Design Challenge #2 - April 2012 - COMMENTS, QUESTIONS, CHIT-CHAT
 

Some guidelines have changed, please read the information below even if you have participated in the Design Challenge before. Refer to the full Design Challenge Instructions here.

Use this thread to make comments, ask questions, and chit chat with each other.
Please post a written description of your (planned) submission in THE KIT thread.

Color Swatch for Design Challenge #2 - April 2012
http://i1157.photobucket.com/albums/.../April2012.png
Hex Codes: # 6f479c, # d5e18f, # f97db3, # fbd9da, # ffb74b, # ffe89c

Here are some suggested uses/themes for this color swatch although you are not limited to them (Thanks Roni!):
Princess Tiana (The Princess and the Frog), Piglet, Elliott (Pete’s Dragon), Tinkerbell, Sleeping Beauty, Daisy Duck, Marie (The Aristocats), Piglet, Tangled, Boo and Mike (Monsters Inc.), Figment, Kermit and Miss Piggy, Non-traditional take on Halloween, EPCOT Flower and Garden Festival

Deadline - Friday, April 27 (by 11:59pm CST)

There were 36 participants in the March Design Challenge! That is excellent and I want to thank everyone who participated. However, with that many participants, there was so much stuff that it was very difficult to describe and display everything as a cohesive kit in the MouseScrappers store. So we are going to change things a little bit for the April Challenge and see how it works out.

The Design Challenge will be split into two distinct parts and you choose how you want to participate each month:

1. "Earning My Ears": This category is for people playing just for fun and to learn some design techniques in the process.
   • The "Earning My Ears" category will run exactly the same as the March Design Challenge did with no new restrictions on papers/elements. The minimum number of unique items is 5; the maximum number of unique items is 15. [/B] The same paper/element in different colors counts as one. A full alpha fulfills the minimum requirement.
   • These submissions will be distributed to all participants in the “Earning My Ears” category but will not be put into the MS store. If you choose to share your submission on your blog or as a challenge PP, you may do so.
2. "Mouseketeer": This category is stricter and is for people playing to improve their design skills and possibly have their submission included in the MS store.
   • Submissions must be themed mini kits (Dumbo, Typhoon Lagoon, general use, etc.). They must include 3-5 unique papers and 7-10 unique elements (the same paper/element in different colors counts as one) with no more than a total of 20 papers and elements. An alpha is encouraged but not required.
   • These mini kits will go through a quality check process. Participants should be open to constructive criticism and be willing to fix any problems discovered in the QC process.
   • These submissions will be distributed to all participants in the “Mouseketeer” category and may be placed in the MS store with all proceeds from sales going to help the MouseScrappers site.

Some quality issues to pay attention to are listed below. If you have questions about what these things are or how to prevent/fix them, please ask! Everyone can benefit from adhering to these bullet points, not just those participants going through the QC process.

• Do not pre-shadow elements or elements on papers.
• Make sure paper textures aren’t blurry at 100%.
• Check that elements are not cut off or missing parts.
• When extracting or creating elements, be sure the edges are not jagged.
• After creating a paper or element, check to be sure it is in gamut.

I will hopefully be getting some tutorials together that deal with these topics and more very soon.

Additional Submission Guidelines (for both “Earning My Ears” and “Mouseketeers”):

• You may submit any combination of papers, individual elements (such as ribbons, scatters, frames, etc), word art, alphas, and clusters. You may not submit items for which you do not hold the copyright. If you use overlays, elements, etc. to create your items they must be labeled for commercial use (CU) and if their terms require, include with your submission a statement that gives proper credit.
• All papers and elements MUST use the provided color swatch—you can use any shade (darker or lighter) of the chosen colors. You may also use these neutral colors: black, white, shades of gray, brown, silver and gold.
• You must include a TOU/copyright notice in your submission. A basic fill-in-the-blank TOU can be found here if you don’t have one of your own.
• There is no mb maximum for submissions, but please make sure you are sizing a saving your items according to the following guidelines.
  • Papers should be:
    • 12”x12” 300ppi (which is 3600pixels x 3600pixels),
    • Saved as a JPG file that is about 3mb.
      • In Photoshop, after clicking on the “Save As” button, enter the desired file name and select “JPG” from the dropdown menu; click on “OK”. A popup screen should appear entitled “JPG Options”; change the quality value to “8” and click on “OK”. Saving the file with a value of “8” for quality will ensure it is the correct size (approx. 3mb).
  • Elements/Alphas should be:
    • Sized appropriately for a 12”x12” 300ppi layout; make your items the same size you would want them to be when creating a layout. For example: 12"x12" is not a reasonable size for flower elements; 2"x2" is more appropriate,
    • Trimmed so there is a minimal amount of blank canvas around the item,
    • Saved as a PNG file—the file size (mb) will vary based on the size (inches) of the element.
  • A preview of your submission is required. It should be:
    • 600pixels x 600pixels 72ppi,
    • It must minimally include your name (the one you used to save the files) and pictures of the items that you created for the challenge,
    • Previews may be as basic or elaborate as you want them to be.
      • A basic preview would tile the papers and/or line up the elements,
      • A more elaborate preview would arrange papers and/or elements in a more creative manner—as designers do to advertise their kits.

IMPORTANT:
You may NOT include:

• Any items trademarked or copyrighted by Disney. This includes but is not limited to names, words, song lyrics, and phrases (for example, you cannot create word art that says “Cinderella”, “Splash Mountain”, “Pop Century”, etc.).
• Photos, clipart, silhouettes, etc. of Disney characters—no Mickey heads either!
• Park, attraction, resort, restaurant, or movie signage/symbols/logos.
• Photos of buildings/structures on Disney property.
• Elements that are too similar to images copyrighted by Disney (for example: you may create a turtle that has similar coloration as Crush, but you may not create one with the same markings, eyes, expression, etc).

Your papers/elements should be useful for Disney layouts without infringing on the copyrights that Disney has on its characters, movies, parks, rides, attractions, etc.
The following website has a searchable database where you can look to see if a name/phrase is trademarked: http://www.uspto.gov/trademarks/index.jsp

*** If there are any questions about minimum requirements or copyright infringement, please ask. ***

Files and Zipped Folder:

Naming your files:

Your MS username_DC#_element name
Paper Example: MMouse_DC50_paper_green.jpg
Element Example: MMouse_DC50_element_button_red.png
Alpha Example: MMouse_DC50_alpha_uppercase_A.png

Naming your folder:

Your MS username_DC#
Example: MMouse_DC50

If your username is longer than 8 characters, please use an abbreviation. Avoid using spaces anywhere in the file/folder name. If you design under a different name, you may use that name instead of your MouseScrappers name.
To zip files place all your elements and a TOU inside a folder, then zip that folder. This is automatically creates a folder containing your files in whatever folder the user unzips to.
There are many ways to compress (zip) a folder. You can use a program such as WINZIP/WINRAR or, if you are on a Windows operating system, there is a utility built into Windows that you can use.

• Right click on the folder containing your items and select “Send To”. Click on “Compressed (zipped) folder”. A new folder will be created in the same directory with the same name but it will be compressed (zipped).

Uploading Submissions:
Upload your completed submission to the file sharing website of your choice (4shared, Mediafire, and Box are some free ones) and contact frogfish (Christina) by PM with the link. Submissions will be checked for copyright compliance and size before being added to the distribution list. When submitting your items please indicate whether you are entering the "Earning My Ears" or "Mouseketeer" category.

If you have any questions, please don't hesitate to contact me. You DON'T have to be a designer; anyone can do this! The more people who participate, the bigger the monthly kit will be!

Great changes, looking forward to it!

I just want to take a minute to explain the changes that were made to this month's Design Challenge and why things are different this time around. Since the March Design Challenge was the first one, this is very much a trial and error process. Some changes were inevitable...

First, anyone can enter either the "Earning My Ears" or "Mouseketeer" categories; they are not specifically newbie and pro categories. Even with absolutely no designing experience, you can enter the "Mouseketeer" category as long as you are willing to create items that follow the specific guidelines set out for that category and go through the quality check process.

The quality check was determined to be necessary because these items will be offered for sale in the MS store. When someone purchases a kit from a store, they expect it to be a high quality product. Expectations of kits in the MS store will be no different. The quality check process will help ensure customer satisfaction. With the enormous variety of submissions in the March DC, it also became evident that a more structured set of submission guidelines was necessary for items that will be put into the store. Everyone needs papers for their layouts, but if the DC collab contains 100 papers and only 5 elements it won't be very useful to most people. Hence, the "Mouseketeer" category.

So why two different categories? Understanding that some people may be intimidated by the quality control process and may not be ready to compile a complete mini kit, the "Earning My Ears" category was created. Challenges should be fun and if you just want to create what you can to have fun, the "Earning My Ears" category is for you.

If you are serious about designing, even if you have never done it before, entering the "Mouseketeer" category would give you the benefit of feedback and constructive criticism on your submission. There is a lot more to designing than many people realize and going through a QC will most certainly make you a better designer.

We are trying to make this the best it can be and I appreciate your patience and continued participation! If you have any questions, please don't hesitate to ask in this thread or contact me by PM. Thank you!

thanks Christina! I wasn't as good as I thought for the March Challenge and just getting PCS the week before the due date last month. I'm hoping that I'll feel better in my Photoshop skin this month to be able to submit something in the Earning my Ears category.

As a definite newbie to designing, I'm not as intimidated sending in a submission in the Earning my ears category and working my way up to the Mouseketeer category.

Thanks for setting this all up. It gives little old me a chance to see if I really want to start designing and if I have the stamina to be any good. It's a dream come true for me to dip my toes in the design pool in a "safe" and trusting environment.

I can only imagine how much work goes into coordinating all of this! Here's to hoping that this month, is my month! :hooray: :yeah:

I think the changes are great. This still enables each contributor the opportunity to design for fun or to improve upon their design skills.

One thing I noticed on DC1 is that we ended up with a lot more papers than elements. If each contributor does a mini kit each like you suggested, I think that would make the next kit even better.

So much fun to be involved in this challenge again and see how it evolves. I have One quick question about the no pre-shadow rule though... what about if you have a "clustered" element? Sometimes I thought it was necessary to pre-shadow the top layers? :confused:

Great changes! Thanks for all the time and effort you've put into this! :thanks:

I'm still not sure whether or not I'm going to participate but I might try. Can anyone explain how to use HEX codes in Photoshop Elements? Thanks so much!

In the lower left corner of your screen, you should see two squares, one represents your foreground color, the other is your background color. If you click on either of them it will open a pop-up color chooser menu. At the bottom right there should be a text box with a six-digit code, the hex code for the current color. Just input the desired hex code in that box and click ok. You will then be able to draw or fill with that color.

If you have trouble let me know!

Quick question about your "Mouseketeer" category.... Will all the participants be rolled up into one giant kit like DC1 was? Or will they be each packaged individually and sold as a mini-kit by itself? Or maybe all the Rapunzel ones grouped together?

Are we supposed to post our previews in the Kit thread or just send them to someone, for a final kit reveal like last month? I love seeing what everyone else is making!

Oh and another question... Are these kits forever property of MouseScrappers? I mean, at some point could I expand on the kit I am making and put it in my store, or is that not allowed? Not a problem if not, I just want to know ahead of time, and not make a big uh-oh. ;)

I'm almost positive that preshadowing refers to shadows that are on the transparent background (hang off of the element in question). That being said, if you stack elements and then flatten for the final submission, you would want to shadow where the two layers overlap (but don't include any shadow that doesn't fall on top of another element).

Does that make sense??? :confused:

Designers out there, please let me know if I'm wrong in this or if there is a better way to explain it. :help:

Thanks!

We are still trying to iron out some of the details, so I'm not quite sure about how the minis will be packaged...my thought is that they will be sold individually or maybe as a "build your own kit" type thing where you would be able to pick a specific number of minis for a certain price. I'll post when I have a definite answer. :thumbsup:

Hi, I don't mind trying to explain this.

Note: these tips are for PSE, but it should work in most programs.

The easiest way to get rid of outside shadows is to duplicate all of your layers, and remove styles from all of the duplicated layers, and then merge those layers into one layer. Then press CTRL+Shift+[ to send that layer to the bottom. Merge the other set of layers into one layer, and press CTRL+G to use the unshadowed layer as a clipping mask. this removes all of the drop shadows from the outside of the element, but leaves them on the inside for reality.

hmmm. did that make any sense at all??

I tried to find an online tutorial, or video, and couldn't find anything, but I will keep searching.

You can also buy an action from Wendyzine that does all of that for you here.

How do you check Gamut in PSE9???? New to designing :blush:

There is no way to check gamut in PSE. I have searched everywhere for a program to check gamut, and I haven't come across any except PSCS which I can't afford ATM. You might be able to find a friend who has CS and ask them to check it. It only takes a second to check, and most people don't mind helping out. Hope that helps.

I am wondering the same thing??? Are all the kits in the Mouseketter group going to the store or select ones?

The whole gamut issue refers to the difference between monitor output (what you see on your computer screen) and what a printer can reproduce using the cartridges that are put into it. When you create an image in PhotoShop or other program, you are likely using RGB color which is like coloring with a box of 256 different crayons. When you send your image to the printer, the printer must recreate it using a much smaller box of crayons (cyan, magenta, yellow, and black---CMYK color). Obviously with so few colors to work with, some of the colors in the original image will be impossible to match.

I've done some research into a solution to this since everyone obviously doesn't have the full version of PhotoShop at their disposal. I found a website that doesn't check your images to see if they are in gamut, but simply puts them in gamut if necessary. Referencing the above explanation, it converts them from RGB to CMYK. I only tried the online tool once as I was looking for the best one available, but I didn't have any problems with it. After converting your image to CMYK using the tool, it is up to you to look at it compared to the original and make sure it looks right to you before proceeding. I like the results that PhotoShop gives better than those from the free online conversion tool, but for those who don't have access to PhotoShop, it is a free alternative that still gets the job done.

http://www.rgb2cmyk.org/

If you use this online tool, please let me know how it works for you so I can decide whether to post it in the tutorials/tips thread. Thanks!

So i tried the tool link u sent and a few of my elements colors were changed. Is the element the online tool gave me the one that is gamut??? I am still a tad confused...lol

The kits that you create remain your property, MouseScrappers does not own them. By submitting them for this challenge, you are allowing MouseScrappers to sell them and keep the profits from such sales. If you want to sell it elsewhere you are free to do so at any time. If you do choose to offer your kit for sale on another site, you may want to put a disclaimer in place stating that the kits (in whole or in part) are part of the design challenge here on MS so customers don't buy both thinking they are different kits.

The one the tool gave you is supposed to be in gamut. It worked on the one image I tried but I should really play with it more. Did the colors look ok on the one it gave you?

Jagged Edges
 

I could use some help with quality control. My recent submission went through QC and I've got some fixin' to do. Some of it it was pretty simple for me to fix. But my biggest issue is jagged edges. I use pse7 to design.

I know to bring the element up to 100%. I heard there is a tool/action that will do this, but have looked and can't find one. When I do the blur edges then it's blurry and not sharp. HELP!!!!!!!!!!!!! :o)

I've figured out how to add a stoke to the element so that I can check it, but not sure what to do past that.

Don't forget that today is the deadline for the April Design Challenge. You have until the end of the day today to send me a link to your submission! You don't want to miss out on this collab! :D

Just Sent my Princess Dreams!! I have had a crazy busy month but these colors are just gorgeous!! I tried to select the best of what I had but still have more work I wanted to do.... Guess I'd better get my Add-On Ready!

Thanks! :surrender:

Ok, I'm sending my preview right now...but I just noticed a problem with a zip...so I need to fix it before I send you the links!!! AHHHHH!!! :surrender:...so it IS on its way!

Well, the April design challenge reveal is a bit delayed...

All of the submissions in the April DC2 Mouseketeer category have been sent off for QC. I have received some but not all of them back. Once I get them back I will pass the findings on to you. You will then have until Friday, May 11 to make the required corrections and send the updated link back to me. The kit(s) will be distributed to participants and the CT on Friday, May 18 which puts the reveal date at Friday, May 25 (which is also the due date for the May design challenge). There will be a blog hop to go with the April challenge and if you wish to participate post your blog address in this thread and set your blog post for Friday, May 25. I will be sending the master blog hop list via PM on or around Friday, May 18. If you have any questions, please let me know.

Whew!

Thank you all so much for your participation and patience as I get the kinks worked out! I really appreciate all of the kind words you have sent to me!

I will be more than happy to help you. A great smoothing action is this one

http://store.gingerscraps.net/images...preview-01.jpg
Hopefully it is ok to post this. If not I will take it off. Just trying to help.

I sent you a couple questions about my corrections.

I want to particpate in the blog hop www.damseldesigns.blogspot.com

I will participate in the blog hop.

I will also participate in the blog hop:
http://www.bookladydesigns.blogspot.com

Thanks so much for your help. Found out that I recolored things in a way that created the jaggies. So that helped with most everything. I'm having a blast designing and am SURE that I will need this in the future. Thanks!!!!

Kelly

I will create a freebie for the blog hop. http://kbcustomcreations.blogspot.com/

Whew... I haven't been back to this thread in awhile! Thanks for the info. ;)

I will definitely be participating in the April Blog Hop:

http://www.cindyrelly.blogspot.com/

I sent my corrected embellishments to go back through QC and looks like I need to figure out what I will make for DC3 since we have a palette!!

I will participate in the Blog Hop, too! How about a template??

I never received any info about my mini kit and fixes are due Friday!!!!!! :help:

I'm still waiting on about 5 submissions to come back from QC. Don't worry, I will give you plenty of time to make corrections (if necessary) and if I have to extend the deadline I will. No one will be left out. I'm so sorry, but everything we are doing is trial and error. I'll post and/or pm when I know more.

I also wondered since I hadn't heard anything yet either.

Still haven't heard a thing about my part... It's past may 11th, how do you want me to redo things if necessary? I'm off this weekend (thursday till sunday).
Please let me know... Because I might decide not to join anymore.

I can't thank all of you enough for your patience with DC2. I know it has been a mess with the QC delays and the multiple date changes and I am truly sorry for any inconvenience and confusion resulting from those things.

To let you in on what has been going on, we lost our QC person unexpectedly, right in the middle of the QC process. That's why we still have several submissions that haven't had QC done. Because there were so many things that didn't work as planned, we are going to tie up the loose ends on DC2, get it distributed, and move on to DC3.

DC2 hit a lot of road blocks...that's why we have decided to go back to the way we did DC1 with a slight change in the way you send your kits to me (more info. to follow). Everything we are doing is trial and error and I hope everyone can appreciate the honesty in us saying DC2 was an "error" but we are trying to make good on it and move forward.

The DC2 release and blog hop will be on Friday, June 1 in spite of the fact that some of the submissions will not have the benefit of QC feedback. Unless you have changes to submit to me, I have everything I need from everyone. Regardless of QC status and which category you entered for DC2, your submission will be included in the collab that will be distributed to all of the participants and put in the MS store. If you entered the Earning My Ears category and DON'T want your submission included in the store collab, please let me know as soon as possible. Since under the DC2 guidelines Earning My Ears submissions were not going to be included in the store collab you may choose to opt out if you wish---we would, however, love to include everyone's submission! I will be compiling the DC2 collab and sending links to participants and the CT in the next few days.

Since DC2 is so delayed, we are going to make DC3 a May/June challenge. Continue to use the color swatch that was chosen for May but now you have extra time to complete your submissions. DC3 will be run like DC1; there will be no QC requirement and although we would still like to see the majority of the submissions be mini kits, we'll take any combination of papers and elements (like in DC1). Since there will be no formal QC process, it is a good idea to QC your own submission to look for common problems. Several of you saw firsthand what kinds of things a professional QC reveals because of the QC on your DC2 submissions and I hope you have grown as a designer because of it. I will also be getting a comprehensive QC guide posted so you have an idea of what to look for when creating/checking your submissions. The due date for the May/June DC3 is now Friday, June 29 with a release date of Friday, July 6.

Thank you again for sticking with me through all of the changes and delays. I hope you will all continue to join me for these challenges and maybe some of the people who opted out of DC2 because of the restrictions will come back! I really appreciate your participation and patience!!!

Below is a list of the people who have signed up to participate in the blog hop (scheduled for Friday, June 1). I'm sorry if I overlooked anyone. If your name is not listed and you want to be included, please let me know by Wednesday, May 23. I will be sending a PM to all of the blog hop participants at the end of next week. Thank you!

3LilMonsters: http://3lilmonsters.com/
Cindyrelly: http://www.cindyrelly.blogspot.com/
afirmbeliever: http://kbcustomcreations.blogspot.com/
Pooh46: http://www.bookladydesigns.blogspot.com
missdamsel: www.damseldesigns.blogspot.com
Fran98765: http://franscraps.blogspot.com/
omaha: http://marycupofteadesigns.blogspot.com/

Ladies,

I just wanted to express my sincere apologies about DC2. We had all the best intentions, but things just didn't work out the way we hoped and planned. I appreciate all the work Christina has done on this, and all the time she spent communicating with each of you, especially because things were not under her control... if anyone is to blame, I am. I certainly appreciate all of your patience and I apologize for any inconvenience. I hope that you will continue to participate in these challenges going forward.... we will go back to the way it was in DC1 since it seems like that is easier for everyone.

Thank you! :flowers: