I'm impressed!
Fotolia's basic selection of images is first rate, but they have additional options when you need imagery that packs a bigger creative punch. Check out their recently released deviantART collection, which includes more than 3,000 images created by art photographers all over the world. These images are definitely off the beaten track. Click on these links to see samples from the collection in the featured categories of gestures, journeys, dreams & nightmares, and attitude.
Dreams & Nightmares is my favorite category - what's yours? Any of these images would be enough to make a blog post stand out from the crowd, that's for sure.
Fotolia also puts a lot of effort into community and education. Their Ten Collection is a unique program that rolls innovative art and innovative education into one. Patrick Lor, Fotolia North America president, describes it this way:
"Fotolia’s TEN campaign is a collection that showcases digital art unlike any other. Every month for the next 10 months, a top digital artist will walk you through the process of turning a basic image into an amazing digital illustration. Each artist’s techniques, tools and methods will be revealed in a PSD file with over 100 layers!"
Pretty great opportunity for designers, I would think. I've gotten some behind-the-scenes peeks at the creative processes of top writers, and I can think of few things more instructive.