First, why I'm doing it this way.
1) I've had a few requests to customise these pitches with logos and colour pairs to match peoples leagues and teams. That takes time - more time than I originally allowed for, in some cases up to an hour for each pitch design. At the end of the day it's getting tough to justify giving away the additional time customisation entails, and I don't like to refuse to help out, not if I can.
2) allowing for multilayered pitches (as I've set them up at the moment) takes a lot longer still and means I need to split and upload each layer seperately as part of a kit set. That has to go through an approval process that can itself be pretty restrictive and not everything is accepted (generally I can't include logos in the template, I need to leave a slot for that open, etc).
3) the artscow customisation process leaves a bit to be desired - I'm acutely aware that some who have tried to customise their own have floundered a little or even given up because of the low resolution previews and the lack of decent instructions. Add to that, one false move but someone customising a pitch can easily change anything from the dimensions of the squares to the position of the logo relative to the field. I don't want that if I can avoid it.
4) browsing the options leave a lot to be desired. I'd like to make that simpler, a lot simpler.
So here's what I've come up with. I've opened up an artscow store which allows me to [more] easily and [more] quickly get personalised stuff up on the site for people, with a small price uplift attached. I'll continue doing custom pitches for people for free, and will load them up to this store for whoever wants a copy to purchase at their convenience. I'm not planning to take the ones already up on the original link down, so anyone who feels that the uplift is unfair is still welcome to use the files I've produced, for free, in customising their own mat, but for projects that need a bit more hands on support hopefully you'll agree a couple of bucks per ordered pitch is a reasonable ask on my part.
Further down this post is a link to the webstore, with the first files loaded up. Note that the first batch are NAF branded resources I made for inclusion in some draft rulebooks - I'm making those available for purchase immediately at the same pricing as all other pitches I'll add over the next week or so (and beyond, as requested), a result of the inflexible pricing structure of the store function. I wish to be clear that I have no intention whatsoever of profiting off the NAF name and image and so pledge that every cent I receive from the sale NAF products will be put directly into prize support at local NAF tournaments. Likewise I'll be providing a pitch design for a charity tournament and similarly will donate every cent I receive from those sales to a charity of the tournament organiser's nomination.
And so without further ado - please check out the new store at http://artscow.com/fantasyfootball
It's a bit spartan at the minute, but I have about a dozen new pitches to load next week from various requests and will try and bang through those on Monday morning. If you have an idea for a product or design you'd like to see me add to the store, or would like me to adapt a pitch in any size for your team or league, please do get in touch, I'll be very happy to add it. Just preferably not until the second batch is loaded up
and it looks great.
