This is the one that has caught a lot of negative attention due to Tracy Monette defending herself over at the reveal blog, with comments such as.......
"Hey girls... when there are stray pixels in an item I sell, they have been put there on purpose! sometimes customers don't realize little extra bits and pieces can actually be part of a design. I go over every item I sell by adding a stroke to look for those pixels before packaging items up to sell. Sorry someone here was unsatisfied with a purchase."
and
"And one more thing! The haunted house was all in one piece. Then I added some glow type if inserts for it. I strongly suspect user error in this case as my CT informed me of no problems with this kit whatsoever! And then had no problems fitting part B into part A." Well I had to get this one for myself, just to set everyone straight, as I would like every designer who is as certain of their work as she is to be correct. "
The button is threaded outside the holes.
This flower does NOT come outlined in blue with dots. The blue is the "stroke" applied to the flower. The blue dots are in fact stray pixels "stroked" in blue.
Tracy, this surfing pig is SO CUTE, but why couldn't you take just a few extra moments to clean it up just a bit more??
Ever hear of shadowing AFTER erasing? Or, how about erasing ALL of the "holes"?
Now where's the shadow gone?
"Hey girls... when there are stray pixels in an item I sell, they have been put there on purpose! sometimes customers don't realize little extra bits and pieces can actually be part of a design. I go over every item I sell by adding a stroke to look for those pixels before packaging items up to sell. Sorry someone here was unsatisfied with a purchase."
and
"And one more thing! The haunted house was all in one piece. Then I added some glow type if inserts for it. I strongly suspect user error in this case as my CT informed me of no problems with this kit whatsoever! And then had no problems fitting part B into part A." Well I had to get this one for myself, just to set everyone straight, as I would like every designer who is as certain of their work as she is to be correct. "
The button is threaded outside the holes.
This flower does NOT come outlined in blue with dots. The blue is the "stroke" applied to the flower. The blue dots are in fact stray pixels "stroked" in blue. Tracy, this surfing pig is SO CUTE, but why couldn't you take just a few extra moments to clean it up just a bit more??
Ever hear of shadowing AFTER erasing? Or, how about erasing ALL of the "holes"?
Now where's the shadow gone?This paper is really blurry.
Now I am a well known designer, who is also on quite a few well known designers' CTs. I know how to please my customer's and I also know what constructive criticism is. So, Tracy, since you think you are the great designer you are and post the things you post when people question the quality of your work. You come HERE and explain each of these. There are SEVERAL more, trust me. But I picked just a few. I will be waiting to hear from you!!
39 comments:
Here is the perfect blog to "clear" your name if you get slammed in the comments for jaggies and stray pixels!! I will give them all the proof at 100% and honest critiquing!! :)
Now I am a well known designer, who is also on quite a few well known designers' CTs. I know how to please my customer's and I also know what constructive criticism is. So, Tracy, since you think you are the great designer you are and post the things you post when people question the quality of your work. You come HERE and explain each of these. There are SEVERAL more, trust me. But I picked just a few. I will be waiting to hear from you!!
Are you sure this is written by 1 and the same person? I'm sorry but allthough you provide proof and want designers to be able to clear their name, does it have to be with this sarcastic tone? I sure hope I do not wear your fan blinkie, it's great you hide under another name, just wondering does it make you feel allmighty?
Allthough in the bored nightly hours this is gonna be an intresting blog to check up on, just to see who else is gonna kick whoevers but on whoevers day....
and uhm I forgot to add I'm not on Tracy's ct, do not wear a fan blinkie, I'm all for constructive criticism
Well Carin, sad to say, but had this designer not bashed her customers this bad, I wouldn't have been this harsh on her.
Nobody is "perfect", she thinks she is. Everyone needs to see their items from another point of view. Everyone is really gonna LOVE this blog. The next bag I have ready for critiquing is of very good quality!! So, please come back, it won't be all that bad, I promise!!
OMG! Thanks for the up closer previews...
All those elements and papers are very very bad.
I'm sorry for all those customers who purchased this bag.
WOW ... just wow! I'm really happy that I stumbled across this blog! First off, that designers attitude toward her customer is truly disgusting - and I will make sure I NEVER buy from her! Second, thanks so much for those up close views so we, the consumers, can get a look at the real quality!
To Carinspixels: You think that this blog owner is harsh? My goodness, did you read what the designer of the bag wrote to her customers?? Come on, grow up ... the blog owner does not have to divulge who she is. Why should she? She 's just giving us information so that we can make educated purchases. I don't need to know who she is - she's proven herself by giving me the views of images.
The comments from the owner of this blog is very interesting and made me laugh... the button and stitching were the best part... lol
Ok I'm already a fan of this blog.
I don't know who you are but for me is not important. I'm enjoying just seeing the "real" quality of these known designers.
To Carinspixels: You think that this blog owner is harsh? My goodness, did you read what the designer of the bag wrote to her customers??
I didnt say harsh anywhere, I said is the sarcastic tone needed.
I did read what Tracy said on the grab bags revelaed blog, and actually it wasnt posted to costumers, it was adressed to anonymous :) The way I understood her post, she said she was sure she would make errors again sooner or later, but that is normal for humas. I dont read it as bashing us as costumers or anything else. Tracy simply stated that she would be more happy if you emailed her after you bought a product, and not publicly on a blog.
As far as being anonymous as blog owner, thats a descission everyone makes for themselves and that is fine. However I judge words by the person that is typing them, so if there would be a name I would take it more 'seriously'. Hope you understand what I mean by that.... I'm sorry I can not find the right words to express how I feel about this, my english is failing me big time.
But anonymous or not, I can see the proof I'm not blind and there is a point made for sure. It's just the sarcasm tone that makes me feel hmmm icky?!
Thank you blog owner, I am the Anon customer on the other blog....There was more mistakes in the kit I have, that are very similar to those that you have pointed out here. The ones I choose to point out to her were also obvious in the kit preview so they couldn't be denied. Thank you for doing this, I was waiting for someone to say...quit talking about a Halloween kit, we are discussing the grab bag...You took that argument out of the picture...Oh and I am sure those strays are part of the design. Great way to start my day, thanks for watching out for me.
Oh and one other thing...since Carin I am sure is reading...Go back to DST and do some more ass kissing for free kits, while you ignore your kids, or should be studying for a drivers test.
Good lord! Is there no limit to people's pettiness and stupidity? Just write to Tracey if you have issues with her stuff? I don't remember her claiming to be perfect - I actually seem to remember that she said she was NOT perfect?
And why bash Carin? Isn't she entitled to her opinion just like everyone else? That last comment was totally uncalled for!
I like the extra funky dots on that flower :) It's the blurry paper I don't much care for, but I'm calling that a preference thing, not necessarily a design flaw. I appreciate the heads-up on the elements. It somehow makes ME feel better to know that designers aren't perfect either.
rofl hahahaha, yeah I should kiss more ass let's do that, care to join me? I allready passed my paper part of the drivings test, thanks for asking, in 1 time and without any errors I passed with 50 out of 50. Yeah I'm proud of myself.
Jeroen is still at school, the girls are out with dad. And I just got home from driving lessons.
I'm actually bored at this moment and needed a good laugh thank you for it :)
Wow! My pig looked great at print size. I didn't realize all his flaws - sincere apologies. Just fixed him up.
The monster mishaps being fixed up too. When I created my first monster I decided not to put the shadow on the stitching - creative decision because I didn't like how the shadow was looking at the time... but apparently I didn't follow through with that thought on the following monsters thereby creating an inconsistent set. So I've added the shadow for you. I had to go up to 693% zoom to catch the flaw on the white monster. Maybe it is time for reading glasses for me - I have indeed been questioning that lately!!!
Carin... if you saw other obvious flaws, feel free to email me at customersofclevermonkeygraphics@hotmail.com and I will decide which need fixing.
I will discuss with my store the best way to offer you the replacement items as a great many grab bags have been sold and I want to manage the replacement correctly. Last thing I want is for someone to have to make another huge download just for a few items.
Constructive criticism, while difficult to see, will be used with further kits.
Tracey Monette
You have to give Tracey credit. She has been here to answer each knock she has been given. So much better than some designers I have dealt with over the last 2 years.
I dont buy grab bags without out a quick peek because I have been burned so many times by lesser known designers that have a response that "it is a gragbag.You get what you get. I have your money now go away."
Carin, some of us love sarcasm. If you don't like it, don't read here. To me, good sarcasm is an art form. To each her own, but stop trying to tell people how to behave just because *you* don't like it. Who made you the digi scrapping manners police?
There are too many bad things in only one bag. How sad is that?
On the flower, I can see how the dots would be part of the design. Easy enough to delete if you want to.
There was a lot of errors pointed out with this one designer, but I don't think the whole bag is bad. That makes me wonder if a collab grab bag is such a good idea?
I thought SBE had quality control? I remember reading that one time, but I am questioning if it was SBE or SBB that I am thinking of.
I think this blog is going to be a terrific service to everyone - customers as well as designers. As a designer, I'd like to know what if I've messed up so I can correct it! No one is perfect, that is for sure! But, I think we'd all like to try to improve ourselves. Constructive criticism is a good thing! And I do believe that the "sarcastic" tone was simply due to Tracy's initial response to that customers first comment on the other blog!
Wow, if all this is wrong in one grab bag, it makes me wonder about the quality of the rest of her designs. Staying away from this train wreck... Thanks for this blog. It's a much needed resource in the digi commmunity.
Wow! I dont know anything about this designer, but the critique is a real critique. I am not sure that some people are up for it, but it is a great idea to see things.
When I find little things in a kit that I might not like, you know, like stray things and such, I just fix them myself and move on. But, having tried to make a few things of my own (not for sale) the criticism part would really help me out. Sometimes all anyone wants to say is "Great Kit" "Love It" and a person doesn't really get an idea of what is really inside.
Hope this blog stays constructive. Great idea to try to get us to all be a bit more honest in our comments.
p.s. what I would also love to see is a real constructive criticism forum for layouts -- it is like positive is the only appropriate type of remark to make.
I LOVE the idea about a blog/forum where honest CC would be handed out for layouts! Wouldn't it be nice for people to actually get better in their scrapping abilities? So many times you read "great job", "awesome pic", and you know there is so much more that could have been done, but no one is willing to state it in fear that their name is gonna get slammed all over the place for being "mean." I think an anon place for layout CC would be fabulous!
Before I say my final comment on this whole episode I must say, "edited out my own snarky comments????" What in the world are you talking about. I chose my comments carefully at that other blog and directed them at one particular anonymous poster whose initial attitute I didn't appreciate and felt her post was not given to be meant in a constructive way at all. It was delivered to hurt. Why does a poster go back in after to see how they have riled things up. My inital thought was she did her post with a not nice attitude and the fact that she went back in simply proved it to me. After that I have been nothing but above board and accepting of my faults in these recent releases. Anyone will initially act defensive when they feel attacked - it's our natural instinct as human beings. After the initial feelings have passed, we show the character of who we are.
And about those buttons - how are you not seeing the holes???? They are right in front of you???? I simply did not squeeze the string tight around the middle as I liked the idea of it kinda bending outward.
So yes - some the criticism was certainly deserved. And I will learn many lessons from it. And I will be an even better designer because of it!!!
Just heard from my store... who really rock at helping deal with things like my sleepwalking kits. They will be emailing everyone who purchased the grab bag when my files had errors in them and sending you new files (no not all 450+ megs), just the particular items I felt needed correction. Some of you may still have differences of "design opinion" but that is your option - we're all different! And included in the grab bag will be a coupon I asked them to put in as my way of offering apology on putting out materials that had mistakes in them.
Tracey Monette
No matter how you feel about Tracey. She is correcting things that she may not have fixed if they hadn't been brought out into the open.
Most of us would have hit the delete button and wouldn't buy from her again. As it is I will keep my eyes open to see what she does next.
Anybody else notice that there are comments being deleted? I know mine was and I know of at least one more that was in complete disagreement with Ms. Well Known and Respected Designer is also gone. So what? The only posts that get to stay are the ones that agree with your view on things?
Just so you all are well aware I have not deleted any comments. There are two posts, did you comment under the other post?
Hello everyone,it's Tracy King here. I just wanted to stop in and say how very disappointed I am in those of you who decided to let your mean sides show. One of the things I love about the digi-scrapping community is the warmth. I have found most people willing to offer a kind word or lend a hand but this type of negative really hits hard with me. In working with Tracey I have found her to be honest and helpful. She pushes me to be a better designer with her awesome spirit and talk about talented!!!! Wow, she amazes me each and every time she shows me something. Since there were mistakes made, it is good that they were brought to Tracey's attention but I do with it could have been done with a little more tact and kindness. Remember the saying "Treat others as you would like to be treated" when dealing with life, even when dealing with mistakes.
Seems obvious you started this blog for the specific purpose to further trash Tracey. Lucky you didn't reveal your true identity. Had you done that you'd probably have a lot less customers yourself. There is no need for the rude way you are "critiquing"......... and who says you are the most qualified person to to do anyway? Yourself perhaps?
Tracy King, I have just one question for you. You stated "In working with Tracey I have found her to be honest and helpful. She pushes me to be a better designer with her awesome spirit and talk about talented!!!! Wow, she amazes me each and every time she shows me something. Since there were mistakes made, it is good that they were brought to Tracey's attention but I do with it could have been done with a little more tact and kindness."
Does she ever ask you to help her? To point out her mistakes? To be honest and helpful? To make her a better designer?
That is the ENTIRE point of this blog! It is NOT to HURT any designer! It is to help them grow!
I am SO SORRY to Tracey Monette to whom I was harsh and overly "sarcastic" to, but, I obviously was offended by your comment that was meant to be a sarcastic comment to "Ms. Anonymous". I hope that you take this also as a lesson, that you can't be sarcastic to ONE "Ms. Anonymous" as it HURTS your reputation! I do hope you see now where I am coming from by doing what I did!
So please see this blog as a learning tool not a slam blog.
((((Seems obvious you started this blog for the specific purpose to further trash Tracey. Lucky you didn't reveal your true identity. Had you done that you'd probably have a lot less customers yourself. There is no need for the rude way you are "critiquing"......... and who says you are the most qualified person to to do anyway? Yourself perhaps?)))
She doesn't have to be the most qualified, does she? She simply pointed out errors to let everyone know. Customers do have the right to know these things! I can't believe how many things I've purchased that were unusable, so I think this is a great service!
There is a big difference in "pointing out errors" and being rude and sarcastic. Critique is a good thing when it's done with decency and well meaning but doesn't really go down too well when rudeness and sarcasm come into play.
Critique away - but do it kindly.
Coming here to defend Tracey will not make her a better designer. Everyone can see the real quality of her work, mistakes can happen but look at all those imperfections in only one kit.
Nothing personal against Tracey but what she offered in her bag made many customers very disappointed.
It's funny, I keep going back over to the other blog and looking at my original comment to "anonymous". I find no sarcasm in it - when someone tells me pieces of something don't fit together and I know for a fact that they do, I would indeed suggest that perhaps there was user error. Notice that she later recanted her comment about the items fitting together. I could have used a ton of sarcasm in my response to that but didn't.
It was patently obvious later that anonymous used the tone she did initially to stir up trouble. Otherwise why did she go back to see what others might say to her response. If you are going to comment on something like a grab bag, there is no reason to go back in and take a look back at the comments.
And the stray pixels on word art she had originally referred to were actually a font so I had initially left them in.
And somewhere someone said "why don't you say anything about all the nice comments you get". I don't need to - those people aren't going to go back into the comment area to see what I thought of each and every one of their nice comments.
Saying I stroke my items to look for stray pixels - well usually I do - but when I create something with vector I don't expect there to be stray pixels to begin with. My hibiscus flowers were created with vector tools not pixels so I didn't expect to need to look for the pixels - so what I learned from this was to inspect even items created using vector tools.
These 2 kits were created on my laptop computer not my desktop with its large monitor as the monitor has just gone funky on me and I need a new one. What can happen when you use a laptop to design on is...
You can create a an item in vector. Perhaps on that same document you go to create something else or perhaps you just even switch your tool to the brush tool for whatever reason... at that point a slight slip of the hand might make your tool go to work without you even realizing especially if the brush selected is tiny and/or slightly transparent with very soft edges. And god forbid you have the grey and white squares of transparency behind because you won't see anything!!! Heck this can even happen after you've checked for the strays.
The other thing I should have done with the Quirky Tiki kit was to put a background layer of a strongly constrasting color behind my png elements to see the edges better and I didn't do this. Often if I have any question in my mind, I do.
With a fuller than it was supposed to be work week and obligations that needed fulfilling, I let things slip with the Quirky Tiki and Monsters. I will work hard to not let things slip again. I certainly won't do a grab bag again as it puts a time constraint in place that may cause you to release a product before you really should. In doing a collab grab bag with fellow designers at my store, doing a semi collab with a designer at my store, and doing a collab with a large group of other designers at the same time - along with getting hit with a new graphic design job and website that needed designing, I simply pushed my own limits too far and it showed in the grab bag.
When I said I was a "great" designer, I didn't mean I was God. I meant I think I do totally fun designs, have a good natural color sense, that my goal in designing is not to follow the crowd with every kit but be me and unique, to try to be a quick responder to customer needs - I referred to style in my own mind as opposed to perfect technical expertise on every item I create. Customers forget that we are also humans. I'm try to find words to express myself here so please try not to twist it all out of proportion.
If you look hard enough at every designer, you will find flaws of some nature in some of their kits. They are all human. Some who photograph elements and have the lighting so bad that the element becomes unusable, or the element is totally blurry. And there are definitely some designers out there that are notorious for their spare pixels.
Miss Grab Bag Critique designer. While you did point out some very valid issues with my 2 latest releases that were both created in horrendous week for me, I would have respected you more if I knew who was critiquing my "style" and with what designer I was having a difference of "designer opinion". Unfortunately you can never reveal yourself as you know designers would start examing your kits and finding any flaws or designer opinion difference they could just to get you because you too are a human being. Your very own profile made you come off as superior in a very unpleasant way.
I will always respect properly given constructive critique, it will always make me better, but I will never fully respect it when given with strong sarcastic overtones or if someone comes across as a drama queen looking to stir up trouble and ruin the names of perfectly good designers.
Miss Anonymous of the first blog, I apologize that you thought my response was snarky... my initial responses may have been self defensive but never intended as snarky. I've seen enough hatefulness in this industry to know better than to be intentionally rude to you. The problem with the written word over the internet is we can't see the body language that comments are written in - much gets lost in translation.
Okay ya'all - twist away if you feel the serious need.
I will assume the last post was by Tracey. I have a couple of comments for her. I was put off by the overly obvious promotion of this bag by your CT members. Your CT friends did you know good in trying to defend your honor. Every anonymous poster and reader here are potential customers, and you continue to belittle opinions of anonymous people that have spent money on your work. You are putting down your customers. Other designers have been critiqued here, and handled it with grace, you could learn a lesson here also.
You are backtracking (design differences, strays are part of a font, where previously they were mistakes) and making excuses now, I think people have seen enough to form an opinion, I would suggest you stop trying to defend yourself. Redemption is only going to come now, with your next release and some great product reviews. May I suggest you send your next kit to this critique blog and ask her to do a review for all to see.
Just reread my post, know should be no. human = mistakes, I get that!
Do those things show up in print? Do most people care? As a scrapper, I have to say I am not this picky. Y'all seem really over the top to me.
Where is the Grab Bag Reveal blog?
Thanks.
http://digigrabbagsrevealed.blogspot.com/
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