How should I design and submit a calendar?

When creating Calendars you are strongly advised to make use of the tips and information contained in this FAQ entry.

Technical Specifications

From FAQ #132: What are the minimum image sizes for each product?

- Product size: 11x8.5 inches (=28x22cm)
- Aspect ratio: 1.29:1 (landscape format only)
- Required minimum source image dimensions: 1650x1275 pixels
- Recommended source image dimensions: 3300x2550 pixels

From FAQ #298: What is a bleed edge and how do I use it when preparing my artwork for printing?

Calendars require 1/4th of an inch bleed edge per side and 3/8th of an inch on the bottom. The bleed edge should be considered to exist inside the image itself. If you wish to add a border to your image, that is acceptable, but not required.

In the case of calendars, the 3/8th of an inch on the bottom is reserved for the spiral binding. You are encouraged to make use of the full format very well, as long as elements such as text (such as copyrights, signatures, titles, etc.) or any other important parts of the image are not located too close to the print edge and in the spiral binding area.

From FAQ #576: Where can I find templates to help me size my images correctly for prints?

If the above information is too technical and complicated for you, please download our 'Product Templates' PSD or JPG packs which contain calendar templates with the mentioned design spec outlines.

Design and Layout

Our calendars consist of 14 printed pages: 1 front cover, 1 back cover and a page for each month, making that 12 pages. Additionally, our calendars have an extra heavy protection backing sheet for safe hanging.

You, the artist, create and submit the artistic images for these pages, and our print lab prints the calendar elements on the back of these pages, which contain the years, months dates and days just like any ordinary calendar. Holidays are not marked in our calendars. You are free to incorporate the year and month names in your calendar page artwork, but we highly recommend you leave out the year for the sake of universality so your calendar could be used for any year, which would also save you the time and hassle of updating your calendar(s) every year.
The design of the front and back cover is entirely up to you, keeping the technical specs mentioned above in mind.
A calendar's 12 month pages should consist of 12 individual artistic images. The front and back cover can consist of or contain artworks already used within the 12-month set.

Product shots

Feel free to Browse Shop Calendars if you need inspiration for calendar designs.

Submission

To submit a calendar, you only have to submit one single deviation to an appropriate category.
When submitting Calendars, do not submit them to the Designs & Interfaces gallery, unless the core artwork itself would belong to that gallery or if your Calendar is a compilation of images from multiple mediums. Calendars should simply be submitted to the section the contained artwork would belong to. It's safe to assume barely anyone would think of browsing Designs & Interfaces when looking for an animal photography or fantasy paintings themed Calendar, for example.

If you happen to have calendars from previous years still available for sale and they have the year put on any page, we strongly urge you to update them all as well as the deviation/print title to reflect the correct year, 2009 in this case. This will help prevent major confusion for potential buyers.

FAQ #285: How do I edit an existing print or add more product options to a print?
FAQ #620: How do I submit print products?