|
MicrostockGroup Sponsors
This section allows you to view all posts made by this member. Note that you can only see posts made in areas you currently have access to.
Messages - davey_rocket
76
« on: March 16, 2009, 12:13 »
I would make fotolia rework their esoteric categories. Or at least put a miscellaneous option in the conceptual category list. Weighted keywords are a good idea, and I like the idea of cleaning all the crap images off the sites except that would mean all mine would be deleted 
77
« on: March 12, 2009, 19:14 »
I agree with the above, the "white" paper looks a little bluish, it could probably use a nudge.
78
« on: March 10, 2009, 12:31 »
There are a couple of other threads on here about vector stock so you might want to check those out. My impression is that the site is growing and people are getting some sales. I also signed up and have twice attempted to upload. They want the EPS file zipped (not sure why EPS files are so small) and they want the jpeg thumbnail to be 380x400. Resizing the thumbnail is a pain, and I haven't figured out how to get images that aren't at a relatively square shape to fit those dimensions with out looking stretched, but I'm probably missing something. I've also noticed that their site is very slow. I've only got 3mbps internet but it takes anywhere from 5 to 30 seconds for each of their pages to load.
79
« on: March 08, 2009, 19:38 »
How much does it take to make one of those 5000 dl backgrounds with swirling lines  Not 4 years. No wonder people wanna try when they see those.
Ha!Much agreed. Of the top fifteen most popular files on IS, seven are vectors, of which 5 are floral or "swirl" backgrounds. One is a set of banners and the other is silhouettes with colored background. I mean the artists no disrespect because these vectors are exquisitely done and very pleasing to the eye. But like magnum said, who can't look at these rather simple illustrations and say to themselves "I could probably do that." Obviously quite a few as the search terms "floral background" on IS produces 18,683 files. However, vector programs have a very steep learning curve. Those inclined to learn the programs most likely already have an affinity to or at least an interest in art to be willing to spend the time learning the program. Since you NEED vector software to create vector illustrations, learning to operate the software is probably the most important thing. As mentioned above there are graphic design graduates who can't even make a proper selection in Photoshop. And there are probably a lot of art school grads who are crap artists. Luckily the good and hardworking artists are rewarded by having higher sales by producing a higher quality and thus more desired product.
80
« on: March 06, 2009, 21:27 »
Not sure if anyone else has noticed this buy you can get a Nikon D200 body from Best Buy for $599 right now. Not sure if they have the deal in the stores or if it's online only. I don't remember when it was discontinued buy I'm assuming they won't last much longer.
81
« on: March 04, 2009, 12:55 »
Dreamstime is the first site I check, the first I upload to and the first to reach payouts. I wish they would review additional format files faster but it's such a small complaint in the grand scheme of dreamstime goodness it's almost not worth mentioning.
82
« on: March 04, 2009, 12:50 »
Download Inkscape a open source vector program and play with it until you learn it. Look through vectors at all the sites to see what's popular, what's over done and what needs doing. Create as many illustrations as you can. See what sells and what doesn't. Rinse and repeat.
Do the big sites like Istock, Dreamstime, SS, etc accept illustrations from inkscape or are they wanting Illustrator CS only? I think I may have read something along these lines somewhere but not sure. So should I start with illustrator directly ?
The two major problems with inkscape are that you cannot use gradients or transparencies and the fact that many functions cannot be automated as in illustrator. However the bezier tool is 1000 times easier to use in my opinion. It's a simple program but capable to producing decent results.
83
« on: March 04, 2009, 01:57 »
Download Inkscape a open source vector program and play with it until you learn it. Look through vectors at all the sites to see what's popular, what's over done and what needs doing. Create as many illustrations as you can. See what sells and what doesn't. Rinse and repeat.
84
« on: March 02, 2009, 13:18 »
So another post about one hit wonders has made me think about selling vectors. I've been doing vectors for a couple of months now on Inkscape. I've had a couple that have really taken off, especially on SS, at least comparatively speaking. Now most of my vectors are pretty simplistic, mostly stylized objects, isolated objects and cartoony things. In looking through the portfolios of some of the illustrators that are active on this site I've noticed that the general subject matter tends to be the same. Floral backgrounds, icons, grunge, seamless backgrounds and backgrounds in general. Most of these illustrations are exquisitely done and look like they took a lot of time. I've also noticed that a lot of the more complex (looking) vectors seem to have very few dls. I'm interested in the opinions of those of you who produce vectors and what the best sellers tend to be. I'd love to make some of those beautiful floral backgrounds but is another one in a sea of thousands going to be worth the effort? At this point though it doesn't really matter since I work in Inkscape and gradients don't translate into EPS, however I can get AI from school for about $200, but as a poor graduate student I really need to justify that cost. Here's a link to my SS account if you feel like looking. http://www.shutterstock.com/gallery-154906p1.html
85
« on: March 02, 2009, 13:01 »
I uploaded a very simplistic sun vector (somewhat stylized, but took me about 5 minutes to create) late last week and it has already earned me close to $10 on SS alone. I also have a couple waterfall pictures from Costa Rica that seem to always sell. It seems like that's what it's all about. Upload a crap load of pictures and have a small handful of them sell and sell well. But I only have ~150 picture portfolio. I have noticed though that vectors sell VERY well on SS.
86
« on: March 01, 2009, 13:02 »
I agree with everyone above, Mondays and Tuesdays are the best, however I did have my best day ever this Friday. At SS I sold as much ($ amount) in one day as I'd sold all month thanks to several on demands and an EL. And had an EL at FT and DT. Too bad I spent twice as much as I earned at the bar celebrating.
87
« on: February 27, 2009, 11:59 »
I've moved towards only submitting vectors to SS and I do it continuously as I finish them. I've noticed a definite drop in sales but every couple of files I upload take off and have 5-10 sales on the first day, obviously the well keyworded, well executed, and desired files. So I guess no I haven't noticed any change in the performance of new files.
88
« on: February 25, 2009, 20:54 »
Like Paulie said above I've noticed that mine is a bit soft on the 200-300 end of the range as well, especially at 300mm. The rest of the range is great though.
89
« on: February 25, 2009, 13:23 »
The other day I saw one vector on iStock for 25 Credits. Nice piece of change. But to achieve those that will price that high involves considerable talent, learning, dedication, technical expertise, and time investment.
I do vectors for micro because they are fun and they offer variety in the portfolio. Most of my stuff is more on the simple side but effective. On a good day, I can sometimes knock off 5 in an hour. As I have many other irons in the fire, I don't have the time (or really the desire) to produce stuff at the 25 credit level. It's not that I produce bad work or am sloppy - my stuff is technically perfect and I've never had a vector rejected. (I do also tech some vector illustration, so I have to know the technical end well) I just don't have the drive or the time to produce aesthetically complex pieces. Maybe someday...
My vector sales do well across the board, for some reason I do very well at DT around holidays. And even though none of mine will achieve 25 credit level at IS, I do have those 5 and 10 credit ones that sell over and over. I also had 3 ELs at SS the past week. And unlike some who post their ELs to the SS forum, I don't. Because when you do that, 100 more just like yours appear the next day.
So for me, doesn't makes sense to go exclusive. For those who have the knack to produce those complex ones that command high prices and where their style invites buyers to follow them, then I could see where exclusivity at IS would make economic sense.
I'm in the same boat. My vectors are far from complicated, but I enjoy doing them immensely and also have a 100% approval rating across the board (except at IS because I haven't gotten up the nerve to apply yet). Be that as it may here's my opinion. I look through the vectors at IS and see that the vast majority have very high DLs, now I haven't taken the time to see how long each of these files have been online but I get the impression that many buyers in search of vectors go to IS because the quality level seems to be consistently higher IMO. But I do agree with you on the pain in the a$$ it is to submit vectors to the big six, all seem to what different JPG preview sizes or none at all, FT takes only SVG, StockXpert wants zipped files etc. etc. So with that said if I were you I would certainly consider going exc. at IS, especially if you were able to continue submitting photos elsewhere.
90
« on: February 25, 2009, 13:12 »
I've had three total ELs between the five sites I contribute to (IS, DT, FT, 123 and SS). One at DT which earned me $20 (woohoo!) and two at FT last Monday which netted me $6.60 each. I have between 80-150 images on each of those sites so take that as you may. But yeah there is no reason I can see not to offer ELs, you're only increasing your earnings on files you've already taken the time to keyword, categorize and submit. Just don't expect an overwhelming amount of them unless you have a huge portfolio. 
91
« on: February 23, 2009, 21:42 »
I have only got to wait other 4 months before being able to delete my portfolio there. Counting the days.
WHY !?!?!?!?!?!?
92
« on: February 23, 2009, 21:38 »
Does anyone got editorial on Dreamstime or microstock who saw many downloads from this licence category
I have an editorial in my top 7 at DT: chinese sweat shop interior. A mediocre photo but in demand since it seems to be unique. All China travelers seem to focus on the Square of Heavenly Peace and the Bejing Opera 
DT is very strict and peculiar on editorial. I have 60% reject on it for mystical reasons so I stopped uploading editorial there, since it counts for your overall percentage.
Wow! that "sweat shop" is way nicer, cleaner and better lit than where I work here in the states
93
« on: February 20, 2009, 01:30 »
I forgot to say.
Download Deepmeta, it's a free program designed to streamline uploading to IS. You can load all of your images to it and assign categories and correct keyword mistakes and then cue them. That way when the week lapses all you have to do is open up deepmeta highlight 15 more pictures and press upload. No messing around with the ridiculous IS interface.
94
« on: February 19, 2009, 18:23 »
Hey Randomway
I am by no means a decent vector artist or really have any right to be giving advice on vectors period, but here's my two cents...
In browsing through your port at SS it seems like you have some really nice illustrations. With out downloading them at looking at them very closely I bet most of them would be accepted at IS. They can be real picky about AI8 compatibility, open paths etc. The only way to find out is to upload them and hope for the best. Although at only 15 uploads/week I would definitely pick the best (or your favorites) to upload first.
Good Luck!
95
« on: February 17, 2009, 22:29 »
Collectively these companies have a sort of jaded rich kid personality - they already have everything they actually need, but they want more, but not the same stuff, or maybe the same but better, or maybe something completely different.
Nice analogy Explains the inconsistency pretty * well
96
« on: February 12, 2009, 02:01 »
@Stacey,
generalizations? A whole lot of them?
No, I didn't.
I told the story from MY point of view and made it quite clear that on Istock I am a newbie.
Now take it or leave it, but this is the truth.
1. Yes, their upload process is prone to all sorts of errors and is a painful experience.
2. Yes, their rejections are absurd. (Keywords? Clipping path not relevant to a file with a clipping path included?)
3. Yes, their pending time can be longer than 2 weeks, or more (the longest time I had to wait on any site)
4. Yes, their search engine is tweaked. It pushes foward exclusive images regardless of quality and showing no concern towards the buyers' needs. This may seem attractive to exclusives but it's shacky and in the long run it spells disaster
5. Yes, compared to all other sites, both my sales and my views on IS are the lowest.
6. Yes, I think their forum and community are hostile and seem somewhat desperate to me. I already made it clear that this is my personal opinion and others may not agree.
More over Stacey, no, Istock doesn't have the best image collection anymore. Those days are gone.
Vectors yes, they may still be the leading agency, but even that is changing by the second. You can be sure that I'm working hard and breaking Illustrator to pieces, to help it happen sooner.
When it comes to your personal misfortunes with the latest best match, remember one thing : as long as IS doesn't reward a file purely based on its qualities, you'll never have peace.
You depend on luck, up today, down tomorrow, head or tail.
You need to let quality shine. It is the only coin of truth and stands up against time.
Hahahahaha Love it!!! This reminds me of the old In Living Color episodes "two snaps around the world"
97
« on: February 10, 2009, 19:04 »
Hey jmich,
We're in about the same boat. I do the micro stock thing as much as possible but I much more enjoy shooting nice artistic pictures. I do always keep stock in mind when shooting but rarely shoot with that as my sole reason. Long story short, I have found IS to be rather productive but I as well gave up on uploading to them a little while ago as the process is a pain in the butt and they reject about 60% of what I send them (mostly for "bad" keywords). The whole best match debacle also discouraged me as well. Deep meta is a program that somewhat streamlines the upload process but in no way makes it a breeze. Give it a try, it's an open source program. If you're going to resume uploading make sure that keywords are 110% relevant to the photo and it's free of any chromatic aberration or noise, well composed and perfectly focused.
Other than that keep on truckin'. There are many on here who see photogs like us as a drain on their income and I certainly sympathize with them. However this is a free and open market and competition only drives the overall quality upwards.
98
« on: January 22, 2009, 22:40 »
I heard an add on the radio for Carbonite, an online file back up and recovery service. $50/year with unlimited storage and it automatically backs up new files several times a day. Geek forum reviews were mixed and unhelpful so I was wondering if any here has tried it / liked it / hated it and why.
Thanks!
99
« on: January 20, 2009, 22:13 »
So does ironarrows taking offense to the responses to his post make him a wannabe MSG member Vector graphics are an attractive medium for many photographers I believe. No models, no intricate lighting set up, no post processing (albeit vector art is really just one long post process in my opinion) and the ability to create whatever they want. I agree with what several others said in that the micro sites are the ones dictating quality. However as also mentioned above some rather simple designs sell very well. I think it's quite common for people who have been doing something for quite some time to think of the new comers as jumping on the band-wagon and wannabes. It's unfortunate however that some feel compelled to brow-beat those they feel superior to. I'm still not sure what ironarrow was trying to accomplish , was he trying to offend, lead, or rant? I took no offense by the post (I'm not a wannabe... horray!!!) as I know the few vectors I have done are simplistic crap. However those vectors have ALL been accepted and ALL sell much better than most of the pictures I have. Now if you will pardon me, I need to finish my newest vector; a series of squares in four different colors
100
« on: January 14, 2009, 20:06 »
Thanks for the advice everyone. I bid $250 and was awarded the job. As a newbie at this it's frustrating because I don't know how much higher I could have bid and still got the job. Either way it's $250 for about three hours work, I can't complain about that at all
|
Sponsors
Microstock Poll Results
Sponsors
|
Show Posts
