One Way to Upload Hi-Res Files for Printing

When it comes to printing, the higher the resolution of the photo, the better. But what if you can't upload it to our server, because the file size is just way too big?



5 Steps to Uploading Hi-Res Files for Printing

Step 1: Save the file as a low-resolution jpeg.

To do this, simply open the image file as you would in Preview.

 

A. Take a Screenshot. Click the PRT SC on your keyboard for a PC, or CTRL + ALT + 4 for a Mac (Mac Users skip to Step 2).  

B. Next, open up Paint.  Paste the screenshot into the file by pressing CTRL + V on your keyboard. Your screen will now look like so:

C. If you'd like to, crop the image. Select the dotted box tool and select the image you'd like to remain, then press crop. The resulting image should look like this:

D. When you're done, save the file! Remember to title it LOW RES as part of the file name.

And there you have it! Now you have a low-res file!

Step 2: Uploading Your Hi-Res File  

Now before you go ahead an order, somehow you have to put your hi-res file somewhere accessible to us. For this, we recommend Dropbox.

Dropbox is pretty user-friendly and easy to sign up. Once you've got it open, simply drag your hi-res file into your Dropbox folder:

 

Once it has been uploaded, click on the Share button, then the Get Link button. Whoever has this link can now download your hi-res file (but no other files on your dropbox). Copy it the link using CTRL+C.

 

Step 3: Placing Your Order
 

Now it's time to place your order! Upload your Low-Res Image to our server.

And then proceed to select your substrate:

Once you've arrived on this page, paste your Dropbox link into the comments box.

And then click Continue, and that's it!

When we receive your order, we will be able to access your hi-resolution file from the Dropbox link you placed in the comments box. If there are any issues, we will be sure to contact you first before proceeding with printing.

KeenArt Media specializes in custom canvas printing, for home decor and galleries. Whether it be an artwork file or a photograph, we can immortalize it onto canvas for you. Visit our website today for more information.

KeenART Media Ltd. www.USAOnCanvas.com
Toll Free: 1-888-533-6278 (KeenART)
Working hours: Pacific Standard Time
8:30 AM to 5:00 PM Monday to Thursday
8:30 AM to 4:00 PM Friday

Digital Coloring Book.

Here at USA On Canvas we see a lot of beautiful photographs, both professional and amateur, but we also see some really inspiring and innovative digital art. Program like PhotoShop allow artist to create on screen, and this has many advantages. You can test ideas and concepts without wasting resources, and you can make several versions easily. Unlike physical media, you never have to experience that stomach-dropping sensation you get when hours of work is ruined by a single brush stroke. As a painter friend of mine lamented, water color does not have an undo button.

PhotoShop can be a daunting program to learn, but it is very rewarding. Recently, with the help of the amazing catalog of public domain black and white images available here and a few simple PhotoShop tools, I created a little project that is pretty much as fun as coloring books used to be when you where 5. As a bonus, it can help you get familiar with the PhotoShop toolbox.

Step 1) download a file.

I picked this one: the files with file names ending in .svg.hi.png‎ because they are transparent, which will make things easier later.

Step 2) Open the file in PhotoShop.

If PhotoShop shows the drawing on a blue and white checkered background, this is good! If not. It will be a bit harder to work with.

2a) If the image has a white background, get the magic wand tool, set the tolerance to 1, click on the white area and when the selection is made, press delete. You may have to unlock the layer first. There there might be several white areas separated by black outline. Select each one and delete the white

Step 3) Make the image the size you want (ctrl+alt I)

Step 4) Use the “paint bucket” tool to start colouring! Pick the colour you want using the colour picker, and fill in areas with colour.

Step 5) If the color leaks into an area you don't want it to, don't panic! Press “undo” (ctrl-Z) and then use the magnifying glass to find the hole in the outline. Once you find it, use the paint brush tool to complete the outline.

Step 6) Keep colouring!

Step 7) You will notice that there are some white areas that are too small to paint with the paint bucket tool. Once you have filled in all you have the patience for, you can use this (slightly complicated) trick to colour all of the remaining white areas in one go.

First, pick a colour. You only get one, so choose well.

Next, make a square using the rectangle tool that covers

the whole image. The shape will automatically be placed on it's own layer. Drag this layer under the layer with the picture.

Select the layer with the picture. Us the magic wand tool to select the area around the outside of the picture.

Select the layer with the

solid color. Use the eraser tool to erase all the color in the selection. While a selection is active on a layer, the eraser will only erase within that selection.

Step 8) for a final touch, use the paint bucket and the gradient tool to ad some color to the background.

Don't forget, you can make your digital art into a beautiful wall piece by printing it using the Giclee canvas printing process!

Collages on Canvas

Something that I've noticed recently is the growing popularity of people getting collages printed onto canvas. Rather then getting your digital all separately printed, picking out the ones you think work well together then trying to arrange them in a frame the simpler option is definitely canvas collage. With collages on canvas you can arrange the collage on photoshop, edit and sort out the images without the need to print, then simply send the collage image file in for printing and within a few days you have a ready to hang canvas collage. If you weren't familiar with photoshop or other image software or simply didn't have the time to go playing around with images then you could simply e-mail us on on the images with the style and size you would like and we will do all the work for you. To have a look at the styles and design cost fee just follow the link below:
http://www.usaoncanvas.com/include/canvas_photo_collages.php





The block style, example on the left, works great with merging images of a similar theme into the one print. The optional lines displays the images as seperate pieces preventing them from being lost amongst the crowd!













Another option is a blended collage which allows you to blend and overlay seperate images together creating one image rather then lots of images arranged together. This option works well when you want text incorporated into the image.

Collages on Canvas are definitely something to keep in mind. They make great gifts, come ready to hang and can be completed for you without you having to spend hours surrounded by images trying to figure out what to do with them!

Silhouettes

With the sun out in full bloom in the summer, something that always catches my attention are shadows. They are so simple and ordinary yet can be so fascinating at times. Then the other day I noticed someones shadowed profile and i immediately began to think about Silhouettes and how something in its simplicity can be so dramatic.

Silhouettes have been used as an art form for centuries, originating in the 18th century and applied to portraits or other pictorial representations cut from thin black card. Jane Austen's Silhouette to the right. Silhouettes are still being used by modern day artists as a way for them to express themselves.


Sherrie Levine took mass-produced images, such as fashion models from magazines, and from them cut out silhouettes of the past presidents of the United States in order to challenge established ideas about originality and authorship. (image below on the left )

Kara Walker is another modern day artists who uses the original silhouette style of cutting the image out of black card to explore gender, race, sexuality and violence. Her cut-outs, which she attaches straight to the gallery walls at her exhibition, are so dramatic and powerful. She puts her audience in front of a black and whie wold displaying the harshness of racism. (image below on the right)


























With modern technology anyone can make a silhouette by taking a digital profile image and working with it a bit on photoshop:


You could create your own silhouettes in photoshop, get them printed up on canvas and have your own 18th century artwork decorating your home. To check out prices and some of our canvas options or simply to enquire about getting us to create a silhouette for you go to:
http://www.usaoncanvas.com/

Printmaking and It's Advances and Advantages

Printmaking is a process that allows an artist to easily produce and distribute their original work to the masses. It has changed and advanced greatly throughout the years. The processes have gotten easier to learn, faster to produce and far more accessible to the public.

In the beginning there were woodcuts and etchings created by the Old Masters such as Durer (woodcut on the right "The Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse") and Goya (Etching to the left "Los Caprichos").











This form of printing is a long process of preparation, in the case of the woodcut the process is loosely: designing your image, cutting into the wood, proofing the woodcut and lastly printing once you are satisfied with the finished product. You could spend days completing a compilcated print however once it is complete you can reproduce the work of art over and over. This reproduction of Art is an aspect that was not possible in the painting and sculpture world.







Throughout the years printing processes expanded and became easier and faster. Once the camera came into existence there was no stopping the growth and popularity of print. Now in the digital era the masses can become photographer/artists and there are almost no boundaries. Image can be distorted, blown -up, scaled down, merged with others and all within minutes! Not to mention how fast printers have become. You can even reproduce paintings by scanning and printing the image directly onto to canvas making it, in some cases, hard to tell which the original is.

Above is a reproduction of a painting achieved through Giclee on Canvas.

In my opinion Printmaking has introduced Art as a past-time to anyone who's interested as opposed to the elite.

Quick links:
Check out how you can create your own art, turning photographs into images on canvas, at http://www.canadaoncanvas.com/
Want to reproduce your own paintings or enlarge some old photograph's that require scanning? Visit http://www.canadaoncanvas.com/include/artwork_scanning.php

Wedding Photographers: Capturing Your Clients' Special Day on Canvas

A canvas print is a unique way to preserve the memories from a very special day in a couple's life.

When wedding photographers sell prints to their clients, it's now quite easy to offer them prints in a medium other than the usual photographic fine art print: Giclees on Canvas.

A stretched canvas print has a different kind of presence than a framed image. It creates an image that stands out from the wall and demands to be observed. With no need to frame and the Canvas's produced ready-to-hang, giclee on canvas is a easy way to turn images into works of Art.

Many of the orders we receive here at www.CanadaOnCanvas.com are of Wedding photographs. The orders differ immensely from large scale prints of the bride and groom, collages of moments throughout the day, group photographs of the bridal party to symbolic images celebrating their joyous day.

We also provide free shipping for orders over $99 to all of Canada and USA. To get an idea of our prices please follow the link to our canvas price calculator: http://www.canadaoncanvas.com/include/prices.php

Taking old treasured photograph's and turning them into works of Art

The new trend of printing photo's onto canvas is a great way to turn your favorite images into works of art, whether it is a digital image that never made it out of your hard-drive or an old photograph you would like reproduced. We offer a scanning service that would allow us to scan and enlarge an old image, giving it a new lease of life.

Our finished products are gallery wrapped and ready to hang—that is, the canvas is wrapped around the sides and back of a wooden frame, then stapled to the back where it's hidden from view when the artwork is hung on a wall for display. A wire is also affixed to the back, and we package the hooks and nails for you to use for wall hanging.

Need a gift idea for paternal figure in you life? We are offering a 10% Fathers Day discount. Since we accept orders online, and offer free standard shipping across Canada and the US for orders over $99, that makes things a little more convenient for those of you outside our locale (we're located in Vancouver BC).

Check out our other facilities offers on http://canadaoncanvas.com/.