#free commercial clip art

[freecommercialclipart]

Did you know you can use these WPA posters absolutely free. These posters were created for the Federal Works Progress Administration. These are great examples of mid-century graphic design and would be great for any design projects you have that need a retro feel. They're also great for inspiration.

You can find these WPA posters and many many more on the Library of Congress website.

#free clip art #free clipart #free commercial clip art #free commercial use art #graphic design #graphic designers #typography #illustrators #typographers #retro graphic design #vintage graphic design #vintage posters #retro posters #wpa posters #free wpa posters

[miaqc1]

Text art commissioned from @stais-world on Tumblr. Sadly I found out those used free Clip Studio Paint assets. Oh well. #SaveSkullgirls cute hearts version.

#SaveSkullgirls rainbow version [Art] - MiaQc - Skullgirls (Video Game) [Archive of Our Own]

#saveskullgirls #save skullgirls #hearts #cute hearts #text art #skullgirls #rainbow text #commissioned art #stais world #clip studio paint #free assets #on a commercial work #sigh #ao3 #ao3 link #archive of our own #plagiarism

[ot3]

omg thank you for being the first normal person I've seen so far about AI who's also an artist T-T like obviously all the stealing is horrible and it's good it's talked about but almost everyone really is acting like the idea of computers being capable of creating images killed their firstborn child

(also I don't mean it as one of the weird AI art bros but as an artist myself I'm just glad that there are other artist with open mind to the concept)

no right like its insane to me to see how many other people who seem reasonable and level headed are falling for the kneejerk response to say ai Isn't Art Can't Be Art ! It's throwing out the baby with the bathwater to an almost incomprehensible degree.

Unfortunately the fact of the matter is that we live in an era where essentially all new technology's first and prime purpose will be for ghoulish, capitalistic, anti-human ends. But to reject any other uses for the technology doesn't do anything other than make you look like an anti-tech weirdo. This is genuinely insanely impressive and revolutionary tech! There are a TON of legitimate artistic uses for AI image generation.

It also seems weird that everyone is delving into this false binary of 'dont use AI, learn to draw' as if there is any conceivable reason for these things to be mutually exclusive? Like, before all of the AI discourse really popped off i was doing some experimenting with using AI in my process.

the texturing used in this drawing was made by VQGAN + Clip (different type of image generation than the stable diffusion model that is producing most of the AI art that's up for debate right now) running through google colab. I made a bunch of these weird, ethereal images that would have been almost impossible for me to produce under my own power - it would have taken a titanic amount of time, effort, and design to produce any of these through illustrative or photo editing techniques.

here's a sampling of some of the textures i made. Now I think it would be a real struggle to try and claim that these images made are plagiarisms. However, I stopped messing with the google colab generation for one key reason: i didnt know enough about the image databases being used to train these models. That's the real stumbling block

the internet is CHOCK FULL of images that are free to use commercially and repurposes, there's stuff like wikimedia commons, the smithsonian open access, unsplash and pexels which have free stock photos, etc. I honestly think a nonzero amount of artists would consent to having some of their work used in image generation databases if they were promised noncommercial use of the resulting images, also. But the problem is the people training these AI don't give a shit about any of that. It's just the complete entitlement to other people's work and neglect for creative boundaries that makes AI generation bad.

The fact that people are attempting to replicate the art of living, working artists, or people like kentaro miura who by all accounts were so dedicated to the craft that they worked themselves to death sickens me. And the fact that the companies responsible for this are using that as an active selling point for their product is even worse. It's a pretty miserable time to be an artist, and this is just the icing on the cake.

But I don't want silicon valley greed and bizarre, impotent jealousy from redditors who want custom waifu jpgs to mean that nobody who could really benefit from AI image generation gets to use it.

like, my dad for example. he's been a creative person his whole life but it never really went anywhere. He drew a lot as a kid and then went and got a degree in filmmaking. My parents were living in LA when I was born, with my dad managing a filming/sound studio and the two of them trying to break into writing screenplays. This did not happen because they had three kids, and for the past decade and then some my dad had been doing database programming on contract for the CDC. Now, in his mid 50s, he's finally got a permanent and secure position and, rather than spending all his free time raising children or getting PMP certified to try and angle for a string of promotions, he can start having hobbies again. there's a comic he's been wanting to draw for as long as I can remember.

only, one big problem - in 2021 he had surgery on his cataracts and never healed properly. He's got severely impaired vision and looking at stuff too hard for to long causes him a ton of eye strain and pain. He has to look at a lot of screens for his job so by the time he's off work for the day he's pretty much too fatigued to do all the intense visual stuff it'd take to make a comic.

I wanted to tell him AI image generation could help him make the kind of stuff he always dreamed about making as a kid but instead I had to tell him that as it stands, the predatory nature of AI modeling means it's insanely hard to use it without ripping off vulnerable creatives. Instead we chatted a bit about combining 3d assets, digitally edited photos, or photobashing/digital kitbashing methods to try and make a pipeline he could do without drawing, but the time commitment to learn these methods is probably just not feasible unless his eyes make a pretty unprecedented recovery in future years.

Like, that's the worst thing about all of this. The idea that AI makes the production of certain kinds of art more accessible to people with disabilities isn't just a 'gotcha' being used by the pro-AI people, it's also true. I would love for my dad to be able to make his comic. I myself also have a huge string of health issues and sometimes the main thing stopping me from drawing is that it hurts to do so. Anything in my process that could reduce the strain drawing puts on my body is an accessibility concern in some ways. Eventually degrading so much that I can't draw at all is one of my biggest fears.

But that doesn't counter all of the negatives! It just doesnt! Which fucking sucks man it just sucks so fucking bad that we have this cool incredible thing and we can't use it without being complicit in some stuff i am fully ideologically against! As things stand I really cant imagine that 'ethical' AI image generation will ever exist, so unfortunately it will have to be in the hands of the people using it to decide for themselves if they are using it in a way that is predatory or harmful, or as a legitimate tool to make meaningful works of art.

#sorry to go on this whole rant ive just been percolating on these thoughts for awhile. #long post #ai #i know this comes off as preachy im just passionate about this subject

[barbwritesstuff]

Hi Barb! I was wondering how you went about making your visual assets (ex. the paw print logo) for Blood Moon. Was there a particular program you used? Did you commission a graphic designer? Thanks so much!

I use this website for graphic elements in my games:

This includes the paw print (though it doesn't seem to be there anymore?), the splatter, and the brushstrokes I use for some of my games.

If I want photos or videos (like in Drown With Me) I use this website:

The font I used for Blood Moon was Fonturn:

Occasionally I will try to make graphic elements on my own, but only if it makes sense for them to be a little rudimentary (I'm not really good at art and my computer is prehistoric).

I made the logo for Something a Little Super by myself in an ancient version of photoshop.

For music I lean VERY heavily on these two guys:

Sound effects come from several websites but most often:

I hope that helps.💙

[andrevasims]

This website CraftStarters has lots of clip art, "digital paper" (repeating patterns), "digital stamps" (outline drawings), and cut-out patterns! I think they could be useful for CC creation :)

Obviously I'm showing the more Halloween themed stuff here, but they cover pretty much every theme, holiday, occasion, craft idea, etc.

Also, most important part: It's all FREE (for personal use)!!! Their ToU is that they "may be used royalty free for personal, non-commercial purposes only."

When you download a set of clip art, or digital paper, or whatever, you get a .zip folder that has everything in the set in multiple formats (SVG, EPS, and PNG). The PNGs are gigantic like 4000x4000px lol

#cc resource #cc creating

[behindthewox]

Pro-tip: check your A.I. art before using it.

This is a cutout of the image used on the new changelog announcement. If I didn't believe this was A.I.-generated I'd be more careful about publishing it out of respect for the artist, but I'm afraid I don't have as much respect for A.I.

It looks like a signup page for a new fantasy-themed site, not a banner for a changelog. No much of it makes sense to me, and if I had the time to look into all the symbols I'm pretty sure I'd have a lot to say about it. If it was a genuine illustration I'd love it but assuming it's just a mashup of other artists' work and a computer program mimicking art, it's really more of a collage. To be fair, collages are also art and copyright law does allow for it, but the value in art is the human mind behind it and the human creator who has dedicated years to master their artform in order to put their imagination into something other people can see.

Why am I so convinced it's A.I.? Well, the text for one... the text just looks like text. It's not actual text, it's just mimicking what text from similar images looks like. A lot of the floating symbols look like company logos and random glyphs or symbols that are associated with magic and fantasy but doesn't have much meaning in the context. It's an interesting piece to analyse, and I might analyse it further one day.

UPDATE (a few hours later) : the image on the changelog has now been changed to a banner that looks significantly more human-made and does not contain any fake writing! My point remains though, and I hope a lesson was learned here.

Some free advice (for free!)

Attitudes against A.I. art vary greatly but among creators (like writers and visual artists, we've got them both in this community) the attitude is generally pretty negative. In this case it would've been better to put in a little bit of effort to create something original, it doesn't have to be fancy or complicated and anyone with a bit of experience could probably put something decent together in 30 minutes or less. Using A.I. sends the message that you don't value artists and creators.

Oh, and just to prove that you can get something pretty decent without any of the controversy, here's something I (not a professional) put together in 8 minutes using free software, free-for-commercial-use fonts and public domain clip art...

#wox #wox site #A.I. #ai art #artificial intelligence

[homebrewhomestead]

Leech Seal

Notes from a Homesteader

“I’ve been feeding this thing five hunks of meat a day for the past six weeks, it just don’t stop eatin, might need to ask a Troll for a finger or two so I don’t have to keep hunting. I learned a trick from that Witch we met back in Everis to keep a trolls meat from makin another troll when you eat it (Check the notes below to see the recipe).”

“It’s been a few months since my last update, but I wouldn’t’ve believed it myself unless I’d seen it with my own eyes, but this critter actually laid a dozen or so eggs, and now we’ve got a bunch of lil leech pups on the way. I wanted to start making a Swamp area for it to live in with its pups, but the one of the ranch heads said not to do that quite yet so that we can properly make its environment and then add the proper flowers and animals to it and all that what not.”

*Two Cups of a Sugar Plum Fairies Enchanted Sparkles, Fermented Jelly from the Eye of an Imp, and a clipping of a Myling Umbilical Cord, let stew in the water from a Bog where Trolls bathe for two days, and then let rest for an hour or so before removing the meat, it SHOULD retain its regenerative properties.

DISCLAIMER:

Feel free to use the creature in your home campaigns.

This content is not for Commercial Use, in no way shape or form are you to use this outside of your own personal games, if I see this in use with a commercial product you will be flagged and legal action will be made. Please Respect mine and the artist’s wishes.

Support the Artist

#art #d&d 5th edition #d&d art #dungeons and dragons #monster art #dnd monsters #leech #leech seal #dnd 5e art #d&d monster #d&d homebrew #dnd homebrew #digital arwork #small artist #homebrew homestead #homebrew #dungeons and dragons 5e #artists on tumblr #illustration #companion #mount #sidekick #play helldivers 2 #it’s so good #now I’m just rambling #enjoy this sweet pupper #I promise the teeth aren’t meant for biting #there meant for nibbles #critter #creature

[thotpuppy]

If you’re so vehemently against ai fanart what’s your take on fanmade graphics and edits that use stolen pictures from the internet? These fans didn’t go out with their camera to capture the images themselves, they searched through Pinterest and google and found photos taken by real photographers and, without asking permission, stole these images to edit and create into something else. Yet this practice is widely accepted amongst fandom, but the second ai is involved it’s akin to murder? Even when the fans have clearly uploaded said ai generations into photoshop to edit them first? Seems like a pick-and-choose double standard to me.

Okay first of all, let's address the fact that - going by the language you've used here - you've already decided how I feel about it, so why bother the pretense of "asking"? Dishonesty breeds Discontent. Don't lie to someone's face and expect them to be kind, yeah?

Secondly, almost every single person I know who works with image manipulation uses assets they DO have the rights to outside of specific actor's likenesses. There are millions of photos, graphics, illustrations, paintings, etc. that are open for free personal AND commercial use allllll over the internet and people use them liberally. And, actually, many, MANY of these people DO go out and take their own photographs, so I don't know where your misconception is coming from.

And, the big kicker - they also don't lie about it. They say when something is an edited photo, if it's not obvious.

Stolen images being used in edits is NOT widely accepted and is in fact generally pretty damn frowned upon in most art circles, and I absolutely don't support use of them.

Every single instance of fanart is a rocky road as far as IP infringement goes, but don't put fanartists on the same level as the industry professionals providing celebrity model photos. Unlike in AI and Art Theft, when those photos are used that's bringing attention to the figure in question, not taking it away from an actual creator.

Lastly, where the FUCK do you get off saying ANYONE is comparing AI use to murder? Persecution complex much? I get it, you wanna be a victim so bad, but you're the one stealing from people at YOUR industry level.

AI in general has a metric fuckton of potential to be something genuinely useful to artists of all walks, but the CURRENT industry is too unethically sourced. We need to get control of the market, get stolen works (including, once again, STOLEN LEAKED MEDICAL RECORDS) out of the training data, even if that means starting over from scratch.

Also, we need to get the bullies who think it's okay to do shit like spam a Machine Learning program with a single artist's work to harass them offline, target voice actors who have asked not to have their voices used into harassment campaigns, or lie to celebrities by selling them commercial rights to ML-generated fanart, which right now, they legally CAN'T DO. Because the copyrightable legitimacy of AI/ML works IS currently in debate in courts in the US. So.

Maybe instead of assuming everyone is out to get you, Anon, try not being a douchebag and stealing from fellow fanartists? And if you're gonna steal anyways, at least be honest and don't lie to people trying to convince them it's actually a digital illustration.

We can see the weird, fake blending. We can see the extra fingers, or utensils clipping through plates, or hands disappearing into heads, or shoes that don't end where shoes end. And while I'm not going out of my way to confront anyone about it, I'll just stay here on my own blog, blocking people who post AI, I am not the only person who is angry and disgusted at the lack of integrity and blatant disrespect.

#sterek #doughrito answers #tag your AI so I can block you #don't lie to me and expect me to be chill #and don't act like me making 1 tumblr post means I am the only one doing shit #I haven't messaged a single person about it #I haven't made a single comment #but you bet your ass I fuckin see it when y'all say shit and I KNOW you're lying #it's not a medical necessity you can fucking WAIT like everybody else with a moral bone in their body #im so fucking tired of this shit just be a decent human why is that so hard

[unholymass]

Werewolf: the Artpocalypse. Earlier this month, World of Darkness had to issue a public apology after readers of Werewolf: the Apocalypse 5th Edition corebook preview found New Zealand Māori activist Tāme Iti's likeness was used in one illustration without permission. The photo of Iti that was used in the book was found on his Wikipedia page and although licensed under Creative Common license (CC BY-SA 3.0 in this case), a public figure's likeness is not free to take as it violates his right of publicity.

A single slip up and a timely response, not too bad. You thought that'd be the end of it, yet people are finding more and more images that the illustrations bear a striking resemblance to.

It isn't even tracing, everything matched up so perfectly. My conclusion is the artist just straight up incorporate these photograph into their illustration, or had used it as a base to directly paint over.

Using photographs in illustrations isn't new. Digital art techniques photobashing and kitbashing, commonly used by concept artists, involves taking part of purchased/free licensed stock photos and 3D models and incorporating them to their final illustrations, often times, painting over it. Think, Clip Studio Paint Asset Store 3D models being used in a Webcomic's background or taking many stock photos from Unsplash photoshop it into a complete piece. Yeah, you get the gist of it. The emphasis here is the artist should only use properly licensed stock photos and 3D models.

It's unclear if the images the artist uses are stock, public domain, creative commons licensed, allowed for commercial use or not. Reverse image search did nothing for me.

However, this artist's track record of using what they shouldn't have does not instill confidence. The antler woman illustration was made of Morgin Riley's photo and Heilung's lead singer Maria Franz's stage costume.

The whole thing is really giving W5 a rough start.

WoD's apology on the first incident state they are reviewing all the images again, so I doubt they'd make another statement.

#world of darkness #wod #werewolf the apocalypse #werewolf: the apocalypse #wta

[mystic-creature]

Adopt a Mystic Creature!

For $30 USD, you will receive:

- your fully colored adopt watermark-free

- a PSD containing a clipping layer, the lineart, and the outline(s)

- the right to use this character personally (or commercially with credit)

- the right to alter this character as you please

I maintain the rights to show off my art no matter what, but the owner of characters will always be tagged!

I take payment most ways it’s sent digitally. :)

#furry character #furry art #furry #furry oc #sfw furry #furry anthro #anthropomorphic #anthro #furry adopt #adoptable

[freecommercialclipart]

Here's the latest offering of free graphic design assets from Creative Market. The files this month are 3 fonts and a Photoshop template that gives you instructions to make a vintage Risoprint effect which is a kind of retro offset screen print style. It's coolio :)

I believe these are available for free for the month of November. Free type and graphic design files from Creative Market.

#free fonts #slab serif font #free slab serif fonts #free photoshop templates #free typefaces #typography #graphic designers #free commercial clip art #illustrators #typeface #fonts #graphic design #graphic art #graphic designer

[miaqc1]

Commissioned text art from @stais-world on tumblr. Sadly I found out those used free Clip Studio Paint assets. Oh well. #SaveSkullgirls rainbow version!

#SaveSkullgirls rainbow version [Art] - MiaQc - Skullgirls (Video Game) [Archive of Our Own]

#saveskullgirls #save skullgirls #text art #skullgirls #commissioned art #stais world #clip studio paint #free assets #on a commercial work #sigh #black and white #rainbow background #rainbow #ao3 #ao3 link #archive of our own #plagarism

[zuckarr]

12, 17, 24, 28, 29 please! 💛

weird asks because I'm bored

12. favorite tv commercial?

I clearly remember the moment when a former friend introduced me to a commercial that they really liked. I was surprised to know anyone who 'likes' a commercial and knew nothing of the art behind it at the time. This beautiful Chevy commercial that I was shown taught me what masterpieces can come out of ads if you do it properly. Like come on. Look at this and get blown away by the wonderful transitions between clips, the adequately chosen colors that communicate all the emotions before you even know what they are, the flawless story telling and the heart that shines through it!

17. an earliest obsession you remember?

Um... I remember being a bit obsessed with a fig tree in my backyard as a child. My first dog was chained to it, I think? (for the record, I am perfectly aware that dogs should not be tied up, but I was just a small child at the time and it was normal for my parents to have dogs on a chain... if only I could go back in time with the knowledge I have now, I'd absolutely free my old dog and love her properly, it's such a big regret I have) Anyways, the chain ruined the trunk due to the dog moving and sort of 'dug' in it. I felt sorry for the tree and after my dog passed away I started talking to it. I apologized for ruining its trunk and tried providing diy first aid to it lol (I watered it, caressed it and gave it little wildflowers) so yeah, that obsession lasted for a while. In hindsight, maybe it was my way of coping with the loss of the dog.

24. what have you learned about yourself?

A lot of things happened that enriched my self-knowledge! I wouldn't know where to start. To mention one - I learned that I tend to expect to be helped rather than find solutions myself. That's likely something I inherited from my mom: due to her neverending health problems, she's always had to rely on others to get help, so I learned as a child that others owe me help because I'm helpless with my problems, just like my mom was. I am working on it though. I'm aware I can't (and also shouldn't) rely on others all the time.

28. an unusual song that’s your favorite?

Unusual, umm... I'm not sure what I can classify as 'unusual' but I'll go with Back Pack by AJJ due to its uncommon theme, and disturbing yet pleasant lyrics.

29. the last thing you ate?

Avocado toast with a slice of vegan cheese on top, yummy!!!

#ask #thank you friend!

[7clubs]

1, 5 and 10 for the ask game :)

1. what medium do you use most (if applicable, what software)?

I use Clip Studio Paint pretty exclusively nowadays, with a non-screen tablet (I can't draw looking down on a surface my neck hates it lol)

I rarely do traditional art nowadays but I enjoy printmaking :] (Rubber stamp carving and silkscreen stenciling)

5. how would you describe your art style?

kind of all over the place lmao. my comics and more toony work are admittedly in a very western-with-a-touch-of-anime-influence 'commercial' style with the character-focused art and bright, flat colors.

my more illustrative pieces are directly inspired by transparent cubism and art nouveau, though~

10. how do you deal with artblock?

so here's the thing. i'm actually rarely ever fully art blocked in that i find myself completely stuck as to what to draw.

this is especially rare nowadays since my current job has me busy enough that i always have some personal art project in the background i want to do once i have free time.

and if i feel stuck at art at my job. i have a deadline. i literally just power through it and make it happen no matter how stuck i feel. usually i just have to figure the Right background stimulation to be able to focus (is this a task for silence, for music, for a video game LP, for a video essay, an easy-to-digest dubbed anime, or for me to stream it to friends for co-working?)

but ok. right now i'm in a kind of partial block where i just find i hate working on full illustrations and rendered work. but i'm having fun just drawing aforementioned comic and toony work of guys just standing around. so the answer is. i just draw something different bc i literally always find something i want to do.

in the rare event i AM fully art blocked i just do my other hobbies until it returns lol (gaming, prose writing, music composition.)

#ask game #im sorry i don't have very actionable advice for art block like. #im literally just built to see drawing as like eating and breathing

[caffeinesystem]

Hey there I'm Rachel/Caffeine and I draw stuff sometimes. She/her, bi/ace, less of a gym goth than I aspire to be. I was born in ye old 1990, you can do the math

I also share music I like (mostly rock/alt/metal/indie, but I am omnivorous), ttrpg stuff (love me some Chronicles of Darkness, Call of Cthulhu, and indies), book memes (currently in a Locked Tomb and Cosmere chokehold as of this post date but I'm just a general sci-fantasy slut) and a sprinkling of art related news/rambling.

I really need to make myself a carrd or something but until then here are some other places you can find that stuff:

Instagram: mostly an art mirror, also occasionally my real face and some elder millennial tier reels

Redbubble: some of my more recent art on prints, bags, shirts, all that good shit

Ko-fi: currently just free downloads of my tangle art as coloring pages. A $3+ donation will get you a sketch request as soon as I can get to it, no hardcore NSFW or fetishes pls thanks

Pexels: free surface texture photos to slap on your own art, commercial use friendly

Pixabay: free clip art. It's a little outdated, haven't updated it in literal years.

YouTube: a couple of art timelapses. My computer is dying so that will be less active for a while.

#meet the artist 2024 #pinned post #info post #skull head #sona #artist

[jules-has-notes]

The Sing-Off, s.4 ep.7 — Finale

And then there were three. But in the spirit of the holiday season, the show brought back all ten groups for one last hurrah. Most of this episode feels more like an old school variety show than a competition, but the individual performances from the three finalists are all excellent.

.

Group opener

It can be easy in the modern world to discount the impact that art has on people's lives. But in times of difficulty, we often turn to music for comfort and inspiration. If this version of Michael Jackson's classic anthem doesn't stir something inside you, I don't know what else to say.

Details:

title: Man in the Mirror

original performer: Michael Jackson

written by: Glen Ballard & Siedah Garrett

arranged by: The Sing-Off arrangers

air date: 23 December 2013

My favorite bits:

the gradual layering and building of complexity throughout the arrangement

featuring a few more soloists than previous opening numbers

the eliminated groups entering the upper stage-side boxes and from the audience aisles just in time for the big key change

alternating Emoni's gorgeous riffs and Austin's high "woo"s over the full chorus

ending the season as it began, with everyone together, and a well deserved standing ovation

Trivia:

Austin from Home Free was sick in the final days of the competition, and ended up whistling his vocal parts during rehearsals to preserve his singing voice for filming.

VoicePlay recorded their own version of this song eight years later, which ended up being their send-off video for J.None.

.

Order of performances

Nick Lachey & Jewel — "It Had To Be You"

AcoUstiKats — "Jingle Bell Rock" bumper

Ten & Shawn Stockman — "Joyful, Joyful" from Sister Act 2

Street Corner Renaissance — "White Christmas" bumper

The Filharmonic — "We Wish You a Merry Christmas" bumper

Pentatonix — "I Need Your Love" by Calvin Harris, feat. Ellie Goulding

Calle Sol — "Feliz Navidad" bumper

Home Free — "I Want Crazy" by Hunter Hayes

98 Degrees — "I'll Be Home For Christmas" by Bing Crosby

Princeton Footnotes — "Deck the Halls" bumper

Vocal Rush & Ben Folds — "Peace on Earth / Little Drummer Boy" by David Bowie & Bing Crosby

Element — "Rockin' Around the Christmas Tree" bumper

VoicePlay — "Jingle Bells" bumper

Ten — "Love On Top" by Beyoncé

Home Free & Jewel — "Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas" from Meet Me In St. Louis

a cappella 101 tutorial

five eliminated groups with Pat Benetar & Neil Giraldo — "We Belong"

Vocal Rush — "Roar" by Katy Perry

.

VoicePlay performance

[h/t to voiceplay_randomnness on IG for archiving this clip]

Give these guys forty seconds and a chance to riff on a classic song, and they'll give you three different musical genres that will all have you grooving in your seat.

Details:

title: Jingle Bells (commercial bumper)

original song: traditional American carol, first published as "The One Horse Open Sleigh" (1857)

written by: James Lord Pierpont

arranged by: VoicePlay

air date: 23 December 2013

My favorite bits:

staying true to their name by playing with the beats and harmonies

their outfits — The wardrobe department clearly had so much fun dressing them for every episode, and this is no exception.

Trivia:

VoicePlay have never recorded a traditional version of this song, but they've done two mashups that include it – "Bollywood Jingle Bells" on their 2012 holiday album "Peppermint Winter", and "Mission: Jingle Bells" as a promotional tie-in for the home media release of "Mission Impossible: Fallout" in 2018.

.

A Cappella 101 segment

Nick and the other judges may have poked fun at Ben for his vocabulary, but music does have a lot of specific technical terminology and jargon. (Props to Chris Rupp for actually offering one serious answer among the jokes.) A little wordplay never hurt anybody, though.

.

Tour announcement

I couldn't find a clip from the broadcast episode, but this promo video seems pretty legitimate.

.

Group performance

If there was one consistent theme for the whole season, it could be expressed by one line from this song: "We belong together." Dozens of talented singers coming together to create beautiful harmonies and rhythms are sure to brighten someone's day. This performance certainly puts a smile on my face.

Details:

title: We Belong

original performer: Pat Benetar

written by: David Eric Lowen & Dan Navarro

arranged by: The Sing-Off arrangers

air date: 23 December 2013

My favorite bits:

all five groups starting with traditional a cappella phonations that replicate instrumental sounds

building to a powerful backing chorus

the percussive stomping and clapping in the final section

everybody leaning in for hugs at the end

Trivia:

VoicePlay were a little starstruck performing with one of the biggest pop stars of their childhoods.

Several of the competitors joked on social media during the broadcast about Neil Giraldo bringing an instrument into an explicitly a cappella show.

.

And the winner is…

Congratulations, Home Free!

.

With VoicePlay mostly being in the boxes or in the middle of big groups for this episode, we didn't get a great look at their full outfits, which is a shame. Luckily, they uploaded a bunch of backstage photos to their Facebook page.

VoicePlay's stalwart sound guy Paul and his mom were in the audience for the finale.

Vocal Rush's videographer shot some wandering videos of the post-finale party with competitors and crew members, as well as some friends and family. VoicePlay can be seen mostly in the background of the second video.

#VoicePlay #Honey Larochelle #The Sing-Off #season 4 #live performance #a cappella #music #video #Pat Benetar #long post