Welcome to Volume 2 of Do's & Dont's for the vector gallery. Do's & Dont's is a bi-monthly article that will help explain what is and isn't allowed in deviantART's vector gallery. In this issue I'll help clear up some issues I've noticed with Text Art, W.I.P.'s and Retouching your vector works. Where as none of these are "wrong" there is a "right" way to use them.


Text Art:

Don't post Text Art in the vector gallery. I can understand the thought process there: "But text is technically a vector, what makes it not eligible for the vector gallery?" Simple, there is a text art gallery made specifically for your artistic creations involving text. So while yes, text is technically a vector object, it does not belong in the vector gallery. If you stop to read the gallery description you would see there is a suitable gallery or sub-gallery for each artist endeavor.

Do post your Text Art to the Text Art Gallery. And please feel free to contact the director for the Text Art gallery if you have any Text Art questions. I'm positive they will be happy to help you in anyway way they can.




Work In Progresses:

Don't combine your Work In Progress images with the finished piece. This goes for "before and after" shots as well. These images are usually screen shots taken by your computer. They are not vector works and do not belong in the vector gallery. Before and after shots usually show the picture you got your inspiration from either next to or under the finished vector. These are also raster images and as you should know by now, are not allowed in the vector gallery.

Do post a link to the work in progress shots or before shot in your deviations comments. One of the greatest things an artist can do is show his or her process while working on a piece. This offers inspiration and a unique insight into the artists mind. I love people who post these helpful hints, however there is a place for everything on deviantART, and along side the finished deviation isn't it. If you are posting your W.I.P.'s, Before shots, path-works or your detail shots then please utilize your scraps gallery. After you have posted those to your scraps feel free to give a link to them in your finished deviations comments. If you are in fact posting the images solely to show other deviants your thought process then consider the content, you may want to compile them all into one image and post it as a vector tutorial. Which coincidentally has it's own gallery as well.




Retouching/Finishing Touches:

Don't "retouch" your vector pieces in photoshop or some other editing software once you are finished with it. Adding glows and effects are all well and good but these can easily be created in the vector program. You shouldn't rely on outside sources to achieve your desired effects. If you have made adjustments to your vector works outside of your vector program it technically voids your vector piece. Effects made in photoshop are raster based and as such, your "vector" image may be relocated to a more suitable gallery.

Do use photoshop (or some other editing program) to crop and resize your deviation. Keeping things a specific size and resolution can be crazy, so once you're finished feel free to resize your deviation outside of your vector program. There are also other subtle changes that are allowed such as desaturation or adding a border. However please understand that you can achieve most (if not all) of these "subtle changes" inside your vector program no problem. I don't encourage these sort of effects simply because people tend to get carried away with these effects and end up changing the entire composition of their image. If you are going to add an effect to your image I implore you to try and create it using vector methods before you switch to an outside source. You will really be surprised with all you can achieve with a little extra work and patience.







And finally:

Do browse the Vector Tutorials Gallery for your specific vector program. There are some extremely helpful walkthroughs in there. But I beg you, please stay away from anything that invites you to use photoshop brushes or layer styles. The vector gallery isn't the only one under a plaque of miscats.

Don't hesitate to contact me. If any of this is confusing and you need a better explanation please feel free to drop me a note. I'll be happy to speak with you one-on-one to help clear things up.