NOTE: The Updates below and every function we have upgraded in the Artist Access Center is still in beta. Please let us know with any issues you have using the new system. Most of the bugs are gone, but some issues of function and clarity will inevitably pop up. Thank you in advance my friends and fellow artists!
Drew
Hi friends and fellow Untapped Artists!
It’s been a long time coming, and the base of our future work is finally complete. Below you will find the details about what has changed in the AAC, and why the system has become much more efficient, user friendly, and best of all completely automated for instant uploads and much more.
1.) You keep all profits above base price
2.) No restrictions on pricing Matte/Glossy/Luster prints
3.) Automatic pricing updates by dollar amount or percentage
4.) Sell one size, sell them all, it’s up to you!
5.) Many new sizes, small and large, have been added
6.) Artwork is up and in the gallery the second your complete your upload process
7.) Custom Crop Tool allows any ratio you wish to print at
8.) Delete, hide, or just display with no pricing
9.) Automatic Bio Updates
10.) What’s next?
1.) We’ve changed the profit sharing model at The Untapped Source to benefit all the artists in the gallery. There is no more 50/50 split on profits! You price your work at whatever price you wish above the base price, and you keep all the profit. All we will keep is the base price. Simple and better.
NOTE: Base prices have changed, and will apply to all artwork uploaded under the old system as well as the new.
2.) The old “Low/Medium/High” pricing restrictions for Matte/Glossy/Luster are now gone. You are now free to price your prints however you like, no matter the paper type.
3.) Pricing is now updated by either Percentage (%) or Dollar ($) amount. Pricing is done per paper type, and is done across the board per paper type to keep the pricing somewhat logical per size.
4.) Artists are now free to sell any number of size/paper type combinations they wish. You can sell one print on canvas, sell 2 sizes on Glossy and only 1 in Watecolor, or sell all the sizes associated with ratio assigned to your artwork…it’s completely up to you.
5.) We’ve added many new sizes…from 30×36 and 30×45 on the high end, to 4×6 and 5×7 on the low end, there are a plethora of new sizes for you to put up for sale on your gallery page or buy for your own use. We now offer 39 different sizes at 10 different ratios!
6.) Uploading is now a 3 step process (4 if you need to crop, the system will determine this). You upload the file, crop (if necessary), fill in the artwork’s details, and select your pricing options. Once you have completed these steps, your artwork is live and up in the gallery! Your artwork will be viewable in “manage artwork” after the upload process, and you will be able to adjust any details, including pricing, that you wish. You will also have a link associated with each file that allows you to see the artwork on the actual retail site!
NOTE: Artwork will not immediately be available for purchase because it will need to be approved for a Maximum Print Size by a print specialist at The Untapped Source. Pricing will go live within 24/48 hours. Other sites will allow you to sell immediately…this is not how we wish to work. We do not believe in selling work we have not already inspected for print quality/max size. We believe it’s irresponsible to allow a customer to purchase an artwork that may not be ready for sale at a certain size. This ensures customer satisfaction and artist peace of mind that your artwork will always be a product you can be proud of in terms of print quality!
7.) To avoid having to upload a perfectly sized file on the artists part, we’ve created a custom crop tool. If the size of your work is off a little bit, or a lot, the crop tool is there for you (it loves you actually:))! You are allowed to select any ratio from the crop tool drop down menu, and at the bottom of the page you can see all the sizes associated with each ratio to help you in selecting which ratio you would like to use. The crop tool allows you to select any portion of the image, and will also automatically tell you at the top of the page what ratio your artwork is closest to so you know off the bat how to keep the most amount of your image in tact before you complete the upload process! It’s really easy to use and super useful, I promise;) Of course, if artwork is sized exactly to a ratio, the crop tool will be skipped to save you time.
8.) The artist is now free to delete artwork permanently, hide the artwork from view totally, or just have the image up for viewing with no pricing available. Whatever you wish to do with your artwork is now up to you and automatic.
9.) Bio updates are now automatic. No more waiting for an admin to approve. You can update your text, update your av, etc…all on the fly.
10.) The next things we’ll be working on are as follow:
-Comprehensive Stats for Sales and Views (yes, we know the views function is down, yes, it sucks…yes it will be WAY better when done)
-Artist Cart. You’ll be able to buy your prints through the Artist Access Center simply and at the base price. No more requests or emails, just select your prints and pay via Credit Card or PayPal. We’ll still help via email if you like of course:)
-Auto Email System. This will be optional, and will notify you when an artwork has sold with details, when an artwork has been approved for sale and at what size, and in the future much much more as we add to our features.
-Close Up Function. Something completely unique to The Untapped Source, our close up system will have auto options, custom manual options, and a built in watermarking solution for increased image protection.
After all that’s done, we’re on to structurizing (mutiple galleries and categories in your own gallery), search functions for the AAC or Retail site, Quicker payments for artwork sold, and an FTP option…among much more. Our goal is to have all this complete by the spring…fingers crossed.
I’d like to point out that all of the above was mentioned by artists, so keep the suggestions coming, we’re all ears my friends!
To end this little informative rant, I want to make it clear that we’re really moving in programming the site and adding new features. We’ve added a new programming wiz to our staff who’s pushing things along nicely and much more quickly than before, and his attitude of “if you can think it up, we can do it!” is something we feel very confident has us moving in the proper direction.
Please be sure to let us know with any issues you have while using the new Artist Access Center, it’s been tested by us to death on our test server, but new eyes on new programming always yields some room for upgrade:) If you like something, let us know, if not, lay into us with your technical dissection of what we’ve done wrong…critique in the end will create the best result (We all learn that clearly through our own artwork!).
NOTE: Here is the only bad news we have regarding the switch to the new system from the old system. All artwork uploaded under the old system is not able to modified anymore. Meaning, pricing, thoughts, and images are all static. The work remains for sale, but your only options as of the switchover are deletion of the artwork or leave it as is. All current artwork under the old system remains for sale until you notify us you would like them deleted. Once notified, we will be happy to go into the old system and fulfill your deletion requests. You are allowed to simply tell us to delete all your artwork if you would like to start over using the new system, which does in fact give you MANY MANY more options than the old system. In the end, we just could not find a way to fuse the two systems together.
Keep the submissions coming my friends, we love seeing all the great creations!
best,
Drew
artist/admin TUS