Published by the Association of CorelDRAW® Professionals (ACDRP) / www.coreldrawhelp.com the entrepreneurial magazine for CorelDRAW® users worldwide May 2015 INSIDE: Learning CDR: Arranging Objects Using Guidelines Video of the Month: How CorelDRAW Draws 2: Complex Objects Using CorelDRAW: The Knife Tool Art for Processes: Sublimated Name Badge Marketing Secrets: Picking Up the Pace How CorelDRAW Draws: Complex Objects Finding the Right Artist: An Interview with Dane Clement
Transcript
Published by the Association of CorelDRAW® Professionals (ACDRP) / www.coreldrawhelp.com
the entrepreneurial magazine for CorelDRAW®
users worldwideCorelDRAW® HelpMay 2015
INSIDE: Learning CDR:
Arranging ObjectsUsing Guidelines
Video of the Month:How CorelDRAW
Draws 2: ComplexObjects
Using CorelDRAW:The Knife Tool
Art for Processes:Sublimated
Name Badge
Marketing Secrets:Picking Upthe Pace
How CorelDRAW Draws: Complex Objects
Finding the Right Artist:An Interview with Dane Clement
arrangement of flowers in a vase. We have that urge to make things beautiful.
4) Making something orderly. Beauty is not a haphazard splash of lines and colors. Beauty, as every graphic artist knows, relies on fundamental principles of order. When we use space, proportion, balance, contrast, and more, we are applying order to the medium we are working with. The irresistible push to “get organized” in our lives also draws upon the orderly base of the impulse to create. When we make order, we move towards beauty.
5) Sharing a feeling or style. When we share our heartfelt feelings with those we love, or share a tender moment of
laughter, joy, or peace with others, we are creating. We each develop a style over the years – of fashion, or interacting, of playing. Those are the things we share. It is who we are, who we have created as our identity. It is the world we have created around us.
6) Living more and more. It is the nature of life to move to more and more. Plants reach for the sun. We humans reach for achievement and fulfillment and love. We want more and more, and every moment we live, we are expressing that fundamental impulse to create in all we do and are.
So, I urge you to celebrate the creativity of all your employees and family members, not just the artists. We all create; it’s a joy to recognize that more and more. Celebrating every occasion or act of creativity creates more waves of joy that make everything all right. Wishing you the best.
Every day of our lives, we are all creating. We create our schedule of things that are important to us. We create our bodies by the food we eat and exercise we get. We create our relationships by the actions we take. We create our life by the habits we maintain. I say this because so often we think that creativity is reserved for artists or musicians or writers or actors. But that is far from the truth. I would say that creativity is the fundamental impulse of each of our lives – only we don’t always recognize it.
I would like to suggest that creativity is expressed in our lives in at least six ways:
1) Making things better. How often do we find ourselves at home or at work wanting to do something in a little better way? We want to make a product better, make our workflow better, make our relationships better, or even to make our world better. This is the impulse to create, and whatever steps we take, we are creating.
2) Re-arranging things. I once gave a series of seminars on creativity. I defined creativity, not as a great work of art, but just the act of re-arranging things in a new way. As the Bible says, “there is nothing new under the sun.” In that sense, we re-arrange rectangles, lines, and fills in new ways to create a graphic. We re-arrange the ingredients of a recipe to create a meal. We re-arrange our house or wardrobe to create a new look.
3) Making something beautiful. The impulse to create is reflected often in our sense of beauty. Not in an artwork necessarily, although certainly that applies. But also in a new design for a room in our house, a new look in our store showroom, a new landscaping for our yards, a new
The Impulse to Create
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Inside
By Mike Neer, Publisher
Published by Association of CorelDRAW® Professionals
President: John H. McDanielVice President: Judith McDaniel
Executive Director: Michael R. Neer
ACDRP Corporate Office: Philomath, OR
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LEARN! APPLY! BUILD!
3 Inside: The Impulse to Create
6 Graphics News Wire Product News Headlines
25 Product Focus Sublimation Products
33 Logo-Links37 Contributing Writers
CONTENTSCorelDRAW® Help
27 Getting Ahead: Finding the Right Artist for Your Business: An Interview with Dane Clementby Deborah Saxton
35 Marketing Secrets: Picking Up the Pace by Donna Gray
38 Quick Tips:Soccer Numbers Styles &Heat Transfers on Caps
Traveling Tidbits:Will Return Next Monthby Otis Veteto
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The Knife Tool
Using CorelDRAW®
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By John W Mise
The Knife Tool is used to “cut” an object to a desired shape or to cut several objects out of a single object. You can find the Knife Tool in the Crop tools group (Crop, Eraser,etc.) in the Toolbox. Once you have selected the Knife Tool, you can activate the cutting tool by hovering over the area where you want to begin your cut, then click-drag to where you want the cut to end. The result of this action will be two separate closed objects which can then be moved around or deleted.
There are three ways to cut using the Knife Tool:1) Straight Cuts - This is the easiest way to cut an object into two separate pieces using a straight line. You place/hover the cursor over the area you want to start your cut, then click and release the mouse button, move to the other side of the object and click and release the mouse button again, thus creating two separate objects.
2) Freeform Cuts - This style will create a “rough edge” effect. Hover over the area where you want to start your line, click-hold the mouse button and drag your mouse to the other side of your object and then release the mouse button.
3) Bezier Cuts - If you need to create smooth jigsaw-like cuts from your object, hold the SHIFT key, then click-drag points starting on one side of your object and completing the cut to the other side of your object. The two “new” objects that are created from the cut will also keep the object’s original attributes, such as fills and gradients but can be adjusted or altered to meet your needs. Also, if you hold both the SHIFT and CTRL keys while click-dragging a cut, you will constrain the direction of the path to 15 degree increments for a more predictable cut. However, if you have a very specific shape you are trying to cut, you would be better off using the shaping tools.
Staight Cut Freeform Cut
Bezier Cut Before Bezier Cut After
CorelDRAWHelp Association Video Training Courses
The following courses are available to Premium ACDRP members. Check out the details and consider joining for $120 a year ($10 a month).
Artwork Course – Learning Computer Art & CorelDRAWThe curriculum for this course was developed as part of a hands-on training class, which taught the application of computer art and CorelDRAW for laser engraving and decorative sandblasting. The course curriculum makes the assumption that the student is starting with no prior knowledge of either CorelDRAW or computer art. The original hands-on course was 3 full days of intensive training. The video adaptation of the course contains 26 videos. The course videos were developed using CorelDRAW version 12. That said, the basic concepts for computer art have not changed at all. In addition, the basic concepts demonstrated using CorelDRAW version12 have not changed in newer versions. What has changed is that some of the newer versions have improved tools which make a few of the procedures simpler. See the notes following some of the lesson titles. This course is available to Premium ACDRP Members.
Overview Course – Highlights of What’s New in Each CorelDRAW Version Videos in this section cover some CorelDRAW features that have been introduced, or improved, since version 12. We chose that as a starting point since version 12 was used in our Learning CorelDRAWvideo series. In general, features introduced in one version carry forward into the next version. In other words, New and Improved features introduced in CorelDRAW X3, are also in X4. Improvements in X4 are carried forward into X5, and so on. Therefore… Watching Videos showing…What’s New in X3, X4, X5, etc., can help you learn how to do things in CorelDRAW X7. Each section is labeled by CorelDRAW version. This is available to Premium ACDRP Members.
X7 Curriculum Course -- CorelDRAW X7 Curriculum We have outlined a complete training course for CorelDRAW X7 with a curriculum that includes 16 different sections of knowledge and a total of 116 videos. Two sections are completed now, and we invite any suggestions on the curriculum outline. This is available to Premium ACDRP Members.
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Using CorelDRAW®
Setting Knife Tool BehaviorThe idea of the Knife Tool is to create smaller objects/pieces from a larger one using one of the options listed above. There are a couple of additional options in the Property Bar that toggle off and on to set a specific type of cutting need.
Auto-Close: On Cut mode - This option is on by default. This creates closed-path objects when using the Knife Tool for any of the cutting options.
Keep As One Object mode - With this option on, you can make a cut, or several cuts, and the object will still remain as one. This option might be good to use sometimes when you want to move the objects together before separating them. To break the cuts apart, choose Arrange / Break Curve Apart or (CTRL + K). This will break the cut pieces apart.
The Knife Tool is a quick way to cut a shape or object into two or more pieces. The Knife Tool can be used on bitmaps, but these must be imported into the document. The Knife Tool will not work on linked images.
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Arranging Objects Using Guideline
LEARNING CORELDRAWBy Judy and John McDaniel, Contributing writers
In using CorelDRAW to create layouts, there is, and has always been, a need to align, arrange, and distribute objects in the layout.
Sometimes you need to simply align them on a page. Perhaps in the center of the page, perhaps some distance from the edge of the page, etc. When creating objects in a layout, you might find it helpful to be able to create them in some relationship to the page or to other objects.
If you have multiple objects in the layout, then arranging them to one another is usually a requirement. Or perhaps there is a need to arrange the white space between objects for aesthetic appeal, balance, etc. For this task you may need to ►
align and/or distribute objects in the layout.
Within CorelDRAW, there are helpful tools for all of these tasks. In this series of Learning CorelDRAW articles, we will explore all of these tools, and how they can help with Aligning, Arranging, and Distributing objects.
In this article, we will consider Guidelines and snapping to them…
Guidelines…In addition to the Grid, which we covered last time, CorelDRAW has had guidelines from the very beginning. However, with guidelines, there have
Picture 2: Snap to icon on thestandardCommandBar.
LEARNING COREL
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been some changes to them in recent releases, which we will cover in this article.
As we mentioned last time, by default, the grid is turned off from both view and action. On the other hand, by default, guidelines are viewable. But, they are not set for objects to snap to. Picture one shows the start of a new project in CorelDRAW X7, using the default workspace.
If we want to have objects snap to guidelines, then we need to turn Snap to guidelines on. To do that, click on the Snap to icon on the standard command bar and select Guidelines from the dropdown list. See picture 2. The Snap to icon was added to the standard command bar in CorelDRAW X4. The Snap to command is also available on the View menu. See picture 3.
Adding guidelines to the workspace can be accomplished several ways. First, there are preset guidelines that can be accessed and added from within the Options dialog screen. To access presets, click on Tools/Options, and in the Options dialog screen, select Document/Guidelines/Presets.
There are two categories of presets, CorelDRAW and User Defined. See pictures 4 and 5. To add presets, select the desired preset, click apply; and then click on OK to exit the Options dialog screen. The preset guidelines will be added to the workspace.
(Note: please remember, any change selected in the Options dialog screen will only be applied if you click OK when exiting the dialog screen. If you exit the Options dialog screen by clicking Cancel or clicking on the Red X, changes will be abandoned.)
Guidelines can also be added to the workspace manually by simply dragging vertical guidelines in from the left vertical ruler, and
dropping them where desired. Horizontal guidelines can be added by dragging them down from the top horizontal ruler.
Guidelines added in this fashion will appear blue in the workspace. When dragging guidelines onto the workspace, it’s sometimes useful to have Snap-to-Grid enabled. With Snap-to-Grid enabled, guideline placement will snap to document grid locations.
Guidelines are Objects…In CorelDRAW, guidelines are considered objects. They will appear red when selected. They can be located precisely in the workspace by using the X-axis value for vertical guidelines, and the Y-axis value for horizontal ones. ►
Picture 3: The Snap to command is also available on the View menu.
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LEARNING COREL
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Guidelines in the layout are listed in, and can be manipulated in, the Options Dialogue screen. For horizontal guidelines, click on Tools/Options/Document/Guidelines/Horizontal. See picture 6. For vertical guidelines, click on Tools/Options/Document/Guidelines/Vertical. See picture 7. For all guidelines, click on Tools/Options/Document/Guidelines/Guides. See picture 8.
Guidelines can be moved in the workspace using the Property Bar. To do that, select the guideline you wish to move. Then in the Property Bar, enter the new location you want to move it to, and then press enter on the keyboard. This action will move it to the desired location. See picture 9, which shows a horizontal guideline selected.
Guidelines can also be rotated. By default, vertical guidelines are at 90° angle of rotation, and horizontal ones are at 0°. That said, they can be rotated either by typing in the desired angle in the Property bar when selected; or they can be rotated visually using the rotation handles, just like any other CorelDRAW object. See picture 10.
New in CorelDRAW versions X4 and X7…A major upgrade was made to guidelines in version X4. In versions prior to X4, all guidelines would appear on all pages in a CorelDRAW layout. In version X4 a page guideline layer was introduced. In X4, and newer versions, users have the choice of creating guidelines that appear only on one specific page, or on all pages in the layout. See picture 11.
Picture 9: Using the Property Bar to Move a Guideline
Picture 10: Using the Property Bar to Rotate a Guideline Picture 11: Page Specific Guidelines
LEARNING COREL
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By default, guidelines are added to the master guideline layer, unless the page guideline layer is active (i.e. selected). To add a guideline that is page specific, (1) click on the guideline layer for the page, then (2) add the guideline.
Another major upgrade to guidelines was introduced in CorelDRAW X7. In X7 a guidelines docker was introduced. This new docker greatly assists in the creation and management of guidelines. See picture 12.
Once guidelines are added to a workspace they can be used as snap points for objects and tools. Picture 13 shows snapping an ellipse to two guidelines. Notice that the guidelines light up when the ellipse is moved into position.
ConclusionGuidelines are another powerful tool for arranging objects in CorelDRAW.
(Please note: for ACDRP Premium Members we have added two videos. One, detailing adding and using guidelines, which applies to CorelDRAW versions X4 through X7; and a second, which demonstrates the use of the new guidelines docker, introduced in X7.)
The Basic Graphic Elements…All CorelDRAW layouts are constructed from graphic objects. In turn, these objects are constructed from two very basic graphic elements, bitmap and/or vector graphics.
Objects within CorelDRAW can be purely bitmap, purely vector, or a combination of both bitmap and vector elements.
We covered these bitmap and vector graphic objects in some detail in earlier videos, as well as in the “Learning CorelDRAW” article series.
Review of Basic Graphic Elements…The most basic bitmap element is simply a bitmap graphic. Bitmap graphics are used extensively in CorelDRAW layouts. They can be used on their own in all types of decoration applications. In addition, most object fills, along with some special effects like drop shadows, are also bitmap graphics.
As we have discussed before, the characteristics of a bitmap graphic are that bitmaps are constructed from pixels (picture elements), arranged in arrays at specific resolutions (i.e. PPI, or pixels per inch).
The most basic vector element is a curve.Curves can be straight or curved paths between node points. Curves can be either open or closed.
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VIDEO OF THE MONTHBy Judy and John McDaniel, Contributing writers
How CorelDRAW Draws 2: Complex Objects
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VIDEO OF THE MONTHLink to Video Run time: 13:22
Synopsis: Understand higher-order graphic objects, like ellipses, stars, polygons, etc., and how to order them and arrange them.
Note: The link to this video will be active only until the next issue of the magazine comes out. Archived issues and videos will be available after that to all ACDRP Premium Members.
Picture 3: Polygon Options Picture 4: Star Options
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VIDEO OF THE MONTH
In CorelDRAW, the basic vector curve is constructed from an ordered sequence of node points connected by paths. The shape of the paths connecting the node points is controlled by control points.
In short, vector objects are constructed from nodes, paths, and control points. In addition, every vector object also has both an outline and a fill characteristic.
Higher-Order Graphic Objects…There are a number of higher-order graphic objects that are constructed from basic bitmap and vector elements. How these objects are treated by the program, depends on the object category. For example:
1. Rectangles have special corner shapes associated with them. See picture 1.2. Ellipses can be closed circular shapes, closed pie shapes, or open arcs. See
picture 2.3. Polygons have sides. See picture 3.4. Stars have points and sharpness characteristics. See picture 4.5. Perfect shapes have characteristics which can be manipulated by their control
points. See picture 5.6. Text objects are perhaps the most complex. Text objects are either Artistic or
Paragraph. They follow font rules and characteristics. The baseline of a text object can be “Fit to Path”; in other words it can be set to follow just about
any vector path. See picture 6. In addition, spell checking can be performed on text objects.
The outlines of all the above objects are vector graphics. The fills, most often, are bitmap elements. However, fills can also be vector objects.
Object Order…In a CorelDRAW layout, individual objects are ordered back to front. The order of objects is determined by the sequence in which the objects are added to the layout. That means, starting with a clean sheet, the first object added is in back of all the other objects subsequently added to the layout. The next object added is in front of the first object, and behind any additional objects that may be added, and so on.
In addition, CorelDRAW layouts are arranged in layers, and the layers are also ordered back to front. What that means is that every object on the front layer is in front of all objects on the back layers. See picture 7.
If there are overlapping objects in the layout, object order will impact how a graphic prints. Object order can also impact the speed and integrity of a cut project. For example, cutting speed can be impacted by the sequence of objects in the layout by increasing or decreasing machine fly-time between objects being cut. Integrity can be impacted if there are hidden vector lines in a layout, such as lines hidden from view that will cut.
Changing the order of objects on a layer, or the order of layers, is a simple drag-and-drop operation. Removing hidden lines can be a little more of a challenge.
Arranging and Combining Objects…In addition to basic and higher-order objects, there are also assemblages of objects that impact how the program treats objects. Object assemblages include:
1. Groups – a group of objects maintains the spatial relationship between the objects. It also maintains the order of the objects within the group. Because it maintains object order within the group, a group of objects can be considered a mini-layer. Each object within the group retains its individual characteristics -- outline color and weight, fill characteristics, etc. See picture 8.
2. Combinations – separate vector objects can be combined into one object. Since a single object can only have one outline and fill characteristic, by combining objects, all of the original objects lose their individuality. In addition, when objects are combined, CorelDRAW’s fill rules take effect. The fill rules are…that object fills alternate filled/non- filled
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Picture 5: Perfect Shapes
VIDEO OF THE MONTH
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Picture 6: Text on a Curve Picture 7: Object Order
Picture 8: Group of 4 Objects Picture 9: 4 Objects Combined
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VIDEO OF THE MONTH
in an object that contains overlapping sub-paths. See picture 9.
3. Effects Tools – effects tools such as Blend, Contour, Envelope, Extrude, Bevel, Lens, Add Perspective, Drop Shadow, etc. attach the effect to the object, and provide control points to control the effect. See picture 10. In some instances, multiple effects can be attached to an object.
4. Power Clips – any closed vector object can be used as a power clip container.
You can think of the contents of a power clip as a specialized fill. The most common use of power clips is to shape bitmap images. See picture 11.
5. Paragraph Text – any closed vector object can also be used as a paragraph text container. Paragraph text containers restrict the text area. Paragraph text containers are often used in the creation of award plaques. See picture 12.
ConclusionEvery object within a CorelDRAW layout can be distilled down to either a bitmap or vector graphic. Shaping options for an object are determined by its type -- rectangle, ellipse, polygon, perfect shape, text, etc.
Objects within CorelDRAW are ordered, back to front and arranged on layers. Object and layer order can be easily modified.
Objects can be grouped and combined. Combining objects changes their characteristics; grouping them does not. In addition, there are a number of object assemblages available.
Picture 12: Paragraph Text
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Picture 10: Effects Objects
Picture 11: Power Clip
Artwork for a Sublimated Name Badge
Sublimated name badges are an attractive, durable, full-color product. If you have a retail store, or if you personally call on clients, wearing one will show your customers and prospects that you have the ability to create them.
As one of the sublimation projects in our online video series, we demonstrate how to create a sublimated business card. See https://coreldrawhelp.com/videos/lcdrx7/cdr-sub/. Please note: this video series is only available to CorelDRAW Help Premium Members. However, the series outline is available for all to view.
Starting with the layout for that business card (see picture 1), we will create a layout for a name badge. In addition, we will show the steps necessary to use the layout with CorelDRAW’s Print Merge commands. Print Merge is especially useful for creating multiples.
Background on the business card layout…First a little background about the business card layout shown in picture 1. The overall dimensions and page size of the layout were derived from a combination of
Picture 1: Business Card Layout Picture 2: Original Unisub Template
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Picture 2 is the Unisub template for product 5530. That product template consists of two rectangles. The blue rectangle is the actual product size. The blue rectangle corresponds to the blue outline shown in picture 1. The blue outline represents the edge of the product. Everything that we want to print onto the product needs to be inside the blue rectangle. The blue outline is on a separate non-printing layer. It is only a visual reference in the layout.
Returning to picture 2, the green rectangle is the recommended bleed, or overprint area. The bleed area is represented by the green outline shown in picture 1. If our product has a full color background, then it should fill the bleed/overprint area. This is to ensure that any background image will completely cover the blank product (i.e. we will not risk having any white edges due to transfer misalignment). If we have a background image, then the green rectangle becomes a Power Clip container.
The green rectangle has also been placed on a separate layer. If there is a background image, then the layer will be set to print. If there is no background image, then the layer will be set to non-printing.
Moving on to picture 3. That picture shows the Unisub template for product 5941, which is a production jig that holds 12 pieces of product 5530. Notice that in this
template there are 12 sets of green and blue rectangles. Each set represents one piece of product 5530. The spacing between each piece in the jig template (the gutter) was used to determine the page size for the business card layout shown in picture 1.
More details and step-by-step instructions can be found by watching the video series referenced above.
Modifying the layout for the name badge…Picture 4 shows the basic modifications we made to convert the business card to a name badge. The only thing missing in the layout shown in picture 4 is the name. We will add that when we add Print Merge to the layout.
Essentially, we (1) removed the product description at the top of the business card. (2) We moved the company name to the top of the name badge. (3) We enlarged the logo a little. And, (4) we left the web address across the bottom. We did that to remind anyone glancing at an employee’s name badge that we have a website.
Adding Print Merge…To complete our layout, we will add Print Merge. Print Merge can be used for as few as one item, to as many as you need.
The steps to adding Print Merge are as follows:1. Click on File/Print Merge/Create/load Print Merge. Or click on the Picture 3: Production Jig Template
Picture 4: Modified Business Card
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ARTWORK FOR PROCESSES
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Picture 5: Create-Load Print Merge
Picture 6: Print Merge Command
Bar
Picture 7: Print Merge Wizard
Picture 8: Import a
File
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ARTWORK FOR PROCESSES
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Picture 9: Create a New List
Picture 10: Populate
the List
Picture 11: Save the List
Picture 12: Insert Print Merge Field
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Create/load Print Merge icon located on the Print Merge Command Bar. See picture 5. By default, the Print Merge Command Bar is not displayed in the workspace. To display it, click on Tools/Customization/Command Bars, and select it from the list of available Command Bars. See picture 6. In our workspace, we have docked it next to the Standard Command Bar.
2. Clicking on Create/load Print Merge will call the Print Merge Wizard. See picture 7.
3. The Wizard provides the option to either import an existing list. See picture 8. Or create a new list. See picture 9.
4. To create a new list…First, Name the Fields…fields can be either Text or Numeric.
5. Then, populate the list…see picture 10.6. As a final step in list creation, it’s a good
idea to save the list you’ve created. See picture 11.
7. With the list completed, insert the field or fields into the layout. See picture 12.8. Keep in mind, that the appearance of the data merged into the layout will be determined by the font characteristics of the field name.
In the case of our example, the font size, color, position, and alignment of all the names, will be the same as the font size, color, position, and alignment of the field name.9. The final step in this process is to perform the Print Merge. We recommend that you use merge to a separate document, which permits you to proof the process prior to printing. To do that, Click on File/Print Merge/Merge to New Document…or click on the Merge to New Document icon. See picture 13.
This entire process is detailed on video at https://coreldrawhelp.com/videos/lcdrx7/cdr-sub/s2-csnb/ for CorelDRAW Help Premium Members. Not a member yet, click here: https://coreldrawhelp.com/sign-up/
ARTWORK FOR PROCESSES
Picture 13: Merge to a New Document
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For ACDRP Video Members:This article is available on Video.
Click HERE to open and view.To become an ACDRP member, click HERE.
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Coastal Business Offers Dye Sub Socks In Two Popular StylesWith dye-sublimatable socks, offered by Coastal Business Supplies of Maryland
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Dane Clement has come a long way from doodling on his notebook in second grade to the president of Great Dane Graphics, the only stock art supplier in the decorated apparel industry to offer full-color, high-resolution Photoshop and CorelDRAW files.
Clement, who has been active in the industry for 29 years, was a pioneer in his approach to stock art, specifically creating designs for use in markets involved
in printing graphics on apparel, signs and related media.
Starting Great Dane Graphics in 1991, he has since built a solid reputation for high-quality, full-color graphics that are press ready for textile screen printing, digital direct-to-garment printing, heat applied graphics, sublimation printing, and large-format graphics printing.
Clement also is a well-known industry educator who has been conducting seminars at the Imprinted Sportswear Shows since the early 1990s. He has been a regular columnist for Impressions magazine since 2000. In addition he’s written for Printwear magazine and the SGIA Journal.
Valued for his artwork experience and expertise, Clement has been invited to judge the Impressions Awards and the SGIA Golden Image Awards for more than a decade.
He is the author of two books: T-Shirt Artwork Simplified for Adobe and T-Shirt Artwork Simplified for Corel.
Looking BackClement showed an early interest in art. He took art classes in high school where he created paper banners for the football team and worked on a mural displayed on campus. He also taught himself how to airbrush in high school, and this evolved into a money-making enterprise for the ambitious teenager. He airbrushed T-shirts, motorcycles, cars and other vehicles.
Upon graduation in 1984, Clement attended the Art Institute of Houston where he earned an associate degree in 1987. His first job out of college was working as a graphic artist for an offset printer. He started out doing paste-ups and moved up to designing business cards and brochures.
Around 1988, the artist also started freelancing on the side. “I was a two-job guy.
I had my day job and then I freelanced at night,” he says.
After gaining a few years’ experience at the offset printer, Clement’s next job was assistant art director for a billboard company. He lost that position when the company was bought out. “After losing that job I told myself I would never let my livelihood be determined by someone else again,” says Clement.
He started two companies in 1991, immediately after losing his last position. The first company was called Great Dane Graphics. Then, partnering with the former art director of the billboard company, he also started Art Cetera, which specialized in freelance art for the offset industry.
Art Cetera dissolved in 1994 leaving Clement to focus full time on Great Dane Graphics. “By that time,” says Clement, “I was a full-service studio. The company did a lot of work for ad agencies, design studios, websites developers, and a lot of offset printing work.”
“At the same time we had some T-shirt printers that we were designing for. It was a lot of fun and I migrated to that. One of my freelance clients, from when I was with the billboard company, was a screen printer. I did work for him until the late ’90s.
“In those days to separate artwork for a T-shirt was manual labor,” recalls Clement. “We did some of the type layout and printed it out on a Mac. My first Mac computer had a 12-inch screen and cost like $14,000.
“Most work was done in Illustrator, and I learned Photoshop over a weekend when I had an ad agency come to me with a job.
In August 2005, Great Dane Graphics was rolling. It employed several artists and had two office staffers. Unfortunately, its location in Metairie, Louisiana, put it in the path of destruction wrought by Hurricane Katrina.
The building was flooded with 6.5 feet of water. Overnight, Clement lost his building and most of his customers. To make matters worse, while trying to salvage what he could, he fell against an air conditioning unit on the ground that required hospitalization for a leg injury.
Laying off all but two key employees, Great Dane did not go under, but it was no longer generating enough income for Clement to support his family. He was able to sell his house, and he ended up taking a position with SPSI, a screen printing/embroidery/digital printing supply distributor in Minneapolis,
About Dane Clement
►
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GETTING AHEAD
It’s not uncommon for the owner of a small business to play a variety of roles. In a screen print shop, this often includes serving as the artist. When the time comes to bring in someone to focus specifically on this aspect of the operation, it can be hard to know where to start.
The first thing you have to do is assess your needs. Consider what type of work the shop is doing and what type of artist you’re looking for. In our industry, there are basically two categories of artists—creative and production. But since, like the business owner, the artist may be called upon to wear more than one hat, if he or she has the potential to fill both needs, it’s a plus. Then, as the business grows, the artist can focus on his or her strong suit.
A creative artist is one who creates. These artists span a wide range of skills. They do creative layouts, graphic design, and original illustrations and more. Not all of them know how to draw or paint, but they can take a piece of clip art and create a finished design. They can combine type, logos, and other elements to make them look good. This is still creative art, and having someone who is able to do it can make a difference.
The type of work the shop typically does may not require original illustrations, but a little creativity can shift the sales equation in your favor. The printer down the street may be pricing his two-color prints 15 cents lower, but all he’s doing is throwing down clip art and type, vectoring it, and putting some color in. It’s the standard go-to approach.
If you focus on the art and do it in a different way, like using a full-color stock art image but printing it in only one or two colors with some added text, it looks like there’s more to it. It’s still two screens and the same amount of labor, but the detail of the image makes it look a lot more sophisticated than the standard go-to clip art method. What you—and your artist—have done is changed the game so it’s not just about price. As long as price is the only thing that differentiates you, you’ll have to worry about being lower than the other guy to get the job. Creativity gives you a competitive edge.
The role of a production artist varies according to the type of decorating being done. In a nutshell, his or her job is to make the creative artwork usable for the application at hand. Whether it’s print-and-cut, screen printing, or direct to garment, the production artist has to know how the files work and optimize them so the print is good. That is the top priority. The production artist isn’t concerned with doing a painting or illustration or ►
Minnesota, where he started doing R&D with Kornit direct-to-garment printers and training on how to get the best artwork results.
“Up until Katrina, Great Dane was strictly a custom art company,” recalls Clement. “In 2005, right before Katrina, we had been kicking around some ideas on how to grow the business. We had just begun exhibiting at shows with stock art. Initially, we tried to show designs on computer monitors, but because our designs were full-color separated art, it was way over the head of most attendees.
“Then we got the idea to publish the designs in a catalog, which was sold with DVDs containing the designs and that clicked with customers. We originally wanted to show artwork on the computer and offer it as downloadable files, but that was way before its time for this industry. We reluctantly ended up offering a printed catalog, and that’s how we grew the business.”
Clement’s first seminar for The Imprinted Sportswear Shows was with Charlie Taublieb, another longtime industry veteran. “It was the days before laptops!” says Clement. “I did a 45-minute class using flip charts.”
After four years at SPSI, Clement moved back to Mandeville, Louisiana, an hour north of New Orleans, in 2010 and resumed his full-time efforts on Great Dane Graphics.
In January 2012, Great Dane Graphics started a new chapter with GroupeSTAHL purchasing the company and retaining Clement as the vice president of creative. He runs Great Dane Graphics as president, while continuing to expand the company’s stock art library as well as introducing new products.
About Dane Clement cont.
A production artist will be able to combine clip art and type to create designs, but
not much more. Or he or she can import an existing design and make it print ready. Photo courtesy of Great Dane
Graphics, Mandeville, LA
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GETTING AHEAD
making the design pretty; that’s the creative artist’s function.
In a screen printing context, the production artist needs to know how to separate files. Beyond using the software, he or she usually works (outputs film) inside of a template format. The template ensures that every image is prepared the same way so there’s no confusion on press.
Another aspect of choosing an artist is figuring out which duties you need someone else to perform. For instance, in a lot of cases, a shop owner can do the separations himself; so it might be of greater benefit to hire a creative artist.
Typically, it makes sense to start out looking for a graphic
design artist. If all you’ve ever offered has been clip art, just having someone who can put a graphic and type together in a nice layout will take your artwork to a new and more sellable level.
The artist’s skill set should include Photoshop and Adobe Illustrator, which are taught at most schools; and with a little training, the learning curve for CorelDRAW is not steep if the individual knows Illustrator. A lot of shops have CorelDRAW and Illustrator these days; so it’s good for the artist to be able to work with both formats. That way you can work with whatever a client might send.
Separations can be done in all of these formats or with stand-alone software. CorelDRAW and Illustrator do vector separations. These programs are not designed for process or simulated process color separations, which are typically done with Photoshop or specialty software, making familiarity with diverse platforms a hiring plus.
That said, although software expertise can be a big bonus, what’s essential is that the artist have some basic knowledge of software so that he or she can be trained.
The same goes for industry experience. Raw talent that can be developed to meet your specific needs is more important, unless you don’t have time for training and need someone to hit the ground running.
So what do you look for in an artist?
O n e t h i n g t h a t w e ’ v e found doesn’t merit a lot of consideration is formal education. Being educated on how to use a computer and graphics programs are a plus, but not a necessity. The kinds of things I look for aren’t really learned in school.
The medium an artist works in doesn’t make much difference to us either. If we’re looking at a creative artist, it doesn’t matter whether he or she works in colored pencils or acrylics on canvas, or paints in graphics program. If the artwork is done in a traditional medium, a little extra labor is required to digitally shoot and scan it, but generally the execution is better because it’s what the artist is comfortable with.
The biggest thing I look for is talent. I base from 60 percent to 70 percent of my decision to hire on the artist’s portfolio. What I see there automatically tells me whether he or she has skills. Candidates have to have a strong portfolio; if there’s nothing there, I won’t even waste my time. A skimpy portfolio is harder to judge; but that doesn’t mean we don’t work with new guys. If I can see the talent, we will help them to develop it.
Sometimes we give a design to an artist we’re considering hiring to see how he or she does. It’s a good approach because a portfolio can tell you only so much. Plus, you don’t know how long it took the artist to put it together or whether ►
The first step in looking for an artist is assessing your shop’s needs For example,
do you need the artist do to film separations or does someone in-house already have this
capability? Photo courtesy of Great Dane Graphics, Mandeville, LA
What media the artist prefers to work in is not as critical as the quality of the artwork. Artists that prefer to draw or paint manually
can work out just as well as those who prefer to create with computer software
and a tablet. Photo courtesy of Great Dane Graphics, Mandeville, LA
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GETTING AHEAD
►
he or she had help. We pay the artist for his or her time however; it’s only fair, and it sends a good message about your company.
Work habits also are important. The person has to be able to treat being an artist as a profession. It doesn’t matter how talented someone is if he or she is unreliable. The artist has to come in to work on time and do what he or she is expected to do. The best way of assessing this attribute is by contacting former employers. Referrals can’t always be trusted, but calling companies where the artist has worked can provide solid information.
Once we hire an artist, we do all we can to make it work for everyone. New screen print artists spend their first week on the production floor. They shoot film, expose screens and wash them, and are on hand when they’re set up on the press. They learn all the processes and steps and see how everything works together.
Then they’re given simple jobs that they take from art to film and on through the
What To Look For In A Portfolio
A characteristic to look for in a potential candidate is the diversity of art styles in the portfolio. If everything looks the same, you know the artist will not be able to handle the needs of a typical decorated apparel shop. Photo courtesy of Great Dane Graphics, Mandeville, LA
After raw talent, the No. 1 thing we want to see in a portfolio is variety. We try to offer as many different styles and looks as we can; so we look for artists who can do the same. If someone’s style is so unique that everything they do looks the same, we can’t use them.
We look for diversity, a selection of designs that are simple, cartoony and
edgy— a little bit of everything. Some people can draw only one way. That has to be a pass for us. The artist has to at least be able to emulate other looks.
A creative artist will be able to
take a concept or thumbnail
sketch and create an
original design. While this
type of artist generally
commands a higher salary,
he/she also gives your shop
a competitive edge over those not
having original art skills. Photo
courtesy of Great Dane
Graphics, Mandeville, LA
New screen print artists spend their first week on the production
floor. They do everything
from shoot film to setting up the press to
cleaning used screens. This teaches them how artwork needs to be
prepared for the screen printing process. Photo
courtesy of Mind’s Eye
Graphics, Decatur, Ind.
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GETTING AHEAD
process themselves. This enables them to understand the ways the art impacts and is impacted by the process.
When looking for artist, schools are a good first stop—and not just art schools and colleges. High schools are a massively overlooked resource. Talk to the art teachers and also to the students in school; they know who has talent. You might even bring in a student part-time or as an intern.
Art isn’t necessarily the highest-paid field; it’s something you do because you love it. That’s something that should come across in an interview, and what ultimately will make for a successful hire. Deborah Sexton, former editor of Impressions Magazine, has been in the apparel graphics industry since 1981. She currently does marketing and public relations for apparel graphics companies. She can be reached at [email protected].
No matter whom you hire, basic skills in the industry’s three main graphics software programs are a plus. These include Adobe Photoshop and Illustrator and CorelDRAW. If they are at least familiar with
one or more of these programs, they can more easily learn the others. Photo courtesy of Great Dane Graphics, Mandeville, LA
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This is busy season…the time of the year when we are all picking up the pace in our shops. Even though we’re working hard, we have to keep customer service at top of our minds. Marilyn Suttle, work and life coach, and best-selling author of Who’s Your Gladys, tells us, “Your customers are responsible for your company’s reason for existing.” At this time of the calendar year, when most companies in our industry are “up to our ears in potato chips” (to quote my brother, John), we have to keep reminding ourselves of Marilyn’s sage advice.
When busy season hits and we find ourselves on the edge of madness, it’s not always easy to have a pleasant, welcoming demeanor when more deadline-centered business walks in the door. This is May, as we in the industry know it, and it’s the time to make hay before the summer slump arrives. It’s the time of year when one can become frustrated and anxious because the workload is in overload and there aren’t enough hours in the work day to allow for accomplishing all the projects on a job board.
Working under pressure is a daily event in the spring. Every customer and every order seems to demand attention now. Every customer and every order takes priority. Today, customers expect immediate service so we need to look for ways to make our time expand, or we need to find ways to work smarter in the time we have available. And, added to all this pressure, we still need to give our customers the feeling that their projects are the most important things we have on our production schedules.
This time of year requires that we should be “mentally tough” and able to focus on completing orders on time. Many businesses find themselves under strain and stress that finds its way in the way they deal with customer service. We recently “picked up” a new customer because a competitor told them they were too busy to deal with small orders like the customer was bringing to them.
Deadlines, project changes, unforeseen obstacles like late or back-ordered product or parts deliveries, all create stress and pressures that could lead to burn-out, exhaustion,
Picking Up the Paceand short tempers. Especially at this time of the business year, when the workload is heavy and everything has tight deadlines, we have to take good care of ourselves so we can be effective and productive. And, even though we are “up to our ears in potato chips” we have to remember to “have a life”.
At a recent dinner outing with some professional friends, I was “carping” about how busy we are at this time of year, and I was offered suggestions on how to get through busy times without “caving”, and how to allow one’s body to rest, relax, and rejuvenate so one can be more effective, healthier, and happier. Here are their suggestions:
• Let off steam to release tension. Talk about challenges with co-workers or trusted friends. Great ideas and solutions often come from this kind of exchange.
• Take breaks during the work day. Do something that will break the build-up of stress and strain. Get some fresh air, go for a short walk, get a drink of water, have a conversation with someone. These kinds of “interruptions” in our work day are necessary. We tend to keep going to try to “keep up the pace” rather than paying attention to our need to “re-charge”. Build in breaks after each job is complete.
• Organize for jobs before starting to work on them. Christopher Robin, (A.A. Milne character – think Winnie the Pooh) said, “Organizing is what you do before you do something, so that when you do it, it’s not all mixed up.” My husband, Dave, likes to have “templates” for most of the jobs we do, so even if it takes him a little time to format the initial “template”, the time saved when prepping for a new job makes it worth all the initial formatting effort.
• Look for possible time wasters. Just because we’ve always done a job a certain way doesn’t mean it’s still the perfect way. One of my friends, a time management guru, suggests that while we’re working on a job, we should study our production methods to see if there are steps that can be eliminated or changed to save time, effort and resources. He suggested that we keep a notebook handy to jot down ideas for better ways to do things.
• Get enough sleep. I often hear the complaint from industry peers
Those who learn to get away from their work, return to it with renewed energy and creativity.
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MARKETING SECRETSBy Donna M. Gray, CRM
►
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Visit the CorelDRAWHelp Online Expothat they don’t have time to get a full night’s sleep at this time of year. Each of these professionals was adamant that getting good sleep is a major factor in how resilient we are and how we cope with daily stresses. They each said that not getting enough sleep is a major contributor to both the physical and mental burn-out that is prevalent during busy times.
• Some people say they “work best under pressure”. My time management friend suggests that this could be an excuse to let difficult or dreaded jobs ride until the deadline is pressing. He suggests leaving the “no-brainer” jobs until the last minute and putting the difficult jobs in priority mode so that there are fewer crisis situations.
• Conquer clutter. Clutter causes wasted time, especially when one has
to “spend” time looking for tools, papers, and whatever is necessary to complete a job. One can use up twenty minutes or more each day that one has to dig for things needed. Create a place for everything and every tool so there is no delay in starting a job.
• Remember that all this pressure is the result of customer orders…
and customer orders are what pay the bills. We need to keep picking up the pace to keep our customers happy and loyal.
One of my college marketing professors once said that whenever one is asked if they can do a job, the correct answer is “Absolutely”…and then one must get busy and figure out how to get the job done. Most of us would say, “I can do just about anything if I really put my mind to it.” This kind of mindset helps one to be creative, focused, and powerfully productive.
When we’re picking up the pace, we work hard, put in long grueling hours, and have minimal time for relaxation. In his book How To Stay Cool, Calm and Collected When the Pressure’s On, John Newman talks about Thomas Horton, former CEO of the American Management Association and author of What Works for Me: 16 CEOs Talk About Their Careers and Commitments. His theory is “that those who learn to get away from their work, return to it with renewed energy and creativity.” Horton suggested that forgetting about your work is exactly what recharges you…and that “flashes of insight about our work come when you are least concentrating on it.” His conclusion is that if you don’t dedicate a part of yourself to yourself, your effectiveness at your work will suffer, no matter how dedicated you are to your job.
So, after hearing and learning all these things and knowing we have to pick up the pace right now…I’m personally going to “get a life” outside of work. We just bought our fishing licenses, and Dave’s getting the poles ready. We’re going to pick up the pace on the banks of a nice lake.
Donna Gray is the president of Total Awards, Promotions, & Gift (aka AwardsMall.com) in Madison, Wis. She and her husband Dave have run their full service awards and personalization business since1977. She has presented seminars nationwide, won awards as Business Woman of the Year, Retail Marketer of the Year, and Sam Walton Business Leadership Award. She is also the author of two books on family business, It’s All Relative! Surviving & Thriving in A Family Business (2007), and Never Quit: The Ups & Downs of Running a Family Business (2004). She has earned professional credentials as a Certified Recognition Master. She can be reached by email at [email protected].
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CONTRIBUTING WRITERS
Donna Gray is the president of Total Awards, Promotions, & Gift (aka AwardsMall.com) in Madison, Wis. She and her husband Dave have run their full service awards and personalization business since1977. She has presented seminars nationwide, won awards as Business Woman of the Year, Retail Marketer of the Year, and Sam Walton Business Leadership Award. She is also the author of two books on family business, It’s All Relative! Surviving & Thriving in A Family Business (2007), and Never Quit: The Ups & Downs of Running a Family Business (2004). She has earned professional credentials as a Certified Recognition Master. She can be reached by email at [email protected].
Bill Leek of Houston, TX has over 30 years experience in computer engineering and graphics design. He has developed several lines of color imprintable products, and does testing on a variety of products for different manufacturers. He can be reached at [email protected] or 281-257-0695.
John and Judy McDaniel are owners of CorelDRAW® Help, Inc. They started in the personalization business in 1989 with CorelDRAW version 1.0. In their businesses they apply CorelDRAW! They’ve used it with—mechanical and laser engravers— to produce Awards, Gifts, and Industrial Products. They’ve also used it with all types of printers and vinyl cutters—for creating sublimation and other image transfers—for making sandblast masks—screen-printing screens—pad-printing plates—signs and banners—sales literature and flyers. In essence, they have over 20 years of experience in applying CorelDRAW! They have written hundreds of articles and tips; lectured across the country; and have been teaching CorelDRAW since 1991.. For information on training and more, call 541-967-4271, or write to [email protected].
Jeff McDaniel is the owner of Creative Graphic in Philomath, Oregon. He worked as a journeyman machinist before getting into the graphic products business. Creative Graphic offers laser engraving, rotary engraving, sandblasting, sublimation, image transfers, vinyl signs, banners, screen printing, and promotional products. Jeff routinely applies graphics to a wide variety of materials. Contact him at [email protected].
Mike Neer is the editor of CorelDRAWHelp magazine and Executive Director of ACDRP. He has more than 25 years experience in writing and publishing in the personalized products industries. He is the author of the CD, Creative Showroom Display, and the booklet, The Professional Edge. He can be reached at the ACDRP office in Fresno, Calif., at 800-276-8428 or [email protected].
Deborah Sexton, former editor of Impressions Magazine, has been in the apparel graphics industry since 1981. She currently does marketing and public relations for apparel graphics companies, and is a columnist for several industry publications.. She can be reached at [email protected].
Otis Veteto is a sales consultant with more than 30 years experience in the awards and promotional products industry. He offers the “PROspective” of a veteran sales rep in reporting on ideas, people and places that he visits. Otis also presents sales and motivation seminars for industry organizations. He can be reached in Sacramento, CA – when not on the road – at 916-396-3009. Or email [email protected].
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QUICK TIPS
Enhance Soccer Uniforms with New Number StylesIn a field full of players, draw all eyes to your soccer teams this season with unique number styles. Numbers can correlate with team names or even team attitudes. Rounded number styles are the popular trend for soccer, so overlook bolder styles. Although, one and two-color number options are available, keep in mind that one-color numbers are more popular for soccer teams due to form fitting and lightweight jerseys. To achieve a two-color look with only one layer of application, try using a number style with a gap outline. This allows the garment color to show through the number. Since soccer number styles are not different between men and women, keep numbers on hand to decorate for all teams. Popular items for add-on sales for soccer teams are hoodies, practice T-shirts, team bags, sweatpants, headbands, cleats, water bottles, window decals, and more! By Paul SabatiniStahls’ Marketing Sport Coordinator and Product Line Champion for Letters and NumbersMORE INFO
Combine Heat Transfer Products for Uniquely Decorated CapsJazz up caps and other headwear to create fashionable looks and increase sales. Caps are a great add-on sale and can be customized on demand with a heat press in seconds. Combine rhinestones with plastisol transfers to add bling to logos.
Add heat transfer materials such as glitter flake or reflective with precut lettering to personalize caps with player names or numbers, graduation dates, birthdays and more. Using multiple heat transfer products adds dimension and texture and completes a unique look.
New Number Styles for Uniforms, Transfers for Unique Caps
If you are applying more than one color or material, start by centering the background graphic over the front center seam of the cap. This is tacked down for a few seconds to hold it in place. Then place your second color or material on the cap. To hold it in place during pressing, use a couple pieces of thermal tape.
After the second transfer is securely placed, press the cap for the amount of time, temperature, and pressure recommended by the material manufacturer.
By Ben Robinson, General Manager, HotronixMORE INFO
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