using clipart in a tarot creation?

EvMaeve

Notes on image size:

You want to keep the final size of your tarot cards in mind when sketching. The standard tarot card size for most decks is 2.75 x 4.75 in. Generally, you want your original art to be double that: 5.5 x 9.5 in., or 6 x 10 in. If you want to include a bleed (to print your image all the way to the edge). This will fit on letter paper, but do draw yourself borders or you'll have to re-do your composition later to get it onto a card. Big headache.

Prepping digital images for print, you'll want your size and resolution to be at least 300 dpi at the size the printed image will be. If your scanner doesn't go to 600, 300 dpi should be just fine, especially if your artwork is double the final print size.

Notes on clipart/ image sources: Don't lose heart about copyright if you really enjoy doing collages! You have to dig a bit, but there are millions of high-resolution images online available for download in the public domain. Finding and keeping track of them is a big task in itself, but can be fun. Do your homework on your country's copyright law. Check out museums and libraries, as some have made archives available for download, and free for personal and commercial use. You want images that have "no known copyright restrictions." Avoid photographs of people - especially celebrities, and anyone who might be alive or have an active estate, avoid images of architecture - any buildings that might be private property, and of course avoid anything representative of a business or trademark. If you think you might publish down the line, keep a log of all images you use and where they came from.

Have fun!
 

EvMaeve

p.s. - I'm not a lawyer and copyright is complicated, especially in the digital age. You do need to be careful, and research every image you use. But collage work can be done and done well, and there are a lot of resources out there if you're willing to put in the time time to dig through them.
 

Tigerangel

p.s. - I'm not a lawyer and copyright is complicated, especially in the digital age. You do need to be careful, and research every image you use. But collage work can be done and done well, and there are a lot of resources out there if you're willing to put in the time time to dig through them.


Thanks for the info, but I won't need to worry about copyright anymore as I've decided to scrap that idea as my son's girlfriend is going work with me on it, I'll draw up a rough stetch of what I want then she will redraw it for me, she's not long did half of the Sun card it's looking really good :)


P.s just read the other post above the last one, good to know will keep all that in mind, thanks :)