Free Artist Trading Card (ATC) Craft Ideas. Art-e-zine Artist's Trading Cards. Making Artist Trading Cards - 1001 Techniques. Digital art is a story in itself. Here I want to specifically mention collage by digital means. This usually means taking digital images and manipulating them in some way, possibly extracting foreground images from a background, and then recombining them in some way to construct a collage. Also sometimes called a photomontage, but this to me suggests simply using a collection of photos adjacent to each other. Collaging usually involves software with layering facilities. It is only my definition but it is one I work to. The photo here is very definitely a collage, in my opinion, with altered images and layers.. Digital cards do have one extra step however, they have to be printed.
Perhaps I should take a moment to mention the use of digital ( or vintage) photographs to create aceo sized prints. I have shown how the use of layers and digital effects can be used to manipulate images and give some interesting results in another page on Squidoo. Simple Collaged ATC's For Beginners. Create That Masterpiece. When you are satisfied with the composition, and only then - get out the glue! A PVA type glue (white craft glue) is probably best for general purpose use with paper and textiles but there are others which you may use. The best advice is to read the instructions and don't use too much. For sticking down paper elements I most often use the ubiquitous gluestick. I get through many tubes of this useful product. Whichever you use, try to use a glue which dries clear, so that if an accident happens it will not be too obvious. Double sided adhesive tape and foam tape also have many uses for paper crafts where heavier elements, plastic or metal need to be bonded.
There are specialist sealants/glazes which can be applied to protect the ATC but these are not absolutely essential and can be tried as you progress in this media. You can also use mechanical methods of fixing such as brads, eyelets, staples, sewing (usually with textiles), etc. Altered art questions? Find all the answers at altered-art.net.