Let’s imagine that there’s a large wall in your living room — right above the couch, say — that’s been showcasing a tired, old museum poster for the longest time. And let’s say you’re sick of looking at it.
Perhaps an original framed print or even a painting would be nice, but where do you start? Pixels.com’s new iPad app can assist not only in choosing your new work of art — something its related website FineArtAmerica has been doing since 2006 — but letting you visualize exactly how that new piece will look when it’s hanging on your wall.
Each artwork is available in a variety of different sizes and types such as canvas print, framed print, acrylic print, art print, and greeting card. Prices vary according to size, type, and add-ons such as matting and framing.
The new Pixels.com app for iPad not only puts the resources of its online marketplace on your iPad — with its inventory of millions of artworks from some 250,000 artists worldwide — it uses your iPad’s camera and the app’s augmented reality feature to let you view the work in the exact place, and at the exact size, where you plan to hang it.
You get a limited live view directly through the camera while moving around the room to scout out different locations, but a target print generated from the app and taped to your wall can place the image scaled to size in your chosen spot. The app uses the iPad’s video camera and a tracking algorithm to keep the image positioned in the desired location.
In addition to seeing how the art work will look, the app’s interface lets you preview it at different sizes and determine how it would look with art that is already on the wall. You can try out the art with different frame and mat combinations, and then see what the finished product will look like from different angles.
Buyers can search for images based on keywords, artist names, image titles and more. The app’s social networking component lets customers follow artists and photographers and receive push notifications when they upload new work. Customers can also comment on, like and favorite images.
Artists can create a profile within the app and upload images directly from an iPad or Dropbox; set their own prices for canvas prints, framed prints, metal prints, greeting cards and more; process transactions directly from within the app; and communicate with other artists and photographers.
Pixels.com is an offshoot of FineArtAmerica, an e-commerce site founded by Pixels.com CEO Sean Broihier in 2006. However, it will eventually offer an even broader range of product categories in addition to fine art, such as clothing (T-shirts and sweatshirts), puzzles and more.
When you’ve chosen which artwork to buy, the ordering process on the iPad proceeds in much the same way as if you were ordering from the website. Pixels.com fulfills the orders, covering printing, framing, matting, packaging, shipping, collecting payments, and sending profits to artists. Each product is made at one of Pixels.com’s production facilities and is delivered “ready to hang.” A 30-day money-back guarantee accompanies each order.
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