For resources week as part of project educate we have conducted interviews with some of the prominent members of our community. Hopefully it will give you an insight into how their devious minds work.

Here is our interview with `pendlestock, stockographer.

Tell us a bit about yourself, give us an introduction to who pendlestock is and why she takes photos and creates things in the name of Resources and Stock Photos. Well, my name is Molly, I'm a 23 year old Fine Art student basking in the tropical climes of East Lancashire, more specifically, PENDLE! I love taking photos of EVERYTHING but they weren't particularly good photographs and i didn't know what to do with them... but they made fantastic stock as it happens. Stock gives my compulsion some direction.

Why do you share your resources with people, what motivates you? As I said, mostly to justify my obsession But I know as a digital artist myself, freely available high quality resources are hugely important and DA has the best database of them because of generous stock artists and I like knowing I'm contributing to something that important.

What tools do you use, and how does it influence your work?
Mostly everything is photographed - at the moment I'm using a Fujifilm s5700 - and then enhanced in Photoshop CS3. Textures especially have to be altered to be suitable for texture overlay, and occasionally I do get a little creative and make them into something entirely new. Discovering photoshop has definitely increased the quality of my stock, and when I got to shoot some on the studio 350D and edit it in RAW... well, the difference was massive. I am currently saving towards a 450D

Where do you find this stuff? Well, it's pot luck really. Textures can be found everywhere, but being in a very industrial part of the country there are a lot of derelict factories, and abandoned rural buildings as people are focusing on inner city regeneration so everything else is just rotting away. They are a huge source of stock art and textures, but I doubt I'll be breaking and entering as much after falling through a ceiling this week! The stock was worth it though, and I'm sure I'll forget how much it hurt in a month Blame =ladytwiglet, she got me hooked!

The UK, as well as other parts of the world, don't seem to like people taking pictures in public places these days. Has this affected you yet? Not really. I tend to be quite discreet anyway, and well, in derelict buildings there's no one around TO object I suspect that it may affect me more if I took more photographs of stately homes and suchlike.

It appears that on at least one occasion you've partnered up when going Resource/Stock hunting. How does that change things? It makes it FUN. Donna aka rarely shoots when we are together - she is location hunting for her art photography over on . But having someone who gets equally as giddy over indoor foliage and rotting beams always helps as we really gee each other up. And she gets my shoe for me when I fall through the aforementioned ceiling _{and yes we went afterwards not before!} I don't think I'd be so gutsy by myself.

Tell us a bit about shooting models for use as Stock Images. What must one consider when approaching a person compared to a decaying building? The only time I will do model stock is in the studio - my forays into that area have otherwise been pretty poor - I think lighting is SO important. But I try to do quite unusual stock when I get access to the studio - there are about eleventy billion stock images of girls in big dresses, so I'm happy coating in eyeshadow and getting her hyper! I'm a make up artist by profession so I do love that side of things - it's not something you worry about in a derelict building!

What led you to try making your own textures by hand? What's it like? I took about fifty photographs and none of them were any use by themselves, and I was gutted. So I played around with them, experimenting with layer blending modes and opacity settings, adding gradient maps, photo filters... and just stopped when I got something I liked. It's not something I would do a lot - there are loads of talented stock providers out there who do it far better than I.
Saying that, I did technically 'make' the monoprint textures - and there WILL be more of those. Traditional print is something I am absolutely in love with - it has become the focus of my degree course - and it gives stunning results relatively quickly and in large quantities. If I could fit an etching press in my living room I would spend every penny I have getting one!

What makes a good Resource/Stock Photo? Well, basically I have a check list.
Quality - is it overly blurry or grainy? Is there excessive purple halo?
Framing - is the composition useful? Will people use it from this angle?
Lighting/Distortion - how much editing do I have to do to optimise lighting and reduce lens warp? Will it lower the quality?
My main stipulation for my stock, and anyone elses, is size. Take the photo on the highest resolution you can, and make sure it's as sharp as your camera can take it at 100% on screen. If you're scanning a texture to submit as is, or to manipulate, then scan it MASSIVE. I always scan things at 600dpi minimum.

What kind of relationship do you have with the people that use your resources and stock - do you watch for their trends/needs and source out and create textures for them? I have some wonderful people who really do create wonderful artworks. There haven't been any trends that I've seen as such, and I couldn't really say if any textures have proved more popular as it's pretty diverse. I will say though that textures I thought would never be used have been and with ace results, so as long as they're decent quality, don't shy away from submitting something unusual - it will more than likely be used by someone!

Pick a few of the Resources/Stock Images from your own gallery, and tell us the story behind them.
This is the abandoned Rest Home in Cliviger and a perfect example of what draws me to dereliction - a fireplace, in absolute pristeen condition just floating in the wall! It's so surreal to look at it IRL - I squeed very loudly!
That doorway on the first floor is where I fell through the floor Just a little to the right, so slightly off shot but that sort of balcony is where I was trying to get to - seriously guyz, it was sooooo worth it.
The full story is in the deviation description, but nothing can stress how absolutely breathtaking that place is. Memories of standing on the highest hill with and screaming while the wind almost blew through us will stay with me forever - it was an amazing experience.
The infamous monoprints - I think this one is the most popular one, probably for the forms that were created. The 'bubbles' were made by rolling printing ink onto a metal plate and then spattering it with turps. Blot it, print it... et voila!
When I say textures can be found in your own back yard - I mean it. Both of these were found in mine!

You must have some favourite resources by other deviants, care to share some?

I could go on forever. I am a texture holic!

How about work that has made use of your resources, care to share a few?
This is my 'card' in Tarot as I am a leo, and the way that the artist interpreted it is an issue quite near to my heart at present and I absolutely adored it.
This is a portrait of Fatboy, my cousin's pet sheep. I loved it so much I bought it!
Possibly my favourite deviation made with my stock. I adore the artist and the image is just so darned pretty! Plus the stock that they used (Wild Grasses pack) was the most time consuming ordeal ever so I was thrilled for it to be used in such a gorgeous way!
The actual landscape in this is a texture of mine - of peeling wallpaper! So clever and so effective.
Those that know me know I love cake. And textures. Well, this is the ultimate combination of the two, and it was a gift - could it be any more awesome?

What do you think of the Resource (and Stock!) gallery as a whole?
I think it is a wonderful collection - there is nothing that rivals it. Sure there's the myspace facers, and the icon textures (my pet peeve) but I have learned to just browse past those now. There are some days when I yearn for a new hat so I can go on a mad scrapping spree Oh yes. It would be carnage!

Any last thoughts to wrap it up?
DA stockers put a LOT of time, thought and energy into their work so appreciate them. And send cake.