Miguel Reyes is a great designer that recently had his portfolio website featured and the Stock in Action site of the day. Be sure to check him out at mreyes.tv.
Tell us a bit about yourself. Where are you from and how did you get your start as a designer?
First, a big thanks for having me here on Stock In Action. I am 23 years old, originally from Brooklyn New York and I now live in Orlando Florida. Currently, I work full-time as a Web Designer at Platinum Creative (Platinum Creative is an internal design house for Full Sail University) and was hired mainly to create flash animations, banner ads, landing pages, and other fun designer activities like slicing websites ; ). I love working at Platinum Creative because I get to work on some amazing projects and I get to hang out with a great bunch of talented people. Read more…
Every week iStockPhoto gives away a free image. Don’t worry if you accidentally forget and miss one week, they also let you download the previous two free images. These aren’t tiny images only useful on the web. You can download full-size, high-res images that you can use in commercial designs. The only thing you can’t use for free is the extended license. In addition to the free weekly image, they give away one vector and one video each month. Thanks iStock!
This week’s free iStock image:
Read more…
So you need a website, but you don’t have much time, money, or know-how. The good news is that you probably have more options than you realize.
Custom Work
Custom work can be the best, but be careful. Just because a web design company exists doesn’t mean it’s good. Make sure you check out their portfolio to be sure. If you don’t know what to look for, check the client list. Big clients means they are probably good, but unfortunately big clients also means big bucks. Custom work is the slowest and most expensive route you can take. Expect to pay thousands of dollars for custom websites. Be wary of cheap work; you get what you pay for.
My Friend’s Brother Does Websites
Whether it’s your friend’s brother, cousin, dog’s former owner, whatever, this is usually a BAD idea. I get so sick of hearing this phrase from people because most people that “do websites” have NO idea how to DO websites. Okay, maybe they do appear to know what they are doing. Check their portfolio and client list just like you would someone you don’t know. If they are good, this is just regular old custom work so expect to pay custom prices.
You know all this already. That is why you are here. Let’s move on to the options you may not be aware of. Read more…
Let’s assume you’re a Flash guru, or at least on the road to becoming a Flash guru. Why on earth would you need to buy Flash stock? It’s not like you can’t build your own contact form with email validation or snazzy slideshow gallery.
Stock can be a great time saver and if you’re an experienced freelancer you know that time really does mean money. Before you read on, please note that I am in no way suggesting that stock should ever replace custom work. Though in certain situations it can be used as an out of box solution, I typically use stock only when I can seamlessly integrate it into custom work or use it as the base and then make it custom. Read more…
Envato, the company that brought you FlashDen, VideoHive, AudioJungle, and ThemeForest, has announced the impending launch of GraphicRiver. GraphicRiver will sell layered PSD’s, vector, icons, textures, and brushes.
Selling vectors and icons is really nothing new. Sites like iStockPhoto and VectorStock have been doing it for years and have massive libraries that will be difficult to compete with. What’s really going to set them apart is their plan to sell layered PSD’s.
So many times I have searched iStock using the term “on white” to find objects that I can easily cut out. More often than not I only want a piece of an image, not the whole thing. It is relatively easy to cut it out, but it’s a step I’d love to skip. Selling raster files created in PhotoShop as flat JPG’s makes about as much sense as selling vector files as PNG’s. I want to buy my files in the most customizable form possible. Hopefully GraphicRiver will solve this problem. Read more…
ThemeForest vs TemplateMonster
There are a bunch of sites out there that sell stock html templates. I put the biggest against a new up and comer. I’ve bought files from both, received support from both, and I have some pretty strong opinions of both, and the winner is… well, read on.
ThemeForest.net 
Pros: Library is growing quickly, quality files, not “stocky”
Cons: Small library
I want to give it a higher rating, I really do. I even think it deserves it. For the most part the files are unique, creative, and visually appealing. I’m happy with the search function and really like the larger image on rollover, similar to what TemplateMonster uses. Read more…
Zsg.com is a great example of Flash assets usage.
Whether you are using stock for a freelance client, your work, or your own business there is one important rule you must follow: Don’t let your design look like you used stock! Everything should look custom, nothing should look canned. Does that mean you need to pay hundreds of dollars for a model and a photographer to get that perfect picture of a friendly receptionist for you contact page? No, it means you need to follow a few simple steps to make it look like you did. Read more…
