If you are interested in scrapbooking, making jewelry, collage, assemblage, or any other craft that can involve paper, you have probably noticed the huge increase in digital collage sheets that have hit the craft marketplace in the last few years. This article will look at what digital collage sheets are, how you use digital collage sheets, and a few issues that you should be aware of before you purchase digital collage sheets to use in your art, especially if you are going to sell it.
What is a Digital Collage Sheet?
A digital collage sheet is exactly what it sounds like. It is a collection of digital images that someone has assembled on a sheet of paper. You normally purchase a digital collage sheet online and the creator of the sheet emaisl it to you. Most digital collage sheet artists place a copyright stamp on the online image so that people can’t download it free.
Why use Digital Collage Sheets?
Digital collage sheets are a great addition to an artist’s collection of materials and media. First, the person who created the sheet can make money selling it, and second, once you purchase the sheet, you can print it out on your computer over and over again. Unlike a sheet of scrapbook paper, you can use that digital collage sheet forever.
What to Know about Digital Collage Sheets:
Before you purchase a digital collage sheet, there are a few things that you should be aware of. There are different ways that people create digital collage sheets. They may just cut and paste images to a Microsoft Word document, they may convert it to a PDF document, or they may use a collage or album page software program. The reason that you want to consider this is because it may affect your ability to access or alter the images. If images are in Word, you can click on them and resize them to meet the needs of your project. This is how I prefer to create my own digital collage sheets. In other formats, the images are “locked” to the sheet, meaning you can only print them as you see them, you can’t move them, cut, paste, or resize them.
Legal Issues Relating to Digital Collage Sheets
When you buy a digital collage sheet, you should make note of the permissions that are being granted to you, which normally include permission to use the digital collage sheet in work that will be sold. Generally, you can sell art containing images from the collage; you just can’t resell the digital collage sheet in its entirety. Another legal issue that you may encounter is copyright. The seller should indicate that the digital collage sheet contains their own images, or public domain images. Public domain means that the copyright has expired, and use is now free for all. In addition, there are many sources of public domain images online. These are usually old black and white photos, or photos taken by public agencies.
If you are interested in the basics of creating your own digital collage sheets, read this article: http://www.associatedcontent.com/article/1894248/how_to_make_a_digital_collage_sheet
