Customize this birthday card with name and age! - and some news about upcoming projects

Happy Birthday cat cake stars pink green yellow Holiday Card
by MelskyArt

On this card, people can add the age and name of the birthday person via a template. This is very easy to do, even on a cell phone, because it is entering text into a field instead of having to click and edit text. 

This card is me going outside my comfort zone as far as color. Though I might naturally use any one of these colors, they are not a combination I would think to use. I selected them because I thought they would look cheerful together, and they do.

I've been doing some planning about how to schedule releases. There will be seasonal collections coming out on a regular schedule. This is still in the planning stage, but I anticipate that the first one will be Fall/Halloween 2020 coming out in early September.

Seasonal collections give me something to work towards. Years ago when I sold original paintings on Ebay, I had a small mailing list of people, and every November I would release a lot of smaller paintings and handmade gifts all at one and let people know.  I'll be setting up a mailing list soon that will come out once or twice a year.

I'll write more about what is coming up in this blog.

After the holiday is over, the seasonal collection will close until being revamped for the next year.

Yesterday I decided to get Adobe software.

Right now I am using three different types of free open-source software to create my art. I usually use Inkscape for designs like flowers, trees, and cats - stuff in the foreground that can be moved around. I use Krita and Gimp mostly to make backgrounds.  The card below has a background I made with a special brush on Krita.

So Many Candles joke old humor birthday friend Card
by MelskyArt

Though I think it might actually look better if it was a plain background.  It is so hard to decide on those types of things.

Back to software, I have been trying out different methods for organizing my images. Right now, they are on several different folders on my hard drive, in various formats, and I use three separate programs to create and edit them. Being organized doesn't come naturally to me, and I've been trying to make a good filing system and keep up with it. I decided that I wanted to store my images online and started looking at places to do it.

Adobe was one of the options that came up because it has cloud storage as part of a package deal including Illustrator and Photoshop.

I realized that I was spending a lot of time and energy trying to tie things together, and it was making me less productive. I'm at the point where I am working on art, design, and related tasks at around the time I'd spend on a full-time job. It's part of my every day to get up and work at my computer. So I think I'm actually at the point where it would help me a lot to have everything in one place.

Also, they have a plugin for Zazzle, so I would be able to create products directly from my computer. It basically skips a step between design and product. I think that will be very helpful. It will be interesting to see if helps me as far as workflow and productivity.

On the downside, I have not spent any money on this business yet, and though I'm not making much I also wasn't losing anything. Now I will likely be in the red for a month or two, or more. I'm also not happy about having to learn new software. But at least I've learned that I'm good at learning software and I hope I'll be able to transition without much interruption. 

I could still do what I need to do on the free software, and if this doesn't work out well for me I'll go back to that or consider other options.

You're Amazing

I wanted to make a very bright and happy card, and I think this met my goal!

I'm not sure if I should put pre-written messages in the cards. I prefer blank cards, even if there is a message on the front. But I'm a person who makes their own cards, so what do I know!

I've read that most people like cards that already have writing inside, so they don't have to worry about what to say.

You're Awesome! bright colorful birthday card
by MelskyArt

I wrote Happy Birthday Superstar on the inside, and put some more stars.

I've been working on a lot of art. It has been frustrating because it seems things don't always turn into something I can use in my designs. But I'm trying new techniques and I look at it as a learning process.