You may find yourself asking the quesiton, "What in the world is a 'motif'?" Don't worry- you're not alone! A motif (pronounced mo-teef) is french for theme, or a distinctive feature in a piece of art. At Ann Elizabeth, we use motifs to beautify your piece. Incorporating a motif is a great way to ensure your piece is cohesive with the rest of your event, be it a wedding or other celebration.
Motifs/Graphics can be found in any number of places. With a simple google image search, hundreds of images can be found on the internet. However, what most folks don't know is that images on on a website are only optimized to be used on a website - not on a printed piece. Not to mention the potential copyright troubles you could get yourself into by using an unauthorized piece of art - something no one wants to dabble in.
To avoid all of these troubles, we have a simple solution. We use and recommend community websites of artists from around the world who gather their work in a collaborative effort. Not only do we love the huge selection of styles and motifs available at these websites, but we like the fact that we are supporting individual artists in making a living.
Follow the steps below to find the perfect motif:
Browse our portfolio, magazines, pinterest, etc. to get an idea of what kind of a theme you prefer. Once you know what direction you're heading - it'll make selecting a motif much simpler.
Visit www.vectorstock.com to start looking for a motif in your theme. This is what you'll first see. Note that you don't need to register for a membership. You can browse without being a member of vectorstock.com.
Simply type in your keyword(s) in the search bar at the upper left and click the search button.
Jot down the file numbers for up to three images that you'd like to try out and we'll take over from there. The fee associated with motifs from vectorstock.com is built into all custom inviation jobs for a maximum of 3 images. However, it's easy and inexpensive to try out more than 3 images if you need more options. Each extra credit (an image can range from 1 to 10 credits) is $1.50. This is our cost. We have no invested interest in vectorstock.com - other than loving the variety and quality of motifs available on their site.
A final product featuring the damask motif could look something like this.
Note how in certain areas we've only used part of the graphic, we've changed the color, etc. These (and more) are all modifications that we can make with any vector image you select.