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Creating your own cards can be a lot of fun. It will also give you an opportunity to make something special for your library. We run a coloring contest each year where the kids can design their own cards. We have blog post about it where you can get coloring pages to run your own. Being able to bring their designs to life is exciting! If you are a staff member enjoy digital art or are interested in learning I highly recommend creating unique cards for you library.
How Do I Start Making My Own Art?
We have provided editable line art of each of our creatures that you can download and edit in the art program of your choice. There are several free and inexpensive art programs you can use with our files. You do not need Photoshop to edit them. FireAlpaca is a great free option for PC. Procreate is a great inexpensive option for iPad (it is a one time fee of $20). There are many many other options so explore and find the one that works for you.
Watch the tutorial below if you would like a walk through of how to edit our files in Procreate. It goes through uploading the files into Procreate, using the tools, and saving the final product. Even if you use a different art app, much of the information will be useful to you.
Links to Download the editable art files
Starter Art (Phoenix / Kelpie / Unicorn)
Art files shared by collaborating libraries
Cerberus Art by Kelly Robertson of the Central Arkansas Library System
Jackalope Art by Kelly Robertson of the Central Arkansas Library System
Moth Art by Kassie Rice of Fairport Harbor Public Library
Kraken Art by Heather Phillips of Plainfield Public Library
Yeti Art by Christine Skelton of Fond du Lac Public Library
Sprite Art by Heather Phillips of Plainfield Public Library
Hippocampus by Karole Webster of CWPL
Are you Using FireAlpaca?
Liz has created a tutorial to walk you through FireAlpaca. She has also shared some art files for Fire Alpaca that break down the main creatures into many different parts. The PSD files above can also be used in Fire Alpaca, and the files below can only be used in FireAlpaca.
Links to Editable FireAlpaca Files
Save your art as PNG files with transparent backgrounds. Watch the Procreate tutorial for specifics on how to do this.
So you've colored your characters, now what?
Add Your Art to Card Backgrounds
This video shows how to add your art to the card template, save your card images and add them to the 9 card easy print template.
Click on the relevant Canva template to make a copy on your Canva account. Make sure you are logged into your Canva account.
We have a general blank template and several creature specific drag and drop templates.
To make positioning your art a little easier I have made creature specific Drag and Drop Templates. That way you can drag your art onto the matching image and your new image will replace it at the same size and position.
If your template gets messed up you can download a fresh copy from these links.
Step by Step Instructions if you did not watch the tutorial
Open the card background template of your choice.
Upload your art images with transparent background.
If you are using the drag and drop files: Click and drag your image over the image you want to replace. Release your hold once the image has popped into place.
If you are not using the drag and drop files: Click the image you want on the card. Resize and reposition manually.
Replace the name at the top of the card with the name of your creature.
At the bottom of the card add your library's name to the made by section.
If the art was drawn by a library kid or local artist you can type their name at the top of the card with creature name.
Save your card images as PNG files.
Make a 9 Card Print Ready PDF
Clicking on the template link with create a copy of the template in your Canva account. Make sure you are logged into your Canva account.
Step by Step Instructions
Open 9 Card Template.
Upload your card images.
Type your library name at the top of the page.
Type your creature name at the top of the page.
Drag and drop your cards into the template. (9 identical cards to a page)
Duplicate the page.
Repeat steps 5 & 6 until you have completed the set.
Click Share - Download
Change file type to PDF Print
Make sure you have all of the pages you want downloaded selected.
Click Download
Share Your Cards with Libraries from All Over
Over 400 libraries have access to this program in 42 states and 5 countries. (not all shown above)
We are hoping to share the Reading Dragons with library kids all over the world.
We have a form where you can create a page in the card catalog for your card. Immediately after you fill in the information and press the submit button your card will be visible on the website.
Watch this video tutorial to take you through the submission process.
Before you fill out the form make sure you have saved:
Your card images to your computer
Your 9 card pdf on Google Drive
Your zip file of art with transparent backgrounds (optional)
The form is a drop down option under the card page or you can click this link to go to the correct page.