From the Department of AI is Coming for Your Job: an algorithm that does a pretty fair job of separating a human in an image from its background. I uploaded the image of the woman at left, and downloaded the result at right, all in a few seconds. Check it out here. The free version works at limited resolution. There is a paid version (naturally) that works at much higher resolution. The underlying technology is pretty impressive.
Australian Calendars for 2017 — Cover Design
Craig Lewis' photographs of iconic Australian pubs and huts adorn a long-running series calendars and books. We enjoyed working on the 2017 iterations of his calendars, especially the high country huts. Typefaces used included Trajan Sans, Homestead and Amberly.
Finding and Using Free Images
Authors and cost-conscious designers often find themselves searching for low-cost or free imagery for covers and illustrations. This site explains in detail the copyright and usage issues associated with the employment of such imagery. It also maintains an extensive and extremely useful list of free image sites.
Famous People Who Have Met Me — Cover Design
Greg Noakes has made a career of photographing musicians and showbiz figures, and "Famous People Who Have Met Me" is the result of a trawl through his extensive photo library, coupled with wry explanatory captions. From Linda Ronstadt to Grace Jones, and Iggy Pop to Cold Chisel, readers will enjoy encountering the famous and infamous of decades past. The cover features Grace Jones and a suitably lurid combination of typefaces. To be released soon, via the Arcadia Imprint of Australian Scholarly Press.
Makerbook Showcases Quality Free Resources
Free is the new black on the Web. Free digital resources of surprising quality are available for photographs, typefaces, illustrations, web wireframes and much more. Makerbook brings together some of the higher end sources of free material and organises them in a simple and visually attractive way.
Search Engine for Copyright free images
This free service allows users to search large public image libraries (such as Flickr, or Wikimedia Commons) for images tagged for commercial use or adaptation. Very clean interface and simple to use. However, as the home page warns "Do not assume that the results displayed in this search portal are under a CC license. You should always verify that the work is actually under a CC license by following the link."
Microstock Photography is a Hard Way to Make a Living
An interesting article detailing the thinking behind the very successful microstock photography service Shutterstock. Submitting artists find it surprisingly hard to get into, which is great for users (most stock art sites could do with a much higher bar to entry). The most successful photographers and artists on Shutterstock reputedly earn six figure incomes, but keeping up with the image search zeitgeist must be a somewhat stressful way to earn a living.