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  Myungja Anna Koh

Tutorial

Making a label  for artwork selling

5/28/2021

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How to make a label for selling artworks

 Yesterday I brought my work to be displayed  for member showcase in the Mills Pond Gallery. The gallery director, Mrs. Alison, always welcomes me, as an immigration painter, with kindness. She has worked for a company selling paintings in Korea, Hong Kong, and Japan. That is why she has a deep understanding and insight into Asian culture and artwork. Most of all, as you know, if you attend an exhibition, it's common for artists to place a picture on a table and sign a list . But Mrs. Alison is different , and she must show deep affection and interest in the paintings that the painters bring. I learn from seeing her professional attitude. 

​ So I'm going to  make even a little label to create it more professional. First, I looked for a template to print a tag. And I found a label template that was great to use for free. Information on making label paper is well documented on an artist consultant, Alissa sexton's blog on a page titled EXHIBITION LABELS MADE SIMPLE.

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If you go to the download site below, there are various types of templates that can be printed out on label paper. In my case, I chose the Photoshop version. (Click on the homepage below to go to the site)

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Free artworks label template

 Below is the screen when clicking on Photoshop. (It's 2 x 4 inches and uses Avery template 8923)

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Label template for Photoshop

In my case, I inserted flowcode that can read all the information simply by scanning at the far right. In addition to the picture information, I have included my email and website information.When a customer is interested in my drawing and wants to contact you, you can tap this code with your mobile phone and it will be automatically sent to you via email.

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Flowcode uses the latest in QR technology to bring you fast, reliable, and direct connections. Flowcodes have a 9% higher scan rate than generic QR codes. They also allow for unlimited scans and never expire. Additionally, It is a secure Way to use QR Codes. There is no app needed to scan a Flowcode! Anyone can scan a Flowcode using just the camera on their smartphone. ​

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Flowcode site

Suppose you look at the blog post How To Label Artwork in an Exhibition, a well-organized professional article on labeling works for exhibition preparation. In that case, it is good to refer to the following : 

The artist’s name
The title of the work
The medium of the work
The size of the work
The price of the work (if applicable)

Here is an example:
Myungja Anna Koh
White table, 2021
Digital Art
73.7 cm × 92.1 cm (29 in × 36¼ in)


If you visit the blog above, you will find detailed information on what material labels are more professional, how to stick them, and more. (See this article's reference)

Write information about the picture in Photoshop, adjust the font size, etc.

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I put all the information in the 10 label fields.
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Then go to the layer flatten image and compress the file.
And for output, you can export a file, select a file type that suits you, such as jpg, png, and print it.

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Output
If you want to print out on the label paper, please go to the below site. 
www.staples.ca/products/32385-en-avery-8923-shipping-labels-with-trueblock-technology
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I hope you find it helpful when selling exhibitions or paintings. 

Reference : 
How to label artwork in an exhibition
https://thepracticalartworld.com/2011/05/18/how-to-label-artwork-in-an-exhibition/​
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Promote your work with Photoshop mockup files

5/26/2021

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What is Mockup files

It's a minor but essential thing to online picture marketing. Most painters take pictures of their paintings and sell them online. In my case, I am currently posting and selling works in Artflakes, Fine Art America, and Etsy, etc. Except for Etsy, most of the sites below allow customers to estimate what product they will receive after purchasing. 

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However, recently, when you upload your logo, font, design, etc., the site has developed as POD(Print-On-Demand), in which the company prints it and sells it to customers. For this type of sale, it is necessary first to show the results of the product to customers and promote it. This task is called Mockups. It's a term that anyone who works in the design world knows well.

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Mockups examples


A full-sized structural model built to scale chiefly for study, testing, or display. 2: a working sample (as of a magazine) for reviewing format, layout, or content. The dictionary meaning of the mockup is as follows.
(Merriam Webster dictionary)


Artists often use Mockups that simulate your work before turning it into a product to create portfolios.
There are many mockup sites on the Internet that anyone can use conveniently. But, of course, if you use a paid site, the visual effect will be more excellent. Also, instead of making a mockup using an editing frame such as Photoshop, you can easily make it by simply pressing a button with a simple app or program installation. However, here I show you how to create a mockup using a free mockup file by Photoshop. So, first of all, I'll show you one of my works in a frame.

Below is one mockup site I use.

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https://www.ls.graphics/free-mockups

 In addition to frames, there are many types of mockups such as tapes, beverage bottles, bags, iPhone cases, etc.

I chose a free mockup that I like. (Click the blow screen, if you want to get the same)

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Artists need a lot of frame mockups like this.

If you download the zip file and run it, you can check the PSD file as follows. I am a very grateful site designer. When I use a site like this, I should do free sharing, so I work hard.

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After running the zip.file

When you open the Photoshop file, you can see the following screen.

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The screen we will change is the stay home area inside the frame.  Kindly, there is a layer that says "Change this" in the menu bar on the right, layer panel, and you can change this layer.
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Clicking the Change this layer brings up the screen we need to change. For detailed explanation, I clicked the eye-shaped icon  for a while and set it to see only that layer. 

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Take out the square frame from the left menu and draw a square to fit the stay home screen.

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I selected black color for easy identification.
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After then, you go to right side, layer panel, and click the right on the layer .
You click "the Convert to Smart Object". 

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The reason for doing this is that if you convert it to a high-quality object, you can change the size without damaging the original.

Double-click the Smart Object icon in the Rectangle Layers panel in the Layers panel. This will open a new file with the square original.  Carefully press the red square part like the below. 
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This will open a new file with the square original. (I named it, New Square screen)

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New square screen

It’s almost over now. Cheer up !!!
Now load the picture to be framed. ( Ctrl + O, Cmd + O) 

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 ​The imported picture is marked with the current background field in the layer panel.  Double-click to copy to change to a layer file. After confirming that it has been changed to a layer file, press the control key  Ctrl + C or Cmd + C  to copy it. Then go to the new square screen and paste it like the above. ( Ctrl + V or Cmd + V ). 

If you have followed well, you will see a screen like the one below.
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Press the Ctrl +  T or  Cmd + T key to resize. 
​I will only stretch the right part, so hold down the shift key and pull it out

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After then , you saved it with Ctrl + S or Cmd + S, and return to the first step like the below. ​

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Now, check the result by turning on the eye-shaped icon
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You can change the background color, shadow, frame color and more as you like.
Also, if you go to the site below for your reference, you can download many different types of free frame mock-ups that artists need. (
https://www.freepik.com/free-photos-vectors/frames-mockup)

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The final screen
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Frame mockup sample, picture by Myungja Anna Koh
If you click the above screen, if you want to get the same image.
Make a lot of pretty mockups and hope you will succeed in your business.
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How to solve the not secure problem in Weebly

5/25/2021

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How to solve the not secure problem in Weebly

You may have been surprised to see the "not secure" message on the HTTP window after creating your first homepage.  It's a phrase that you can sometimes see on other websites. In general, the homepage is filled with a lock image in the address bar as in the red square below, and the following address is visible. 
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Normal homepage
However, when it is not secure, the following address bar is displayed.
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Homepage with not secure alarm
If you don't fix the problem, you will continue to see the screen below and be anxious. So here is the simplest solution if you see a warning in Weebly. 
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Cited alarm message
Your site has to do SSL enabled. First, go to the Weebly Editor site and click on Settings. (click to the below red rectangle menu)
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Weebly's editor
Then you see the general screen. For example, if you look at the red arrow as shown in the picture below, you can see the title SSL.
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General menu in Weebly
If your screen looks like the below, click the right button. 
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If you go up to this point, the screen changes as follows. 
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Finally, press the top menu, Publish.
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Click the publish
Open the homepage again To make sure it's been fixed properly and check whether the not secure message disappears or the lock image is visible.

If it isn't the problem with Weebly, and if it has other technical issues, there is a good Blog by Tomoson detailed below. It's beneficial. 
https://www.tomoson.com/blog/not-secure-website-fix/ 
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Tomoson's blog
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good vs bad in Tomoson's blog
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Create a coloring book with own pictures

5/23/2021

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How to make coloring pages in Photoshop.

Recently, my daughter asks me to make more coloring pages every day. Because I should draw and do housework, I have not enough time to draw on my tablet. How can I make a coloring page using a picture I drew or a photo I took before? 
So today, I'll show you the process how you can make own painting into a coloring book using Photoshop. If you don’t have a picture, you can use a photo. Are you ready ? 
I am using photoshop cc 2020 version. So I will explain based on this version. First, open Photoshop and load the image you want to make into a coloring page. The shortcut key is ctrl+O. I brought up the image I drew in 2011 called "Hope".  It's a picture that was sold in the first exhibition, but someone bought it to give her a daughter. Like the words in this picture, I hope that the girl is running strong with a beautiful dream.


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And place the mouse cursor over the picture on the layer, right click . You should create duplicate layer like this. 
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And then you can see the below message. please just click OK !!
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And then you can see the below layers window with creating  the duplicated layer. 
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Then move the mouse over the copied layer and go to the upper menu bar like this orders: 
​Image - Adjustments - Desaturate
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If you have succeeded so far, you should see the image turned to black and white.
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Then put  the mouse over the copied layer that has turned black and white and right-click to duplicate the layer again. 
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And then go to upper menu like this: Image - Adjustments - Invert
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You should see an inverted image like the below. 
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Cheer up! You are almost there !  You can click the red rectangle area(as the below screen) for selecting the option of the layer. 
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Next, select the option, Color Dodge like the below.
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OOOOPS ! But Don't panic. Depending on the picture, you may see blanks or blurry images. It is normal.  
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For the next step, you flow the process like this : Filter - Other - Minimum
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And then you can see the below screen. 
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You let the Radius 1 pixels or may put 2 or 3 if you want.  Anyway I'll select Radius 1. 
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If Radius 1
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If Radius 3
Now it's time to create an image for printing.
Please go to the upper menu like this :    layer - flatten Image 
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You can see that the 3 layers have been changed to a single file and the name has been changed to Background.
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Now is a final step. Click the upper menu, File ​and go to Export like the below. 
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I first saved it as a jpg file for printing. And I'll have to do some coloring with my child for a while.Have a good time.
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Before
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After
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Build your free website with weebly

5/23/2021

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Weebly review

There are currently numerous free website builder sites on the Internet.
However, when I first started to create my homepage, my son, Minsi, introduced Weebly free website builder. I worked in a different profession in Korea, debuted as a painter in Germany, and moved to New York again, so many people are curious about the process. Whenever they asked, I often answered, but at some point, and I thought that I should build a homepage and write it down there. So, for a moment, I would like to write down what I felt while using Weebly, a free website builder.
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front page by weebly

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blog site
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Portfolio page by using gallery
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contact info, product selling
Among other things, I was concerned about the portfolio and blog for showing my artworks. Weebly has an artistic design, and the user simply inserts the module into the homepage and creates a function.  As a painter who converts images into data, Weebly is the best homepage maker for an artist  in that you can control functions with images rather than text or coding. ​Below is an example of a plug-in screen inserted as an image.
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In the left menu bar, users can select and drag plug-ins with functions such as text, gallery, contact form, newsletter, YouTube, etc. to design the page.
What I like most of all is that the AdSense plugin module allows you to easily attach ads to any page where you want. 
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After applying for Google AdSense and getting approval, you can insert it in the desired place.

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Examples of pages with AdSense applied
Below is about the plug-in modules in left side bar. There are useful functions you can create. 
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Currently, I use Weebly for free and only pay $19.99 a year for domain usage. If you pay an extra fee, the modules with more advanced features will increase, but in my case, I am satisfied with the free service. If you dare to find the shortcomings, the first time you drag-in and drop for insert it into a page, it can be annoying because you aren't good at it. However, you get used to this as you practice step by step. ​If there is a weakness, the font of the blog does not change more freely than expected, and if you want to change the content of the blog, it takes time, such as having to load the page again. 
Before anything else, If you want to upgrade your site to sell things for business use, you can refer to the information below. 

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This is a picture selling site that I will be used within a few month
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 Additionally, when you create a page and publish it, you can automatically share it with other sns you set up.  

And the most important service is that when I ask for solving a problem by email, the answer comes well.  However, using the chat window is not helpful because AI works too much.  
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Below is a tutorial YouTube that will help you if you set your first homepage to Weebly.
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