I am a photo editing enthusiast. I enjoy optimizing digital photography and I enjoy using fantastic tools like Adobe Photoshop CS3 to modify digital images and make fun of the absurdity I see all around me. When you do something like this at home for fun, you can pretty much go "no holds barred" and do whatever you want. No one will care about copyright issues.
Publishing, however, is another matter. You need to consider the creative and intellectual rights of the owners of photographs, fonts, written works and any other resources you might use. Typically this means that you must acknowlege the creator with a "by line" or a link. Honesty in these areas fosters respect from your audience. Similarly, as the designer of new content, I watermark my images with my website, Mockazine.com.
Publishing for profit creates even more issues. If you try to sell a work that includes someone elses creative property, you need permission from the owner and you may need to pay a fee. Consider the work you have seen on this blog - not for sale. Now, with creations like the Men's Wedding Cover, I took a privately owned photo and made a magazine cover based on funny stories from the message (10% truth rule). I could feasibly charge for the creative effort and possibly for the printing because I have permission from the owner of the photograph. If I use my own photograph, I can charge for the photo as well as the design. Rule of thumb, don't sell what you don't own.
This page includes some of my favorite resources for digital design. Links are included for fonts, royalty free photos, and tools. This, more than any other page, is a living document and will grow as I find new and better resources. Be sure to check the referenced pages for any rules regarding the use of the tools you find.
HTML Code Tutorials:
HTML Code Tutorial is a great resource and quick reference for properly tagging your blogs, comments, social network interactions, and (of course) web pages.
Font Links:
Mouser Fonts has categorized over 1,731 fonts alphabetically. If you see a font you like, be sure to visit the designer's homepage (found under Links) to see more.
Fonts.com Need fonts, why wouldn't you look here first?
Photo Resource Links:
I have begun to post landscape photos from my travels. You can check out Oahu here or Colorado, or images from along the southwest. Please leave a comment with a link if you use any of these photos in a non-commercial post. Please get permission before using these in a commercial way.
If you are serious about digital imagery, join an association like the National Association of Photoshop Professionals. NAPP publishes Photoshop User Magazine, Layers Magazine, and hosts the Photoshop World conference and Expo twice a year. Members get access to tutorials and resources online as well as a discount on Kelby Training materials. If you are interested in joining, use this link.
Learn to be a better photographer with Smashing Magazine's 50 free resources.
As far as images go, if you want the really good stuff, you will have to pay for it. There are many companies that sell quality images for personal and commercial use. Check out sites like iStockphoto.com for high quality images, great search functionality, and reasonable prices.
If you want to buy images directly from the artists themselves, check out Zenfolio.
This list is copied from a thread I found on Worth1000.com's forums. The author warns users to check and double check copyright and usage rules for each picture. Links were last tested on 12/06/07.
MorguefileThe purpose of this site is to provide free image reference material for use in all creative pursuits. Individual photographers establish their own rules and requirements for using thier material, typically including a simple reference or notification.
Free Stock Photos - Over 2500
Free Photos: All are 72dpi for the layman, 72 dpi is the proper resolution for displaying an image on a computer screen. Higher resolution images are required for print (usually 150 dpi) and press (usually 300 dpi). These images will not look great on paper.
Original Russian Nature Photos First page looks tame, but I have to be wary of a website called "russian women.net"
Hi Res NATO Photos 'cause maybe your a big fan of Nato and want to make your own customer NATO slideshow screensaver.
Movie Posters they are not huge images, but there is a huge variety of movie posters.
World Health Org. Photos
Celebrity Picture Archive many of these look like press photos.
CD & DVD Covers
Actress Archive
Thousands of Royalty Free Pics
Wikipedia: Public domain image resources
Mark Harden's Artchive
Mayang's Free Textures
Art Renewal Center
Currently 8050 textures and images
Free Stock Photography
U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service
National Library of Medicine
Collection of Food Pics
Image Library Links Site
Hair & Skin Color Charts
Entomology Photos (bugs)
Photoshop Resource Links:
Layers Magazine This print and online publication is published by NAPP for creative suite enthusiasts.
Worth1000.com Tutorials Worth1000 (as in a picture is worth 1000 words) is a photo and photoshop competition site.
Good Tutorials of course, you have to decide if they are good for you.
Tutorialized.com these tutorials are well organized.
Twisting Pixels sells photoshop plug-ins for print or web.
The Plug-in Site has free plug-ins. I do not have any notice of bad stuff from this site, but as with any freeware, be sure you virus scan before you use. Sometimes you get more than your pay for--and not in a good way.
Inspiration
The web is full of terrific artwork and trash. I will do my best to help you separate the two. Here is a listing of sites that inspire me:
Worth 1000 yes, again. Some of the artists here do amazing things with digital imagery.
Circus Hour is loaded with fun stuff to include completely original artwork. I really admire an artist who can do it all from scratch. Artist 14 is not the only artist who draws and paints, but I like her take on celebrity gossip and absurdity in our society.
Templates
I have not spent much time developing templates. If I get a chance, I will add more.
At my job, I often have to print and cut our company business cards. I use the following template to print 21 business cards on a 12 x 18 sheet of cardstock from Adobe In Design CS2. Cards are cut on the inner lines. Download the template here.
