I have started to upload vectorized versions of my old pen and ink drawings to the mircos. Some of the agencies rejected them, telling me I need a property release. I filled out and uploaded property releases to the sites that asked for them, and this solved the problem for all of the sites except SS, which rejected them a second time.  SS is insisting that I provide a 'source' image along with the property release.  Communication is very slow, it takes a week to get their rejection, then resubmit, another week passes, another rejection ect, ect...

Here's a sample:
http://www.canstockphoto.com/playful-calico-kitten-11791127.html
Has anyone had much experience submitting scans and photos of their own non-digital artwork? By 'source image' do they mean the preliminary sketches? Or do they mean I must provide any and all reference photos I may have used? Or do they want to see the original scans? They don't ask for property releases or source images for my vectors, many of which are based on my 3d renders. I also ran into this problem with a scan of a small watercolor painting of mine. Much of this artwork was done in the 80's and early 90's, before I went digital. Whatever preliminary sketches I created are long gone. I thought submitting some of my 'oldies' was a good idea, but now I wonder... Does anyone have experience with uploading scans and photos of your own non-digital artwork?

SS has been willing to accept a property release for my scans of real world paintings/drawings. But I'm selling those as photos, not illustrations.

SS sounds as if it's adopting a policy closer to iStock's for vectors. You need to show them a scan of the drawing that you made the vector from. For iStock, they would take a JPEG of the reference photograph or sketch. If it was drawn entirely online and without any reference, they ask for screen shots of the work in progress. I would make a JPEG that is the property release plus the drawing you did originally and I'd expect them to take that.

Thanks for some good suggestions, the sites have some general info on property releases, but I haven't come across much on scanned non-digital artwork. There is no consistency from site to site, so a lot of it is trial and error, learning from rejections. But that's painfully slow.  I've got a lot of non-digital artwork I could upload, I don't know if it will sell, or if it's worth all the trouble to learn what each site wants, but it's worth a try.  So far SS is the strictest; I didn't upload any scans to IS. I sent a site message to SS admin, asking what they meant when they asked for a 'source image', I'll let you know what they say.

Quote from: etienjones on December 08, 2012, 15:23

I have submitted a whole series of Hand Painted Collages along with property releases and had no problems.  Mine were abstract designs so, unlike yourself, no "references"  to the possible original sources were needed.

Like this:

http://www.shutterstock.com/cat.mhtml?gallery_id=193138#id=25079275&src=e9ecdf19c200527df576bf89e55bc348-1-74

Nice work. Funny though that it states:
Release  information: N/A

What happened to the Property Release?

Property released doesnt show up. I have some images with property releases but it always says NA. Only MR shows as relased/

OP, you need to embed a photo of the work into the PR. Thats what they want. On the PR there is room to stick a photo

Think her problem is that the scan is, in a manner of speaking, the photo of the artwork. That is why I suggested placing them all somewhere and taking a separate picture of them all and attaching that. The reviewer can then identify the works as non traced material.

Quote from: etienjones on December 08, 2012, 15:23

I have submitted a whole series of Hand Painted Collages along with property releases and had no problems.  Mine were abstract designs so, unlike yourself, no "references"  to the possible original sources were needed.

Like this:

http://www.shutterstock.com/cat.mhtml?gallery_id=193138#id=25079275&src=e9ecdf19c200527df576bf89e55bc348-1-74

Nice work. Funny though that it states:
Release  information: N/A

What happened to the Property Release?

Thanks click_click,  it is the ultimate in recycling . . .  taking older paintings that I don't like anymore, ripping them into pieces and creating something new. A very cathartic process.