Director of Artist Relations


Hello!

The purpose of Artist Relations is to strengthen the community spirit as well as network with fellow artists so that we may bring outside opportunities to you, and help you to hone your skills. The Gallery Directors are the first people you should go to regarding your galleries. They are the people you need to make gallery suggestions to, and ask questions about your specific genre, or seek knowledge from. They also act as your lifeline to the administration. They are here to support and listen, and I can tell you we've got incredibly talented, devoted and passionate people on this team, so get to know them!


Miscats are to be reported using the "report violation" button not by submitting a ticket to the help desk. Doing so floods the desk and decreases the efficiency of the HD team by having them filter through cases that they can't do anything about. Miscats are dealt with by myself and the Artist Relations team and we get hundreds of reports a day so please be patient, expecting a 24hr turn around on a miscat you report is not realistic. Currently we have about 4,000 miscats we're dealing with and that's hitting them daily. I would like to point out the most common miscats we're noticing:

- tradional art is being flooded with digital art
- screenshots in wallpaper
- webcam shots being submitted as deviations, these are scraps.
- people shoving their work into anthro because it's the first available category in the submission list.

You are all responsible for helping us to keep the galleries clean and organized. This is a community effort and it's absolutely ludicrous that we should be moving thousands of images around for hours when we could be better spending our time constructing projects, contests and other interesting events for you. So take the time to read the descriptions and help us to make deviantART better.

Thanks to IT our mature content filter is now working properly in thumbs and we can now put MC thumbs in journals and news items without further issue.

The 2006 Street Photography Contest Results are in!

Check out this awesome Photography workshop opportunity being held by our own =DavidLawrence

This is a really neat community driven project called deviant directory - ~DevDirectoryA-Z, ~DevDirectoryGenre, ~DevDirectoryRegion.

IMPORTANT - If you have an complaint about a gallery director, disagree with their daily deviation choices, the way they handle the gallery, or some other thing you feel you can't discuss with them one on one, then I am your next step. Feel free to send a note or email me at moonbeam13@deviantart.com In the case of daily deviations, if you choose to belittle the artwork on the actual deviation page instead of following the procedure of contacting the gallery director or myself, you may find yourself banned as this is a violation of deviantART etiquette policies. Consider that a warning. Thank you.

Miss an edition of the newsletter? Check out my journal

Looking for contests? Find a list of all AR sponsored contests here




The Key System
As you can see at the very bottom there is a Key System. The way this will work is simple. If you have a specific inquiry or suggestion for a specific department, begin your comment with the appropriate Key Code, that way we can search the page and compile them and address them.


Artisan Crafts

Hi People!

It's been a while since an update but I'd like to go over a few basics with you and hopefully get those new to dA familiarized with Artisan Crafts and perhaps get some others interested as well.

We have forums! Please visit here to check it out!

The Artisan Crafts FAQ can be found here

How to suggest a DD Please also remember I do not take Traditional Art suggestions AT ALL! You need to forward these to ^zeruch, ^oedalis, ^alchemism or ^De-Profundis

The AC Resource List can be found here and you can add to it with links, and if it is a country/state specific resource, please be sure
to let me know.

If you have immediate questions I can most often than not be found at the Official AC Chat Room here If I am not there, please be sure to drop me a note as I will get to them ASAP. Also please say hi to the chatroom operators *wolfsax and *Scott-French, who have shown themselves to be regulars in the chat and if I cannot answer a question, they should be able to help you or point you in the right direction.

Our Gingerbread Contest is over! Be sure to check out the winners!


If you are interested in seeing other news articles pertaining to Artisan Crafts, check here!


On February 9 at 9 PM Pacific Standard Time (please check your time zones to see what time for you) I will be holding an Artisan Crafts Community Meeting to discuss the latter half of changes to be made to the gallery. This new time will ensure more people can attend, as some people have stated they cannot make the Saturday meetings.

I will be out of town from February 21 to the 28 for a trip to Chicago for work.

CUSTOMIZATION

Icons

It's a new year and the Icons Gallery is in a renovating mood. Iconists and icon watchers alike, please take a moment to check out some of the ideas for cleaning up the gallery proposed in camelhijackation and ipholio's news article here,and my journal here.

Working together as a community means any transitions will be smooth and the end result a rich composite of all of our best input. Read, mull over the proposals and questions, comment, discuss, note me in private and/or write a journal of your own elucidating your ideas. Let's spiff the place up, shall we?


Wallpaper

Hello all you schmexy wallpaper people. Just a few things to remind you about this newsletter.

Life progresses as normal in the Wallpaper Gallery, but stand by your beds as in the next few days I'll be reviewing the categories within the gallery. It has become apparent that we are missing some categories dealing with Photography and Urban landscapes, not to mention that it is becoming increasingly evident that we do actually need a miscellaneous catch all section, much though I would like to avoid it.

It is also apparent that as technology has progressed, widescreen resolutions are becoming the norm, so I will be removing the specific widescreen category and revamping the submission requirements to include all the standard and widescreen resolutions on the market. The idea behind this is to make browsing for your wallpapers by type rather than just by resolution much easier. Obviously this is something that needs to be seriously considered before making the changes, so if there are any objections from you the community then i will be taking them into consideration. I am not about to change anything that would affect the community in anything other than a positive way. This would not affect the Dual Display section right now, and obviously you are still free to post dual display wallpaper packs in the usual sections as normal.

Please note me with any suggestions for categories or objections to the widescreen changes.

Finally, a quick reminder that SCREENSHOTS, ie anything which contains your OS, icons or anything else from your desktop, belong in the Customization > Screenshots Gallery and not the Wallpaper Gallery.

See you next time!

z.


DIGITAL ART

Vector Art

I'll start with something not directly related to Vector Art but I'm excited about the new Vexel gallery now that it's a go; in addition to giving dedicated vexel artists a specific home here on dA it should help somewhat in keeping Vector Art free of mis-categorised submissions that feature a mixture of raster work with some vector. For anyone interesting in posting to Vector Art the rules concerning the inclusion of raster elements are quite clearly laid out in the submission summary when you're submitting but it's worth going into some detail again, especially now with a Vexels gallery as an obvious option.

Miscategorised artwork and moved deviations
We've always had problems with mixed-media pieces being submitted to Vector Art and while some confusion is understandable - it's only the background so I guess it's okay... right? - the rule is that Vector Art is for vector art, simple as that. Ideally the gallery should feature work with no raster elements at all and certainly no placed photographs, a scanned background, Photoshop brushes or any raster-only filters (in Photoshop especially, but also in Illustrator and other similar software).

Remember: if you do want your pieces in Vector Art then just make 'em vectors

Now, with the advent of new software and some of the new features for established programs like Illustrator and Flash, it can be very difficult to tell for sure whether something is actually entirely vector (or in extreme cases whether it's a vector at all!) I'll usually give someone the benefit of the doubt but if I move one of your pieces and it is entirely vector then it should be no problem to post some proof in the form of a wireframe screenshot and/or some enlarged details; I'll require those in some cases.

Mixed Bags
Since February of last year I've been featuring a monthly selection of interesting pieces from the gallery to help highlight many of the fun,creative or just plain slick vectors the gallery has to offer. July's was the first to feature a single theme: vehicles; August's was animals and September's was people, before returning to a representative cross-section of the gallery's subject matter.

February
March
April
May
June
July - vehicles
August - animals
September - people
October
November
December
January

Look out for a new selection at the beginning of every month.

Thanks again to the many fans of vector art here on dA who have helped bring some of these artists and their work to my attention, you've been a great help


Manga/Anime

Hey people!

Not really much to mention because we are just keeping a steady pace cleaning the report desk and galleries up still. We have one problem however. Dishonesty with DD suggestions. We remind you again - suggesting your own work, with a separate account is against the rules! (we have sneaky devious ways of finding out this information, so no matter how smart you think you are, you don't know what we know ) We will see to it, that everyone who does this sneaky, selfish thing will never get a Daily Deviation! Thats right kiddies! Selfishness is a one way ticket to ban city. Do yourself a favor and suggest someone else. You get credit for suggesting, but also, you bring yourself to our attention my suggesting work as well, so we will more than likely check out your work as well, and you might get a DD that way. Better than being banned from DD's isn't it?

On top of that, make sure the work you suggest is in the Manga/Anime category. not digital art, not traditional art, Manga/Anime category! Got it? I hope so, because the other week I have 7 DD suggestion notes in one day and not one of them was for Manga/Anime. I cried a river of blue salty tears... just so you know. If you don't know who to suggest to, check the faq! FAQ #18: Who selects the Daily Deviation and how is it chosen?

Stay friendly muffins


Photography

Have you been checking out the photography news lately? If not, you're missing out. There are lots of helpful how-to tutorials, contest announcements, and other features. Hard-working, diligent-browsing deviants have also boiled down some of the categories to their favorites. For instance, check out:

• Still Life
  
• Food and Drinks
  
• Fashion
  


To name just a few. There are plenty more great reads in the photography news. And if you think the news section is missing something, you can write that article yourself.


Fetish Photography

Just a heads up about the mature content flag. Please note that any and all images being uploaded to the Fetish gallery are now being marked mature automatically, and this is a non-reversible action. It is because of the nature of the gallery. It is to safeguard young eyes and even though not every single image in the Fetish gallery contains nudity or adult content, this is the safest and easiest way for us to cover all bases. If you feel strongly that your image should be able to be seen by everyone, and the theme isn't so strong that it should be marked mature, perhaps there is another category that it could fit into, such as emotive portraits or something similar. If you have any questions regarding this, or aren't sure where to place your image, please note me directly.

Please keep your DD suggestions coming. Don't forget that I feature fetish, glamour and pin-up images, but if you see something that you think I'd like in fashion, emotive, self-portrait or any other portrait gallery, please let me know as well.

Gallery Highlights







RESOURCES

Stock Art

Q. How can you help with Recats ?
A. By posting in the correct Category Recats – Pictures in the wrong category that have to that have to be Re-Categorized

Gallery Directors have access to a report that lists any picture that you ( the deviantART community) have reported as being in the Wrong Section or Broke Section Rules. ( Hint - It helps if you put the reason why you think it’s in the wrong category )

Gallery Directors have a tool that allows us to move the picture to a new category

I usually move the incorrect one to scraps (it’s faster due to the tool) and indicating where they should be posted ( okay .. sometimes I get in a rush and don’t do that, so forgive me )

In addressing Stock Recats in particular

It’s not exactly fun moving picture after picture after picture .. Especially if it’s some stock photo girl with 100 grainy pictures making the same kissy face at the camera .. (In which case it should stay in scraps / which I do indicate always in a non judgmental but professional way I hope )

But if it’s a good stock picture in the wrong category and you get placed in scraps - please place it in the correct one ( it’s important because you want people to be able to find your good stock)

Any one reading this ever had your pictured moved ?

I know I have .. I hope the experience was not brutal .. It was not meant to be .. It’s a big job trying to keep our Stock Gallery organized and I so appreciate the stock community and the love they show to me David ^radioPooh and Sandi ^oibyrd

We are there to support you and represent you on deviantART ..


Traditional Art

I have worked out a target date of either April or May for a group show at Barefoot Coffee Roasters, where I did a solo run last November. The idea being that it will be a show for DA artists that want to have their pieces shown there and have prints at DA; let me know if you are interested, and are willing to mail me candidate items (once selected), I will take care of logistics and make sure labeling and promotion of your name at the cafe is done. Details are being hammered out this week.





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To direct your comments towards the right gallery director, optionally prefix your comments with the following acronyms:

PREFIX LEGEND

AR: for Artist Relations
PH: for Photography
AN: for Photography > Artistic Nudes
FP: for Photography > Fetish
SP: for Stock Photos
DA: for Digital Art
3D: for Digital Art -> 3 Dimensional Art
AA: for Digital Art > Anthro
DF: for Digital Art > Digital Fantasy
PM: for Digital Art -> Photomanipulation
PA: for Digital Art > Pixel Art
ANI: for Anime
AC: for Artisan Crafts
COM: for Comics and Cartooons
CON: for Contests
DI: for Designs & Interfaces
FL: for Flash
ICN: for Icons
POE: for Poetry
PRS: for Prose
ST: for Skins & Themes
TA: for Traditional Art
VP: for Visualization Presets
WP: for Wallpaper
RES: for Resources
FR: for Fractal Art