[x]

PE: Introduction to the Digital Art categoriesHi! Welcome to the Digital Art categories central! The following article is intended to be a quick guide on the Digital Art categories to get you started, most of the descriptions included here came from past Project Educate articles (so thanks for all the current and past CVs for their indirect help :P) and will include links to more articles if you want a more deep insight of said category, as well as a list of CVs you can send your DD suggestions to. (As of December 2012, for the updated list of current volunteers you can always check this blog)
But first, what is considered DIGITAL Art?
Digital Art includes every artwork created with the use and/or help of digital software and tools. Said in simple words: art you create with a computer (or other devic

Blending: Tips and TricksHello again

In conjunction with our blending article we interviewed several fellow photomanipulators to get you the scoop on some tips and tricks when it comes to blending. Thanks again to the amazing artists who agreed to the interview, we appreciate you sharing your knowledge! This was a 3 part interview series, if you're interested in the other two links are included at the bottom of this article

~JennLaa :iconJennLaa:
Q: What is your overall process for blending and integrating different elements/stocks into your works?
A: I usually start by looking for stock with similar light sources. Then I add a color balance adjustment and possibly a curve adjustment to to get the colors to blend in well. My final step would be using the the dodge tool to add extra lighting or use a clipping mask and paint it in.
Q:<

Photomanipulation: Exploring textureTexture: We love it!
If there's one thing a lot of photomanipulators love, it's texture, glorious texture! Texture can change your entire image and make it or break it. In our community, it is frequently used for creating a "dark" effect, but it can be used to create or enhance absolutely any theme you can dream up. I wanted to share some brilliant examples of art that use textures well. I also want to provide some tips of things I've learned and direct you to some tutorials.
Let's get started!
Brilliant and inspiring

Tips for success

Use textures to highlight positive assets of the manipulation; don't use them to try to cover flaws of poor blending or cropping.
:bullet

Educate Yourself: Creative Commons Licensing!This article is a how-to on using a Creative Commons License.
First we'll start off with the basics. When uploading a deviation onto deviantART that you want other deviants to share (i.e. Line-art, Bases, or stock photos), but you don't know how to do that.
Well when you upload something, it gets automatically copyrighted to you, doesn't matter if you don't claim it as yours, you still gain ownership (except if people upload copyright violations, then that's a different story). So when uploading something you want other people to use, you may want to give it a Creative Commons License for it. How? Easy, read this and you'll learn how...
How and Where?
When filling out the information of a deviation before it's been submitted, you'll see a button on the very bottom of the submission page labeled "Creative Commons".
Image showing the Creative Commons button.
A more accurate picture showing the location.
When clicking "Choose" you'll be greeted with a pop-up s

PE: Digital Art VS other categoriesThe category system within deviantArt has the purpose to organize the thousands of artworks submitted every day and group them together in accordance to style, media, genre and/or theme, etc. Imagine deviantArt without categories, it would be a chaos! Imagine yourself wanting to browse for photography only; without the system organizing every deviation by media, you would find yourself unable to filter artworks that aren't photography in your search results.
Thus the importance of categorizing your artwork correctly. By submitting your work to the appropiate category combined with a correct use of keywords, you're a step ahead of being discovered by people wanting to search for art like yours.
All this sounds so nice and all, but what happens when a particular piece could fit in several categories? The category system as it is now is very specialized and has literally thousands of different subcategories buried down tons of more subcategories, which is both a blessing and a curse. Havi

Project Educate: Typography TutorialsTypography Tutorials
Today I want to highlight some of the Typography Tutorials you can find in Stock & Resources on dA.
Theory
Tutorials with a focus on terminology.

Basic Tools
Explanations on how to use Typography Tools in various graphic programs.

Walkthroughs
Artists sharing the way to their final artwork.

Effect Tutorials
These tutorials explain some visual effects that can be applied to achieve a certain effect with your text.
:thumb10

PE: Colour Count ConundrumThis article is heavily collaborated work between myself and ^ClefairyKid. The images are all hers, and I thank her for the use of them and the explanations she provided.
We touched on colour count loosely in the first article of the week, here, and it has been mentioned through out since. And a lot of people don't quite get what the term means, so this should be a thorough explanation.
What is colour count?
To most people, the amount of colours in a piece of art work would be viewed as "I used blue, green and purple, so 3 colours". In Pixel Art that is not the case; colour count refers to the number of unique values in a piece. Every shade of blue counts as a separate colour; if your piece is made entirely of 10 shades of blue, you used 10 colours.
Here is a visual example.

and

The first rose was created using pixel techniques as well as layer opacity change

PE Photomanip: Using Masks InterviewsUsing Masks Interviews
Good afternoon / morning, everyone!

I've got some interviews about using masks in your photomanipulations today!
Basically, masks are a way of non-destructively erasing parts of your work. Non-destructively means that it doesn't "destroy" your base image - everything you don't erase is kept and it's simple to fix it if you make a mistake. Whereas if you just deleted the parts of an image you don't want, that would be lost and it would be complicated to get those parts back in many instances. Read on for more info!

Interview with `kuschelirmel
`miontre: When is it appropriate (or how do you know you need) to use a mask in your work?
`kuschelirmel: A mask is used to get rid of unwanted parts (backgrounds on objects you want to use etc) as well as to help you blend things better, because the mask gives you control over how transparent any

Illumination: The Art of BlendingHello everyone!
At #TheArtOfManipulation, we have a monthly learning challenge in which we focus on a technique, share information regarding that technique, and then challenge our members to use what they've learned to create a new work. We also interview various artist to get tips and tricks on the chosen technique.
Although the challenge has ended, I'm hoping you'll find that the information and interviews we put together to be useful!
~Ivy

The Art of Blending

What exactly do we mean by "blending"? Well, the most basic answer to this question is that blending is when you combine two or more photos into a new work and tinker with various settings/techniques to create one cohesive, flowing image. As always, this is easier said than done.
Take one stock photo

used by two artists

Beginner =Ashe-Art

Photomanipulation-Related Submission FAQsHello everyone,
Sometimes with the flood of information these days, it becomes really easy to lose track of the basics of what you can and cannot do and what is and is not required for submission. I thought I would put together some Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) for the Photomanipulation Community. Many of these answers are also relevant to the rest of dA.
I hope this is useful as we move forward with PE: Photomanip Month!
Jade
Does my artwork need a mature tag?
deviantART defines mature content as "Mature content is considered to be anything which contains nudity, excessive violence, blood, gore, or any other potentially upsetting or offensive material" and suggests that images that are controversial, such as religion and politics, may also be considered "mature." But, the definition of "mature" is more broad than that. See :faq220:
So what does this mean for YOUR specific artwork? The FAQs also explain that: :faq554:

PE: Daily Deviations - The Myth and the LegendDaily Deviations, or DDs . . . for some deviants, receiving one is the epitome of awesomesauce in the deviantART world. For others, they are a nice way to show off the work of lesser-known artists. Still others treat them as a special way to bring attention to great art that exemplifies works being done by a particular gallery or community.
Perhaps because there are so many different ways of conceptualizing DDs, there are also many myths and misconceptions. I would like to address some of those myths by responding to the ones most frequently heard. Please note that these opinions are mine and reflect my experiences with the photomanipulation community, but perhaps they will be informative nevertheless.
Myth 1: DDs should always be perfect.
To many of us, the ideal Daily Deviation goes to an artist with amazing talent whose work draws you in and makes you think, "Wow, everyone needs to see this!" A DD should move you, inspire you, and provoke you to think, b

PE Feedback: Those dAmn Critiques!Feedback in the Forums + Chat
We have comments, official critiques, and groups - but there are two very important ways to give/receive feedback that we haven't talked about yet!
Probably two of the most under-utilized features of deviantART are also two of the best for finding users willing to give (and searching for) critiques! I'm talking about +forum and +chat (collectively known as the deviantART Messaging Network, or dAmn for short)! Probably the best way to get a feel for these two environments is to just jump right in (see below)! However, the water can be a little cold for a new user (especially if you haven't used social features like these before). So, we've decided to put together this little primer highlighting how to use the dAmn network and where to start looking for feedback!
First though, a quick reminder.

REMINDER : The Open Critique (C

PE DD Week: Why did an icon get a DD?Why did an icon get a DD?
Daily deviations tend to be a controversial topic within the community and whether or not a DD is worthy of the feature is, as such, often discussed.
As a CV for Icons & Handhelds I often find it interesting to read these discussions, since that way I can see what the community expects of the features, but the recent negativity on the Icons & Handhelds DDs is something I would like to address, which is why I'm thankful I'm given this opportunity during the Daily Deviation PE-week. I will try to explain why I think icons and handhelds are worthy of the feature and why they may be dismissed just a bit too quickly.

Let's begin at the beginning.
When deviantART first started, it was a site that mainly geared towards customization. Be it wallpapers or icons, if you take a look at some of the first DDs. So how come there'

PE Stereoscopy: Gallery Scavenger HuntWelcome to the Stereoscopy Gallery Scavenger Hunt!

Here's the challenge:
Find images in the Stereoscopy Gallery and post them in the comments section!
Click here to visit the Stereoscopy Gallery
How to Enter
Post the following as thumbs or links in the comments section of this article:

1. Find an artwork which is 3-Dimensional art (Made in a 3D package) as well as stereoscopic.

2. Find an artwork which is 2D drawn art (Digital or Traditional) as well as stereoscopic.

3. Find two stereoscopic images by the same artist.

4. Find an animated stereoscopic image

5. Find a stereoscopic picture with a mirror or other reflective surface in it.
Here's a template:
1: :thumbcode:
2: :thumbcode:
3a: :thumbcode:
3b: :thumbcode:
4: :thumbcode:
5: :thumbcode:
Prizes:

PE Stereoscopy: How do I make a stereogram?How do I make a stereogram?
Have you checked out our tutorial for taking your own stereo photo?
Think carefully about the type of stereogram you want to make, and follow the instructions below:
Anaglyph
Anaglyph is the method of viewing stereoscopic images using those funny colored glasses. The reason it's still quite popular is because you don't need a special monitor or TV to view it, the glasses are quite cheap, and most people have access to a pair somewhere.
Anaglyph glasses come with lenses in a wide variety of colors. Most people associate anaglyph with Red/Cyan glasses which have a red lens covering the left eye, and a cyan (a kind of bright bluey-green) lens covering the right eye.
In actual fact, many color combinations will work, it's just most people won't have glasses that can see them. You can check out other c

Browse More Like This

more ▶

Featured in Groups:

#projecteducate
Learn our deviantART ABC's

#DevNews
News 'til Hell freezes over

Details

Submitted: October 21, 2012
Submitted with: Sta.sh Writer

Link

Thumb

Statistics

Comments: 33
Favourites: 20 [who?]
Views: 919 (3 today)

[x]

Illuminating Animal Manipulations

Sun Oct 21, 2012, 1:51 AM

Photomanipulation Month

I'm sure we all know about the fantastic human-based manipulations that #projecteducate has been featuring throughout the month so far, so I wanted to bring to light my corner of the manipulation genre - animal manipulations.

I personally specialize in equine manipulations (where a horse is the main subject). Equine photo manipulation makes up a large chunk of the non-human manipulation community. It's pretty much the only thing I have photo manipulated, and I've been doing it for about 6 years. Most equine manipulation artists come from two main sources - role playing games (RPGs) and online horse sim games - but many have now moved past those and manipulate for the love of horses and the love of our art form.

The photo manipulation genre, especially in animal-based manipulation, has a little stigma surrounding it - some people believe that our art form is "easy", or that it's frivolous and lacks substance. I'll share some of my fellow manipulators' thoughts on this and on our art form.

"Well, a lot of people who aren't in the community seem to look down on equine and lupine manipulation. They think it's just mainstream, or something people are doing to try to get popular. Maybe, that's true in some cases; but for the majority of us, we do it because we truly love the subjects. Horses, wolves, tigers, or whatever it may be. It's done out of a love from the heart, not a want to get noticed or popular. The sincere love of the art is what drives us to perfect it and work on it for years and years, some of us the majority of our lives, long after others have given it up and moved on. It's a passion, for me. I may have my ups and downs, but equine art heals me. " =foolishsunsets

"You can use an extreme range of emotions on a non-human manipulation with any animal/pose you chose to use. It gives you a lot more creative freedom and you learn to understand atmospheres and colors and how they'll affect everything - where as with a human manip you're limited to the expressions of the models or even the poses available to give a specific emotion. With, say, a horse he could be rearing and you could illustrate that he's angry, sad, heart broken, happy, giving up, challenging life, etc. With humans you have to find the right 'expressive' pose for the feelings you want to express in an image." *manicmondays

"I'm not that great but, I've spend on and off about 10 years manipulating. I'm 100% self taught and I can tell you, learning the art of photo manipulation is JUST as difficult to learn and involves just as much practice as any other medium. At this point, I've even been offered positions as a teachers aid for graphics classes. I like my story because it goes to show that you CAN learn from scratch and go from "nothing" to "something" if you put in the hours, and without the expensive courses and classes. If you have a dream, pursue it.
I wish others (not all others, but most others) could see that what we do does indeed require skill. We're not just copying and pasting images together... we're creating something different out of something else. Almost like sculpture. Plus, it requires the same amount of knowledge in colour, placement, concept and vision. We still try to capture the intensity of our feelings, only, we use other imagery means to portray that intensity. Good manipulations still tell a story, maybe even more so that your average painting." *xXNamaste

"The one thing I love about working with animals(mainly horses) is there is a lot more freedom in it, or to me anyway. You can go crazy with the fantasy, lol. Horses are such beautiful creature, they evoke all sorts of emotions in a person, and that's the reason I work with them so much." *CharlieAngel

So in a way, animal manipulations require just as much skill, if not more, and can portray just as much emotion as human manipulations, digital paintings, or traditional art can. I myself spend over six hours per equine manipulation - that's as much time as a full-blown, colored, full-body piece of digital art takes in some cases. Animals require just as much painting over and modification as humans do, if not more - humans have hair, but horses have double the hair on their manes and tails and other animals are just furry all over and that often requires entire repaints. Photo manipulation today has really expanded and fused with digital painting - some digital painting is now a standard part of photo manipulations.

Typically, I've noticed animal manipulations take one or more of the following paths: realistic, painted, emotional, or fantasy. Because of the work involved in creating manipulations, each manipulation artist really has his/her own unique style, each of which leaves its own powerful impact. Let's take a look at a few that keep with this month's theme, "Illumination". Really take a look at each one and you'll feel the emotions portrayed with the unique style of each artist.

:thumb324140975:

:thumb320591148:

Each of these pieces of art was a labor of love. Imagine all of the hours that were put into each one. So many of them show strong emotions - longing, freedom, sorrow, joy, pride.

If you'd like to see more fantastic animal-based manipulations, I strongly recommend you take a look at the art in these groups:

Equine:

- has some wolf manips as well

Other Animals:

It really does take a lot more practice than it might appear. Give it a try yourself one day - this is really a fantastic and fun genre of art with so much possibility. You might surprise yourself in how much creativity animal manipulation allows.

33 Comments

Illuminating Animal Manipulationsby ~letrainfalldown

Journals / Culture / Projects

As part of #projecteducate's Photo Manipulation Month, I have illuminated the art of animal photo manipulations. Enjoy, and feel free to comment or give feedback!

I apologize for the formatting issues on the last line - Sta.sh Writer doesn't seem to want to cooperate.

love 1 1

~~joy 0 0~~

~~wow 0 0~~

~~mad 0 0~~

~~sad 0 0~~

~~fear 0 0~~

~~neutral 0 0~~

~rhapsody-in-bleu Apr 7, 2013 New member Hobbyist Digital Artist

_{I know it's been a long time since this article has been posted, but I've just stumbled upon it and would really like to thank you for writing it. As an animal manipulator myself, I have gone through my fair share of public scorn simply because many people just don't understand what it means to manipulate like this community here on dA does. I know I'm not nearly as skilled as the artists you featured here, but honestly - thank you. Reading this article made me proud to be an animal manipulator}

~FervidsHand Nov 5, 2012 Professional Digital Artist

Thank you for feature me in such a wonderful piece, I am truly flattered!

~letrainfalldown Nov 6, 2012 Student General Artist

You're very welcome!

*CharlieAngel Oct 26, 2012 Hobbyist Digital Artist

That was a great article!

~letrainfalldown Oct 26, 2012 Student General Artist

Thank you so much!

~raviyn Oct 26, 2012 Student Digital Artist

First of all, LOVE the journal skin. I thought I was looking at a HQ journal for a second there! xx
Second, I really, really enjoyed reading. It's so inspiring to read all of that, I didn't even know I was down about manipulating and to know that I'm not alone with the haters is great. <3
Last, thank you! You've no idea what those words mean to me. As an artist and person. <333

~letrainfalldown Oct 26, 2012 Student General Artist

Awwww, thank you so much!

And you're welcome.

BTW, the journal skin was an "official" one that was made by $Moonbeam13 and published in the group - I just made a few edits so that it worked and looked better.

~raviyn Oct 26, 2012 Student Digital Artist

Haha, yeah I just found it.

Thanks!

~letrainfalldown Oct 26, 2012 Student General Artist

You're welcome, and thank you again!

~StrayBlackSpirit Oct 25, 2012 Digital Artist

^{Great article! I really enjoyed reading it
Thanks for the feature btw}

More from ~letrainfalldown in News

Featured in Groups:

Details

Statistics

Illuminating Animal Manipulations

Illuminating Animal Manipulationsby ~letrainfalldown

The Journal Portal

Polls

What is your preferred drawing software?

deviantART [dee·vee·un'nt·ART]

Keep in Touch!

Deviousness

Add Media

Style