Hey Deviants!

How are you guys doing? Enjoying the weather a bit?
I'm doing fine... At the moment I got exams, this is my second week (so I'm very busy, stress, frustration and all that jazz). I'm studying Graphic Design btw.

Anyway! Back to Typography:
I was about to move 350 miscats in the ASCII gallery when dA failed, and my iMac got stuck...
But looking at it now, it appears that it did got fixed somehow! I'll be moving more miscats this weekend and next week. You'll find more information about that below under ''miscats''. Please read that part so that you won't be confused when I moved your deviation.

I also changed the Headline of the Text Art issue as you see, looks better imo.

Oh and last but not least, give ^shebid some love!
As you can read in her journal here: [link]
she's having a hard time at the moment and could really use your support...

The following subjects will be in this issue:

- What is Text Art? _{in my eyes}
- The Core Values of the Community Relations (and Operations Departments)

- Critique
- Text Art Earth Day Contest!
- Daily Deviations
- Changes within the Gallery
- Miscats - Spring Clean
- What would get a DD?
- The Community
- Other CR Contests

- Text Art features for this month

What is Text Art?

There won't be a single day when you won't see text. Every day, on almost every place there is text: newspapers, television, advertisements, calendars... just to name a few.

Text is important, to make something clear. Think of an advertisement: it won't be clear without the text telling what it is about.
But to catch the attention from people, the text needs to fit nicely. Graphic designers think about the little details, perhaps you'll never notice that: must there be space? What kind of colour(s) fits with the rest of the image? Which size? Must it be bold or just regular? etc.

Graphic designers take their time to make the text perfect for the rest of the image or for the vision.

A lot of the Text Art pieces , and I'm sure you noticed that on deviantART, have a ''concept''.
Most of the time a Text Art piece consists not only text, but also a meaning behind it... a concept. What does it tell you? And also the font is very important in that matter.

There is also ASCII (text) Art, less popular here on dA than Misc. Text but also very interesting, no doubt about that. I copied this to explain the best what ASCII Art is from wikipedia.com: ASCII Art is an artistic medium that relies primarily on computers for presentation and consists of pictures pieced together from the 95 printable (from a total of 128) characters defined by the ASCII Standard from 1963 and ASCII compliant character sets with proprietary extended characters (beyond the 128 characters of standard 7-bit ASCII).

Text Art is a way to communicate, to get attention and recognition.

You can make Text Art in any digital art style! Vector, painted, pixel art... You name it.
Just like poetry there is a lot of freedom in creating text art. You can say anything you want in Text Art, but please keep it nice! You don't want people to get offended with your Text Art piece.

The Core Values of the Community Relations (and Operations Departments)

<sub>C O M M U N I T Y


We believe that our community is our most important resource and we strive to act in ways that nurture and encourage its growth, development and ultimately its ongoing success. We err on the side of the artist.


R E S P E C T


We treat each other with respect, as we believe that every staff member, volunteer, and member is a contributing factor to deviantART’s success. We acknowledge that even those that challenge our patience offer important lessons we can learn from and strive to do so.


E X C E L L E N C E


We share a passion for excellence, quality and creativity in everything we do and strive to instill these values in our community.


A R T I S T S


We are artists and we reserve time for creative expression. We recognize the importance of nurturing our inner artist, as not only beneficial to ourselves, but also integral to our connection with the community.


T R U S T


We build trust among ourselves and within the community by being true to our word. We speak honestly and with integrity and hold ourselves personally accountable to deliver on commitments we’ve made.


E M P O W E R


We believe in a commitment to continuous learning and improvement, and maintaining open, positive communication that encourages and fosters creative genius.</sub>

Critique

''You asked for it and we listened! Devious Technology is proud to officially announce the recent launch of deviantART’s newest feature – Critique. In response to community demand, Critique is designed to help artists get in-depth, critical feedback and commentary on their work.''

More information here: [link]

Text Art Earth Day Contest!

Without the Earth: the planet we all live on, we all begin and leave, we get and give love, we make art on and so go on... we would be nothing.
For almost everything you have to pay in life, but... the life you got, the life you're living now, the air you breathe through your lungs, you got for free. The Earth is free, for you to be.
We should be more aware of that. We should be more aware and appreciate that that without our little planet, and we're very lucky, we wouldn't be here.
We should make more actions to make more people aware, also for the future generation, about the current situation the Earth has to deal with (like global warming).


How?

Simple: Start with yourself, that's where it all begins...

And this is one of those actions
What would be better than a little Text Art Contest?

Find more information here!: [link]

if you note before tomorrow, I'll feature your contest entry in my journal!

Daily Deviations

I'm getting a lot of notes every day... And I was thinking: why am I not answering them all?
I hated it when I didn't had this ^ that I didn't get a reply back at my suggestion... After all, I took my time to find a piece and wrote a reason why!

So I'm going to change that. From now on, I will reply every suggestion back saying: ''Thank you for your suggestion'' because I appreciate it so much that you took the time to find something for me to give a DD to!

Please keep in mind tho that when I say ''thank you'' that it doesn't mean that I will feature it. I just appreciate your time and I cannot feature every suggestion I get I'm afraid...

FAQ #61: What is a Daily Deviation?
FAQ #18: Who selects the Daily Deviation and how is it chosen?
FAQ #873: What do I do when I disapprove of a Daily Deviation feature?

Changes within the Gallery

I've been thinking, writing and speaking with several deviants about our Text Art gallery.
I also made a poll and I was surprised by the outcome!

So far around 161 people have trouble with submitting into the gallery or they don't understand the information the sub galleries give (ANSI, ASCII, Misc. )

That needs to change.

- I'm thinking of merging ANSI and ASCII together to 1 sub gallery (due to the many miscats and both galleries are inactive... ) Yes or No?
- The descriptions need to be more clear. I want you to understand what ANSI is when you click on the ''i''.
- Perhaps even more.... BUT:

I need you to note me and tell me your ideas!
Do you have a name in mind for the ANSI and ASCII gallery? Do you have a better description? Do you want another sub gallery? Or do you want something whole different? Don't hesitate to note me please and I will listen to you

Keep in mind that every change takes time, it won't happen right away.

Miscats - Spring Clean

$chix0r: ''In many cultures, Spring is traditionally a time which brings a period of time where you take time out to give your house a good cleaning, get rid of any unwanted items which have been gathering dust for a while, and generally put everything back in it's right place.

I always hear that people consider deviantART to be their home -- I know I do -- so why not apply this thought to our devious home too?

The Big Spring Clean project is aimed at doing just that very thing. Making sure that our galleries are spick and span, and that everything is in it's right place. Miscategorised (miscats) deviations are about to feel a sweeping of brushes from all sides, and we'd like you get your sleeves rolled up to help out.

But shouldn't the Gallery Moderators be dealing with this sort of thing?

Volunteer Gallery Moderators have access to a tool which allows them to move any miscats that they may find whilst browsing, should they wish to. Contrary to any myths which may have circulated in the past, there is absolutely no rule in place which states that volunteers must move miscats. We don't think that this is fair, as we have full time staff already in place who handle reports sent in by deviants. We like to encourage our volunteers to spend their time volunteering from within the community, making sure that they are at the heart of where you can reach out to them easily, not buried in 1000s of reports.''

More information: [link]


However, even tho I don't have a lot of time at the moment, I do move miscats!
If you see something and you want it to be moved right away, note me please!

I'll be moving a lot this weekend and next week.

Things that do not belong in the Text Art Gallery are for example:

- Screenshots
- Twilight (unless it's text art)
- Photo's
- Drawings (with no typography at all)
- Text but it isn't art (text on a black background and that's it)
- Wrong category typography (ANSI work within the ASCII subgallery)


FAQ #867: Is it possible to move deviations from one page to another in my gallery?
FAQ #163: Where can I find the description to a Gallery that I want to submit to?
FAQ #208: I want to submit a piece, but it doesn't fit any of the Galleries. Can new categories be added to deviantART? If so how?
FAQ #307: What is the Deviation Storage Tool, and how do I access it? Can I temporarily hide deviations?

What would get a DD?

Very hard question. It's a matter of taste I'm afraid... But the more tools you use and the more time you take, the bigger the chance is of getting a DD.

For example Painted Typography:



Not at all made with the ''T'' but just the brush! Original, unique, beautiful and effective.


3D Typography:



Using more techniques and different programs. Not everyone can do that.
Just look at the composition! 3D always gives a nice perspective, and that's what I love.

Vector Typography:



Quality is perfect. You can work with '' Pen tool'' and the ''T''. Again: more tools!

Amazing detail Typography



The more detail and time you put in your typography work, the more stunning the end result is!

A great message



Could be simple, but very effective! Text can be a message, so make us of it! What are your fairs? Or what do you want to see more in the world? What do a lot of people hate the most? Write it down, perhaps add an illustration and be aware of the composition and the colour use.


I hope that helps

The Community

If you send me a note about typography (or an other important subject), something you want to share, it will be placed here.

--
From *inspiredcreativity :
About: Text On Path Tutorial

I made an Anniversary present using "Text On Path" to practice the effect. Here it is [link] and this version has the paths stroked (not the one I actually used): [link]


The following is a quick Typography tutorial I have been giving to a number of new artists. The idea was to walk them through the actual formatting of some text, step-by-step, in the correct order. It is for Adobe CS applications. If it is of any use, use it as you wish.


TYPOGRAPHY IN ADOBE CS3 PHOTOSHOP, ILLUSTRATOR & INDESIGN

You can do amazing things with the text in Photoshop, Illustrator, and InDesign, like warping it and apply effects to it. You can almost custom make your own font.

There are some easy fun things you can do to TYPE. You can apply all of these things to a block of Text OR to individual Characters. You can:
- change the size of the type
- change the color of the type
- rotate type
- squeeze type thinner, or stretch it fatter
- stretch type taller, or squeeze it shorter
- skew type
- flip type vertically or horizontally, or both
- raise type or lower it
- increase or decrease the space between the characters and/or between lines

You can also:
- Warp type
- convert type to shapes
- add a drop shadow to type
- Apply just about any effect your imagination can come up with

One of the easiest ways to create type effects is to run any of the default Text Effects actions that come with Photoshop on a type layer. You can access these effects by choosing Text Effects from the Actions palette menu.

Text On Path: You can crate a sinuous path, go in loops, whatever, then place text along it. The path can then be stroked or hidden. Here is a quick Tutorial on how to do it: [link]

Text Effects: [link]

WARP TEXT: [link]


The Following Example Walks You Through How To Format Text and Individual Characters.

HOW TO FORMAT TEXT OR CHARACTERS

Refer to a picture of Character Palette here: Illustrator [link] or Photoshop [link] InDesign [link]

Setting Text Size and Tracking:
With the text or characters to be formatted selected, choose the Size of the text, but also set the TRACKING of the text as you do so. Go to the Character Palette to the "A V" with a double-headed arrow under it. Tracking uniformly increases or decreases the spacing between the letters. You can stretch your title accross the page, or squeeze it shorter.

Making text or characters Taller, Shorter, Fatter, or Thinner:
• To make the text or characters Taller or Shorter, go to the Character Palette to the "T" with a double-headed arrow on the left side of the T.
• To make the text or characters Fatter or Thinner, go to the Character Palette to the "T" with a double-headed arrow under the T).

Setting Metric (Auto) or Optical Kerning:
With the text or characters to be formatted selected, go to Character palette to the "A / V" and set the KERNING to either METRIC (AUTO) or OPTICAL. Just try each one and pick the one that looks best (see my blurb on it at the end). NOTE: In Illustrator it is called Auto and in Photoshop it is called Metric.

IMPORTANT:
Whenever you enlarge a font size above normal text usage sizes, like for a TITLE, you MUST do individual kerning to make it look good. This because the font kerning was not designed for large sizes. At large sizes, the spacing between characters will not look right. The letter "o" as an example, will always look like it has too much space on both sides. Manual kerning is a fancy way of saying you are adjusting how much space is between two characters.

Manual Kerning for Large Text:
• Stand back and look at the spacing between each pair of letters for spacing that "look" to wide or too narrow. For example, the space on either side of the letter "o" will typically look too big, others look too small.
• Select the pair of letters you want to kern. Go to Character palette to "A / V" and set the KERNING for that pair. Experiment with it until it looks right. Do that as needed until the entire thing look good.


HANGING PUNCTUATION & CHARACTERS

See an example at: [link]

Because the eye doesn't "see" punctuation, it can sometimes appear that the left or right edges of a column (any block of type) (especially justified type) are misaligned. Some characters can create a "ragged" look all by themselves—think of a "W," at the beginning of a line, as an example.

Optical Margin Alignment (not to be confused with "Optical Kerning") adjusts punctuation and ragged characters by balances the edges of the columns based on the appearance of all of the characters at the beginning or end of the lines in the column. This adjustment makes the columns appear more even—even though it sometimes means that characters are extending beyond the edges of the column.

To set Optical Margin Alignment, Go To: Type > Optical Margin Alignment

I highly recommend always setting this option if you have multiple lines of text.


DEFINITIONS

Leading (line spacing): Leading (pronounced "ledding") is the vertical space between lines of type.

Kerning is the process of adding or subtracting space between specific pairs of characters. There are two different types of kerning:

• Metrics Kerning utilizes what are called kern pairs. Kern pairs contain information about the spacing of specific pairs of letters (e.g., spacing between W and A or Y and o) and are included with most fonts. InDesign defaults to metrics kerning with certain fonts, which means that certain pairs of letters are automatically kerned when used.

• Optical Kerning, on the other hand, is adjustable with the kerning control, i.e., it adjusts the spacing between adjacent characters based on their shapes. Optical kerning can be used when a font lacks built-in kerning or when more than one typeface or font size is used within the same word. The kerning control is located in the Character Palette beneath the Font Size control.

Tracking: Tracking is the process of setting the distance between letters, i.e., "loosening" or "tightening" a block of text.
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From: `roy-sac
About: Classic Nude Text ASCII and Teletype RTTY Art: [link]

--

From =Ek0s
About: ''Basically we raise money individually. Then on the night of the event, we raise money as a team and I will run for money as well. The best part is that 100% OF THE PROCEEDS GO DIRECTLY TOWARDS CANCER RESEARCH AND CANCER PATIENTS! Isn't that great? I think it's amazing.'' : [link]

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Other CR Contests

Contest Link | Deadline
Jules' & Manda's Incredible Vexel Contest #2 -April 24th
Earth and Animals Campaign - April 29th
Your Secret Garden - May 2nd
Mater Contest - May 2nd
Seeing Red - May 15th
Keith's Super Awesome Photography Battle - Sep 01st

Text Art features for this month!

Some Text Art pieces who caught the attention from the suggesters or me. Please take a look, I'm sure you'll enjoy them as much as I do

























Previous Issues:

Text Art Issue - #9
[link]

Text Art Issue - #8
[link]

Text Art Issue #7 - Peace for all humanity!:
[link]

Text Art SPECIAL big Issue #6!:
[link]

Text Art Issue #5:
[link]

Text Art Issue #4:
[link]

Text Art Issue #3:
[link]

Text Art Issue #2:
[link]

Text Art Issue #1: [link]


Text Art Tutorials





And that was it people.
Till the next time!