeks prior, as well.

This video shows us why spec work devalues graphic designers, and the entire design industry.  Be smart.  Don’t under-sell yourself, or your abilities.

How do you stay creatively fresh?  One way is by keeping up with what other amazing artists are doing.  Looking at inspiring designs like the ads in this post are something we can all do in order to keep our creative noodles working.  Below are some amazing ad designs by highly talented digital artists, graphic designers, and advertising firms.  Many of the techniques used in the advertisements below are highly advanced skillsets.  For tutorials on how to recreate some of these dispersion and digital manipulation techniques, be sure to check out our tutorials section.  For more information on the individual authors, simply click on the images below.

Did you enjoy this post?  Can you please share it or Google Plus +1?  Follow me on the social networks listed in the author box below for a lot more creative goodness.  Also, let us know in the comment box below which ad designs are your favorite.

]]> http://arenacreative.com/blog/inspiration/15-eye-popping-ad-designs/feed/ 0 http://arenacreative.com/blog/freebies/free-stock-photos-freebies/abstract-fractal-background/ http://arenacreative.com/blog/freebies/free-stock-photos-freebies/abstract-fractal-background/#comments Mon, 02 Jul 2012 15:59:51 +0000 ArenaCreative.com http://arenacreative.com/blog/?p=3375

Sign up for a free member account and download this royalty free abstract fractal art stock image for free, for a limited time only.  This is our free image of the week, so be sure to subscribe to our RSS feeds to check back and grab next week’s free stock photo!  Previous free stock images of the week from the previous weeks will stay free as well, for a limited time.

#1. Seafood Pad Thai

#2. Green Curry

#3. Pad Prik Prow w/ Duck

#4. Crab Rangoons

#5. Sea Bass w/ Asparagus

#6. Sweet and Sour Shrimp

#7. Crab Fried Rice

#8. Thai Eggrolls

#9. Whole Red Snapper w/ Tamarind Sauce

#10. Chicken Satay

Other must-try Thai favorites, not pictured above:
- Drunken Noodle (Pad Kee Mao)
- Panang Curry
- Spicy Eggplant (Fried Eggplant sauteed with onions veggies and thai basil leaves)
- Chicken Got Mad (moderately spicy crispy chicken stir fry)
- Wild Boar Basil (very spicy stir fry dish with pork)

Hopefully this post has inspired you to try something new this weekend!  Any of the above stir fry dishes are easily customizable as well; whether you prefer tofu, chicken, beef, pork, calamari, or shrimp. That makes the flavor possibilities almost endless.  All of the above dishes courtesy of Somewhere in Bangkok restaurant located in Southington, CT.  To see their entire menu, and to see even more images we shot for them, visit http://somewhereinbkk.com Every time we’ve eaten there, and no matter what we order, the food is delicious and presented beautifully.

If you’ve ever searched any stock photo website, sure enough you’ve seen an abundance of people isolated over a white background.  Why is this?  Because white backgrounds are so easy to work with, when it comes to laying out images on websites and in articles.  Even if you need to cut out the person in and change the background color entirely, a clean white background makes this an easier task in most cases.  As you can see in this post, we’ve just dragged and dropped a handful of square and rectangular images, and they look like they’ve already been cut out (the white page background matches the white background in the photos exactly).  Here is a small seletion of some of the stock photo models and poses you will find at ArenaCreative.com

One of the biggest complaints we hear from graphic designers is, “The image is cropped, do you have an uncropped version?”  This is a common issue, because there are two styles of photographing models: cropping them in camera versus leaving an edge all around, and letting the designer crop the image.  Yes, there are perks to both.  Bloggers, or those that want a ready-cropped image do enjoy the cropped varieties, while other designers like the freedom of being able to crop the stock photo themselves.

Sign up for a free account on ArenaCreative.com to download this free water droplet stock photo – for a limited time.  This stock image makes a great background element, with plenty of copy space.  By downloading this free image you agree to our normal licensing terms and conditions.  Check back here weekly to see what’s new, and for another free stock image to add to your collection.

Why take on something like this?  Here are Rob’s own words: “The goal of this project was to train creative thinking every day (and of course promote myself as a designer)”.  He has definitely succeeded in doing both.  He has set an excellent example for other creative professionals that are looking to showcase their talents in a unique and hopefully viral way.

We’ve all heard of these 365 projects, and have seen many start them only to fail to keep up.  Even when it’s just a “snap a photo with my digital camera once a day and post it” type deal.  Heck, I couldn’t keep up with that if I tried.  Here are some of Robert’s logo designs that stood out to us as extra amazing, especially since they only took him under 100 minutes each.  We want to give a hearty congratulations to Robert for accomplishing such an admirable feat (I wish I could design logos this gorgeous and detailed in under 100 minutes).

Chime in with a comment below, and let us know which are your favorites.  To view the rest of the logo designs, you can view the entire collection of 100 logos in 100 days.  If you need a logo designed and would like to hire a seasoned graphic designer and illustrator, get in touch with Robert.

]]> http://arenacreative.com/blog/graphic-design/100-logos-in-100-days-project-by-robert-butkovic/feed/ 9 http://arenacreative.com/blog/photography/stock-images-online-have-incredible-reach/ http://arenacreative.com/blog/photography/stock-images-online-have-incredible-reach/#comments Mon, 18 Jun 2012 20:46:20 +0000 ArenaCreative.com http://arenacreative.com/blog/?p=3074

I recently was reminded of The Stolen Scream story, and just wanted to add a bit of dialogue about it.

As a full time stock photographer and graphic designer, I know for a fact how far of a reach an image can have. Once it is out there and published on the world wide web, it might as well be out there for good. Once you put something on the web, there’s no taking it back. That’s just the digital age we live in. Stock photos of mine that I have licensed have ended up in use all over the world, and in ways I sometimes never could have imagined.

What Noam initially did by publishing his artwork in its unwatermarked, high resolution state, was like leaving a running car in the middle of Harlem… unlocked. Don’t expect people to just walk by, saying – wow that’s a really nice car. The first criminally minded opportunist is going to capitalize on the fact that it’s ready for a joyride.  I’m glad to see that Noam, from the Stolen Scream story, is now at least able to start marketing his artwork like he should be, instead of other people making money off of his own ingenuity and creativity.

Will your next camera phone image or point & shoot snapshot be the next “Stolen Scream”?  You might not have realized this, but big time stock agencies are now taking what you might consider “crummy cell phone snapshots” and licensing them for up to hundreds and thousands of dollars.  With the quality of smartphone cameras improving, and the fact that they are always in your pocket, some stock agencies are even accepting the images produced from mobile phones into their collections alongside photos captured with high end DSLR’s.

Be careful what you post on your social media accounts, kids. It doesn’t matter where you put it, whether it’s facebook, pinterest, twitter, or instagram. Watch out you aren’t posting anything you’re going to want to take back later. Remember the story of the Stolen Scream, and be sure you don’t get caught regretting your actions.

I agree 100%. I’ve been a stock photographer myself for over 7 years now. As an experiment I started my own mini-stock agency to house my own images, but eventually decided to open up the platform to a handful of my closer colleagues in the business. I would never think of offering them any less than 50% commissions. I actually eat the merchant fees, hosting costs, and other fees myself, so I’m probably really offering much more than half.

There definitely needs to be more of a trend where we stop feeding the giants that have been taken over by corporate greed, and that think they can continue to nickle and dime talented artists. There’s a big difference between selling at microstock prices, and earning 50%, than there is selling at microstock prices and earning 15-20%. This is a numbers game, and those pennies do add up fast.

Yes, microstock has had the traditional stock world alerted for a while now, and its obviously because there was a need for lower priced imagery within the marketplace.  Low priced stock is here to stay. The quality bar is rapidly rising in budget RF collections, and sometimes we have seen pricing rise soon after.  This isn’t a post about image pricing, however.  It’s about what’s fair business practice, when you’re working with digital content.  We’re not talking about retailers like Walmart or Target, here, or standard retail product commissions.  Somewhere along the lines, agencies started getting greedy and pushing the profits further and furthers onto their side of the table.  In the midst of the chaos, many artists just accepted it, or felt they had little or no control over this transition.

Having my own stock agency here at Arena Creative has been so much work, that many times I sometimes regret experimenting with this venture. Mainly that is due to the amount of time managing this website has robbed me from creating more new images.  Creating stock images and graphics is where I find joy and satisfaction, and doing SEO or building back links is not what I like doing.  I don’t give up on things that easily, though.  If I were to give up on it now, all of the work I’ve done thus far will have been in vain.  I definitely appreciate the other side of the relationship I’ve had with agencies all of these years even moreso, now that I’ve lived it. Does that mean that agencies can continue to justify cutting artist commissions that much? Definitely not.

What about the fleecing that goes on with graphic designers as well?  Design contest sites take advantage of those starting out, or living in areas where they are struggling to find enough jobs.  They take take take and give back very little.  Don’t support design contest sites, no matter how much money you might think you’re saving yourself.  Buy that logo the old fashioned way… by hiring an experienced and skilled designer, and by determining their level of professionalism through their work and demeanor; not through some random internet design contest forum.

Let’s all stop feeding the unfair agencies with their livelihood – the fresh creative content.  It’s the product, the blood that runs through their company’s veins.  It’s in our control, whether we realize it or not. Even if we have to lose a few dollars here or there, stick to your guns.  At least push the unfair agencies you submit content to, or that you buy from, to the bottom of your list.  One hand really does wash the other.  What’s fair is fair.  Let’s clean up this bad situation by supporting stock image agencies that are working towards a sustainable future.  Let’s clean up this creative economy.