New Doll Section

It was only one month ago in the last newsletter for July that I said dA was going to create a new home for Dolls and Dollers. Thirty days later we have a dedicated section for Dolls including PixelArt, Tool Shaded and Miscellaneous, up and running with the Dolls moving in to their new home under the Category of Customization. It will be an exciting time as the whole Doll section grows and becomes a close knit community here at dA.

While these changes were happening, concerns were raised about the definition of the Customization Category in that the definition seemed to imply it was an area of freely downloadable items up for grabs. Within a few days a new description was created and put into place.

I would like to take this opportunity to thank $Moonbeam13 for making all these changes happen at the speed of light. Amazing lady, well done!



JPEG v PNG files for PixelArt

As I trawl the PixelArt Gallery for miscats and potential DD recipients, you regularly see PixelArt saved in JPEG file format. It is difficult trying to explain to irate artists why their work is no longer regarded as PixelArt. It is such a great pity when you see a fabulous piece of art and then realize it is totally ruined by being saved as a JPEG file. At last one of those 'must do' things has been done and here now is a visual guide which will show people exactly what sort of damage JPEGs do to PixelArt as opposed to saving in the PNG format.






Artist in Focus =ensellitis

Chris Ensell has had many years experience in creating PixelArt and is an Administrator in what is probably the world's most respected PixelArt forum, Pixel Joint. I asked him if he would like to tell us a little about himself and what it is that appeals so much to him about PixelArt.


"Pixel art would have to be my favorite of all the art styles I work with and there are a few from pixel art, vector art, photo manipulations, photography, digital drawings, painting, sketching, tattooing. Added to these, I would like to move into the areas of Flash and 3D modeling, done well this can be a remarkable art form in its apparent realism.

Pixel art will probably remain my first love, creating digital art pixel by pixel and only using a 1*1 pencil tool... How can you beat that dedication? The thing about pixel art is the precision, and the dedication. You control each and every pixel, each color is deliberate, and what can be accomplished with 2 to 18 colors amazes me even to this day. And a piece can take several months to complete, many people can't stay on one thing that long, which makes pixel art that much more special.

Being a bit of a nomad, I have moved around some, living in various cities, amongst them Chicago, New York, currently I live in Kansas City and continue to run my own business, a web design and graphic design company called Isolated Studios, which I started around 12 years ago. Recently I merged my business with XBCX, a hosting company so that we could both expand.

If I said coding to me is an art form, many may not understand what I mean. I am a PHP man. CSS and XML are also my maidens. Coding is so complicated, not everyone is suited to do it. Like any other medium of art, it can be beautiful or completely ugly. Some people, like myself, have such a strong dedication using notepad as their canvas and code as their paint. Not many people agree with me, but I will always consider coding as a very special art form.

At Isolated Studios we design for everyone and anyone. We have clients ranging from catering equipment manufacturers, wedding planners to the recording industry. We never turn anyone down. If you want a site, we want to design it for you.

We also do video editing, package design, print design... Basically, if it has graphics or has to do with the internet, we have the specialists to help you achieve your image."


Thanks to =ensellitis for taking some time out from his busy schedule to share a little of his interests and talents with us. Please don't forget to stop by his gallery and see some great PixelArt.






Daily Deviations for July