This was written prior to my spinal operation that took place February 14th of this year (2013). Knowing I would be “laid up” for awhile, I attempted to prepare a few entries that weren’t necessarily “date” sensitive…
Visualization plays a crucial part in creating the various products that my art adorns. I know you’ve seen it on the expected canvas prints. But what about the postage, the coffee mugs, and even a few “unique” products. ”See it BEFORE it’s actually in your hands” is the idea behind Visualization. ”Once I decided to mass market my work, I searched and searched for a print-on-demand service. Having the pieces printed locally was simply not cost-effective. By the time I had the piece copied and reprinted on satisfactory material, then had it framed and stretched, the cost in that area alone put the work “out of reach” for most buyers. THEN, it was up to me to properly package, insure and ship the piece to the customer. I once shipped an individual piece to Maryland which cost more in shipping than it did to create the 18 x 24 print! That didn’t make sense to me, and I lost money in the transaction!
A friend who I speak of regularly recommended I investigate Zazzle. ”They may very well provide the service that you’re looking for” Anne suggested. “They incorporate Visualization” as a part of their services”. ”Visualization” with Zazzle can best be summed up as the perfect blend of engineering and art.
I was pleasantly surprised at how the Zazzle program fit like a glove, the marketing concept I had been searching for. First and foremost was the quality of their work. The materials they incorporate are first-class, bar-none. Be it the full-sized canvas print reproductions, the blank greeting cards. Even their coffee mugs and clothing line, you will not find any better material than that which Zazzle prefers to use. The printing process is exact, detailed and identical to my original work. They provide the production of the pieces, in a variety of printing formats and size options.
Though there are literally hundreds of products available through Zazzle and there is a “put my work on every available product” kind of button, not all of my artwork is appropriate for each and every product they have available. I have tried and tried to add my art to a variety of products which Zazzle has made available to their artists, but I just can’t seem to be satisfied with my art on dog tags or trucker hats! That being said, should you see a piece of my art, and wonder what it would look like on that mouse pad you want to give to your boss, let me know and we’ll sure try to make it work for you!
Farmers Market Bags by
dbuckman
There’s much more that goes into making it all happen than meets the eye. The technology they use is completely novel — to reproduce that bright red rose on canvas you’ve been looking for, it needs to be rendered virtually, as though the painting were already hanging on your living room wall. While your reprint doesn’t exist until it is ordered, you’re able to see just how it would look, as if it’s already been manufactured. Without their technology, you wouldn’t be able to order the perfect product — exactly to your personal specifications, just how you want it. I attempt to explain all of the options when I post a piece publicly, but not everyone wants to fool with it. THAT is why I offer to each client, the opportunity for personal contact in order to fit the piece exactly to your expectations. On my web site, dennisbuckman.com, on the Zazzle site http://www.zazzle.com/dbuckman and even here on the blog there are contact and message opportunities available so that we can discuss exactly, your needs and expectations. What I produce, should be viewed as an investment, and I feel you deserve personal attention when you’ve found a piece of mine you’d like to own.
The Zazzle team uses proprietary technology and computational photography to make it easy for me to submit a copy of the original image, make design tweaks, and see the reproduction as though it’s already made. YOU don’t have to know anything about 3D modeling — that’s why Zazzle utilizes what they call “The Viz Team”. They are responsible for making it look all too easy for the customer.
A lot of the magic happens when they gather information about each and every product when I launch my images on their site. Products and samples are examined to see what areas can be customized and where designs can be printed. When they talk to manufacturers, the Viz Team gets manufacturers to help specify the design areas (which later become my creations on the site).
After they nail down that info, they prep the product samples for a photo shoot — much like for real-life human models or starlets, except the products don’t demand bottled water or take calls from their publicist! Once the Viz Team figures out what one can actually design or make on the specified areas of their products, they take a photograph with “special cameras.” This process is meant to help the artist: it gives designers a way to look at the product and see exactly what the end result will be. For more complex products, the team will actually go the distance and build 3D models.
Through “special image processing,” the team locates the design area for the product and then the product goes on the site bearing my art, if I approve.
Once it’s on the site, the product is ready for potential customers AND they go one step further, allowing YOU to further personalize the design (using their nifty design tool.) A lot of people don’t hit “the plus button” (showing the high art view of the product), which gives you the precise available “personalization” tools as well. Quite simply, you have the ability to add your name to the coffee mugs, or add text to the wall art. Why? I have had folks order prints as wedding gifts, in which they wanted to add the wedding date. I’ve had mugs ordered as housewarming gifts in which the giver desired an inscription such as the family’s name, inscribed on the set of cups they’ve ordered. I have the ability to design a single mug for your special personalized gift, or make available that same design by the dozens! Did you come across a greeting card you liked, but couldn’t imagine including your message on 100 invitations, long-hand? I can complete THAT task for you as well. I have created wedding invitations, portraying the brides wedding bouquet she’s chosen for the event… Unique birth announcements incorporating photographs of the newborn… My point is, the possibilities are endless and I am grateful for the tools Zazzle has made available for me in order to broaden creative opportunities.
How the city has adopted the College World Series from humble beginnings to its status as a nationally recognized event is one the citizens should be proud of. The history of how the people of Omaha, its business leaders, city officials and volunteers, embraced the Series and teamed up with the NCAA to make it grow.
