Hello everyone!

Chances are if you've watched me for a while, you know I went to the Texas devMeet last year and it was absolutely awesome. So, obviously, I'm going again this year.

I wanted to give you all a heads up in case you haven't heard of it somehow. Essentially, the best minds in the universe assemble to talk about art, talk about random things, and generally just do whatever we feel like. This meet will be the pinnacle of Texan achievement, above both the defense of the Alamo in 1836 and the creation of the Lone Star brewery in 1884.

So, if you're anywhere in the United States or even in Europe (I'm looking at you $chix0r!) please take some time out on June 28 2008 for the Austin, TX devMeet.

Want more information? Click here: [link] and favourite this news!
Be sure to visit as well!

And do you want a recap of last years events? Check my journal entry: [link]

Anyway, I've got to get back to studying for finals. Just two left (Cultural Anthropology and African American Experience), but I expect to return to full swing with Artist Relations very very soon to bring you a new Vector Today among other things.

VECTOR GALLERY _{(I copied this from ^Ikue because he's a genius!)}
Vector Art is a technique, meaning art created in a vector-based program. Vector art is the use of primitives such as Points, Lines and Curves. The vector programs keeps track of the relationship between these primitives. This allows the images created, to be scaled and rescaled without loosing quality or becoming pixelated. This is in opposition to "raster (or bitmap) graphics" which is an image represented by a collection of pixels. These pixels if scaled above 100%, will degrade and loose quality.

Popular vector programs are: Illustrator, Freehand, Corel Draw, and Flash. Almost everything created with these programs is considered a vector piece. I say "almost" because there are exceptions to every rule. If your vector piece combines raster and vector images then I'm sorry to tell you but it is no longer a vector piece (and subsequently does not belong in the vector gallery). Example: If you finish your vector piece and realize after exporting it to a more web friendly version, you think it is lacking something. So you take it into photoshop and apply a simple texture to the surface of the piece just to give it a little something extra. This is no longer a vector piece, and should be posted to the "Digital art > Mixed media", gallery. Like wise if you take this raster texture image into illustrator and just apply a layer style (multiply, screen etc.) this is still not a vector piece. The common factor in these two equations is the raster texture. Since this texture cannot be scaled above 100% this makes the vector technically useless beyond that raster images original size. That being said don't think you are unable to add texturing to a vector piece. Most of these programs come equipped with detailed pattern swatches, textured brushes, and even the ability to "Live trace" which does as it's name implies, traces a raster image and turns it into a vector graphic.

Just to reiterate my point and to ensure there is no confusion here is a list of generally considered Raster Bases programs: Photoshop, Painter, MS Paint, , and a great free alternative Gimp. Basically everything created with these programs is considered a Raster image. I say use a clause simply because a few of these programs are capable of creating images with points, lines, and curves just as a vector program would. Photoshop for instance can create vector based images, however these are typically considered "Vexels" because of the fact that Vexel artists typically incorporate brush strokes into their images (for hair, etc.). Speaking of brushes. Just because you have downloaded and installed a brush set for photoshop or any other of the aforementioned raster programs that have the word "vector" in the title, does not deem your image a vector piece. These brushes come in different sizes and no matter how high a resolution they may come in, they still cannot be scaled above their 100% mark without loosing quality.

To put it simply "Vector is not a "style" like Anime, but a "medium" like charcoal. Asking what vector-art looks like is like asking what an oil painting looks like. It could look like Rembrandt, Picasso, or a fifth grader's fingerpainting."


HELPFUL VECTOR LINKS
What Are Vectors? (In-depth)
How Do You Make Vectors?
Vector Do's and Dont's


DAILY DEVIATIONS
As part of my role here, feel free to send me or ^Ikue Daily Deviation suggestions. Please note the following however:
Suggest Vector Work Only Please
Make sure the deviant has no more than 4 DDs and none were given within the last 3 months
Remember Quality over Quantity

Also, if you just want to discuss vectors or talk about events, organizations, and groups related to vectors, feel free to send me a note or drop a line here!

Hey guys,

I'm in the last stretch of finals. Just until May 10th and I'm released. I've had basically zero time to spend online, and even less time to enjoy myself.

That said, the release of Grand Theft Auto 4 is terrible with its timing. Last night I pulled an all nighter playing the game. I didn't even mean to! It went from 12 AM to 9:50 AM in one sitting. I never moved.

This game is amazing. That said, I broke one controller already throwing it against the wall in frustration... whoops! But, most of that is my fault.

If you happen to own a 360 or a PS3, buy this game. You have no excuse not to.

Anyway, I'll keep you updated as I finish up the semester! See you around!

VECTOR GALLERY _{(I copied this from ^Ikue because he's a genius!)}
Vector Art is a technique, meaning art created in a vector-based program. Vector art is the use of primitives such as Points, Lines and Curves. The vector programs keeps track of the relationship between these primitives. This allows the images created, to be scaled and rescaled without loosing quality or becoming pixelated. This is in opposition to "raster (or bitmap) graphics" which is an image represented by a collection of pixels. These pixels if scaled above 100%, will degrade and loose quality.

Popular vector programs are: Illustrator, Freehand, Corel Draw, and Flash. Almost everything created with these programs is considered a vector piece. I say "almost" because there are exceptions to every rule. If your vector piece combines raster and vector images then I'm sorry to tell you but it is no longer a vector piece (and subsequently does not belong in the vector gallery). Example: If you finish your vector piece and realize after exporting it to a more web friendly version, you think it is lacking something. So you take it into photoshop and apply a simple texture to the surface of the piece just to give it a little something extra. This is no longer a vector piece, and should be posted to the "Digital art > Mixed media", gallery. Like wise if you take this raster texture image into illustrator and just apply a layer style (multiply, screen etc.) this is still not a vector piece. The common factor in these two equations is the raster texture. Since this texture cannot be scaled above 100% this makes the vector technically useless beyond that raster images original size. That being said don't think you are unable to add texturing to a vector piece. Most of these programs come equipped with detailed pattern swatches, textured brushes, and even the ability to "Live trace" which does as it's name implies, traces a raster image and turns it into a vector graphic.

Just to reiterate my point and to ensure there is no confusion here is a list of generally considered Raster Bases programs: Photoshop, Painter, MS Paint, , and a great free alternative Gimp. Basically everything created with these programs is considered a Raster image. I say use a clause simply because a few of these programs are capable of creating images with points, lines, and curves just as a vector program would. Photoshop for instance can create vector based images, however these are typically considered "Vexels" because of the fact that Vexel artists typically incorporate brush strokes into their images (for hair, etc.). Speaking of brushes. Just because you have downloaded and installed a brush set for photoshop or any other of the aforementioned raster programs that have the word "vector" in the title, does not deem your image a vector piece. These brushes come in different sizes and no matter how high a resolution they may come in, they still cannot be scaled above their 100% mark without loosing quality.

To put it simply "Vector is not a "style" like Anime, but a "medium" like charcoal. Asking what vector-art looks like is like asking what an oil painting looks like. It could look like Rembrandt, Picasso, or a fifth grader's fingerpainting."


HELPFUL VECTOR LINKS
What Are Vectors? (In-depth)
How Do You Make Vectors?
Vector Do's and Dont's


DAILY DEVIATIONS
As part of my role here, feel free to send me or ^Ikue Daily Deviation suggestions. Please note the following however:
Suggest Vector Work Only Please
Make sure the deviant has no more than 4 DDs and none were given within the last 3 months
Remember Quality over Quantity

Also, if you just want to discuss vectors or talk about events, organizations, and groups related to vectors, feel free to send me a note or drop a line here!

Guys, I get a lot of weird foreigners on Skype messaging me, but this one takes the cake. Please read this one. It's hilarious. I have no clue what this person was on!

[1:37:01 AM] cristinemcclear says: hi
[1:37:04 AM] cristinemcclear says: how are u?
[1:37:17 AM] lemontea says: hello. doing fine, you?
[1:37:30 AM] cristinemcclear says: am fine
[1:37:35 AM] cristinemcclear says: did i disturb u?
[1:37:42 AM] lemontea says: nope im not doing anything at all
[1:37:53 AM] cristinemcclear says: oh ok. me i know ur name pls?
[1:38:32 AM] lemontea says: Clay
[1:39:12 AM] cristinemcclear says: i am cristine nice to meet u
[1:39:21 AM] lemontea says: you too. where do you live?
[1:40:13 AM] cristinemcclear says: i live in mn but this time am here in tx
[1:40:20 AM] cristinemcclear says: how about u?
[1:40:38 AM] lemontea says: san antonio tx
[1:40:46 AM] lemontea says: why you in tx for? and what part?
[1:42:05 AM] cristinemcclear says: i am here now at Emily Morgan Hotel
[1:42:18 AM] cristinemcclear says: i think u know the place
[1:43:19 AM] lemontea says: nope
[1:43:22 AM] lemontea says: what part of texas is that?
[1:44:16 AM] lemontea says: i googled it
[1:44:18 AM] lemontea says: san antonio
[1:44:20 AM] lemontea says: how weird
[1:44:31 AM] cristinemcclear says: Emily Morgan Hotel
[1:44:39 AM] lemontea says: yeah i got that chief
[1:45:07 AM] cristinemcclear says: Full-screenEmily Morgan Hotel
705 E Houston St
San Antonio, TX
[1:45:14 AM] cristinemcclear says: know the place?
[1:45:21 AM] lemontea says: nope, i never been there
[1:45:26 AM] lemontea says: i live here, why would i go to hotel here
[1:45:38 AM] cristinemcclear says: huh?
[1:45:43 AM] lemontea says: do you speak english?
[1:45:51 AM] lemontea says: i live in san antonio
[1:45:52 AM] cristinemcclear says: yeah why?
[1:45:55 AM] lemontea says: why would i need a hotel room?
[1:45:59 AM] lemontea says: think about it.
[1:46:28 AM] cristinemcclear says: no need i think i am talking to someone idiot
[1:46:30 AM] cristinemcclear says: bye

Can anyone confirm how hilarious that is? What are these people trying to pull?

Anyway, just thought I'd share that. I have more vector goodness coming up soon though!

VECTOR GALLERY _{(I copied this from ^Ikue because he's a genius!)}
Vector Art is a technique, meaning art created in a vector-based program. Vector art is the use of primitives such as Points, Lines and Curves. The vector programs keeps track of the relationship between these primitives. This allows the images created, to be scaled and rescaled without loosing quality or becoming pixelated. This is in opposition to "raster (or bitmap) graphics" which is an image represented by a collection of pixels. These pixels if scaled above 100%, will degrade and loose quality.

Popular vector programs are: Illustrator, Freehand, Corel Draw, and Flash. Almost everything created with these programs is considered a vector piece. I say "almost" because there are exceptions to every rule. If your vector piece combines raster and vector images then I'm sorry to tell you but it is no longer a vector piece (and subsequently does not belong in the vector gallery). Example: If you finish your vector piece and realize after exporting it to a more web friendly version, you think it is lacking something. So you take it into photoshop and apply a simple texture to the surface of the piece just to give it a little something extra. This is no longer a vector piece, and should be posted to the "Digital art > Mixed media", gallery. Like wise if you take this raster texture image into illustrator and just apply a layer style (multiply, screen etc.) this is still not a vector piece. The common factor in these two equations is the raster texture. Since this texture cannot be scaled above 100% this makes the vector technically useless beyond that raster images original size. That being said don't think you are unable to add texturing to a vector piece. Most of these programs come equipped with detailed pattern swatches, textured brushes, and even the ability to "Live trace" which does as it's name implies, traces a raster image and turns it into a vector graphic.

Just to reiterate my point and to ensure there is no confusion here is a list of generally considered Raster Bases programs: Photoshop, Painter, MS Paint, , and a great free alternative Gimp. Basically everything created with these programs is considered a Raster image. I say use a clause simply because a few of these programs are capable of creating images with points, lines, and curves just as a vector program would. Photoshop for instance can create vector based images, however these are typically considered "Vexels" because of the fact that Vexel artists typically incorporate brush strokes into their images (for hair, etc.). Speaking of brushes. Just because you have downloaded and installed a brush set for photoshop or any other of the aforementioned raster programs that have the word "vector" in the title, does not deem your image a vector piece. These brushes come in different sizes and no matter how high a resolution they may come in, they still cannot be scaled above their 100% mark without loosing quality.

To put it simply "Vector is not a "style" like Anime, but a "medium" like charcoal. Asking what vector-art looks like is like asking what an oil painting looks like. It could look like Rembrandt, Picasso, or a fifth grader's fingerpainting."


HELPFUL VECTOR LINKS
What Are Vectors? (In-depth)
How Do You Make Vectors?
Vector Do's and Dont's


DAILY DEVIATIONS
As part of my role here, feel free to send me or ^Ikue Daily Deviation suggestions. Please note the following however:
Suggest Vector Work Only Please
Make sure the deviant has no more than 4 DDs and none were given within the last 3 months
Remember Quality over Quantity

Also, if you just want to discuss vectors or talk about events, organizations, and groups related to vectors, feel free to send me a note or drop a line here!

200,000 bottles of beer on the wall; you take one down, pass it around, uh... 200,915 bottles of beer on the wall... hey, something's been rigged...

I just wanted to take some time out to thank everyone for helping me reach 200,000 page views. (I think that means that I am officially an internet star right?) Without you guys, my friends and watchers, I couldn't have done it.

Overall, it's not much of an accomplishment since it took me almost 6 years to get it. (My secret is interacting with the community, in case you're wondering.)

23,321 Deviation Comments
23,612 Deviant Comments
1,574 News Comments
8,794 Forum Posts

Those stats are seriously pretty creepy if you ask me! I can't believe how much I've used this site. It's basically a second home. And while I may not submit art as often as I used to (read: never), I found myself enjoying everything from IRC, to the forums, to news posts, to dAmn, and of course all of the awesome art you guys make. It's definitely been a crazy ride to this point! I hope to continue the trend interacting with the community and meeting new friends in the process!

I thought that you guys might want to see some of my more memorable journals chronicling my time spent here so I've tracked down the good ones for your viewing pleasure!

First we have all of the groundbreaking moments. Check out some of the commentary and links in these warlocks! (Oh, and I completely hold no responsibility for all the amazingly stupid things I've said in these journals, especially the earlier ones!)

125,000 Bottles Of Beer On The Wall - Feb 06
100,000 Bottles Of Beer On The Wall - Aug 05
90,000 Bottles Of Beer On The Wall - May 05
80,000 Bottles Of Beer On The Wall - Feb 05
70,000 Bottles Of Beer On The Wall - Sep 04
60,000 Bottles Of Beer On The Wall - Dec 04
50,000 Bottles Of Beer On The Wall - Jul 04
40,000 Bottles Of Beer On The Wall - Apr 04
30,000 Bottles Of Beer On The Wall - Feb 04
20,000 Bottles Of Beer On The Wall - Nov 03
10,000 Bottles Of Beer On The Wall - Sep 03
3,000 Bottles Of Beer On The Wall - Apr 03

If you recall, I joined dA officially in 2002 (although I surfed for a while). I think I was around 12 or 13 back then, so here is a chronological list of things about me that I found interesting or outright hilarious.

In Case You're Wondering - Sep 02 - My first journal
Lemon Emoticon Crusade - Jul 03 - My quest to get a lemon emoticon (we have one now!)
Poetry-ish by Me - Nov 03 - My first love poem!
Yes, This Is a # - Dec 03 - I'm now #lemontea
Scholarship Application - Jan 04 - I used this essay later to get into college
My Special Song to PETA - Jun 04 - A fun song to play to friends
No, I Don't Have a # Anymore - Sep 04 - I lost my #
My Mildly Creepy Stories - Nov 04 - Some of which were later turned into vectors in my gallery
20 Uninteresting Things About Me - Oct 05 - My first time getting tagged
18 - Jul 06 - I turn legal (and join Creative team the following day)
1 Year Anniversary of the Llama - Aug 06 - Celebrating Llama on dA!
6 Uninteresting Things - Feb 07 - Tagged again!
Sonnet Contest - Jun 07 - Odes to the Llama
Why I'm Here - Jul 07 - My frustrations with critiques
2 Year Anniversary of the Llama - Aug 07 - Celebrating the Llama some more!
Tagged - Dec 07 - Third time tagged!
2008 Clean Up - Jan 08 - A reflection on my time here
Yeah - Feb 08 - A funny look at my college life
New Hat: Artist Relations - Feb 08 - Changing things up
Tough on Vectors - Mar 08 - And here we are today!

So I hope you enjoyed that little trip through my time on deviantART. Some of those links are hilarious, some are sad, and some are so sad they're hilarious.

As an interesting note, my first journal was published at a time when there were less than 300,000 journals total on the site. Did you know there are over 17,000,000 now? Wow, keep it up guys!

VECTOR GALLERY _{(I copied this from ^Ikue because he's a genius!)}
Vector Art is a technique, meaning art created in a vector-based program. Vector art is the use of primitives such as Points, Lines and Curves. The vector programs keeps track of the relationship between these primitives. This allows the images created, to be scaled and rescaled without loosing quality or becoming pixelated. This is in opposition to "raster (or bitmap) graphics" which is an image represented by a collection of pixels. These pixels if scaled above 100%, will degrade and loose quality.

Popular vector programs are: Illustrator, Freehand, Corel Draw, and Flash. Almost everything created with these programs is considered a vector piece. I say "almost" because there are exceptions to every rule. If your vector piece combines raster and vector images then I'm sorry to tell you but it is no longer a vector piece (and subsequently does not belong in the vector gallery). Example: If you finish your vector piece and realize after exporting it to a more web friendly version, you think it is lacking something. So you take it into photoshop and apply a simple texture to the surface of the piece just to give it a little something extra. This is no longer a vector piece, and should be posted to the "Digital art > Mixed media", gallery. Like wise if you take this raster texture image into illustrator and just apply a layer style (multiply, screen etc.) this is still not a vector piece. The common factor in these two equations is the raster texture. Since this texture cannot be scaled above 100% this makes the vector technically useless beyond that raster images original size. That being said don't think you are unable to add texturing to a vector piece. Most of these programs come equipped with detailed pattern swatches, textured brushes, and even the ability to "Live trace" which does as it's name implies, traces a raster image and turns it into a vector graphic.

Just to reiterate my point and to ensure there is no confusion here is a list of generally considered Raster Bases programs: Photoshop, Painter, MS Paint, , and a great free alternative Gimp. Basically everything created with these programs is considered a Raster image. I say use a clause simply because a few of these programs are capable of creating images with points, lines, and curves just as a vector program would. Photoshop for instance can create vector based images, however these are typically considered "Vexels" because of the fact that Vexel artists typically incorporate brush strokes into their images (for hair, etc.). Speaking of brushes. Just because you have downloaded and installed a brush set for photoshop or any other of the aforementioned raster programs that have the word "vector" in the title, does not deem your image a vector piece. These brushes come in different sizes and no matter how high a resolution they may come in, they still cannot be scaled above their 100% mark without loosing quality.

To put it simply "Vector is not a "style" like Anime, but a "medium" like charcoal. Asking what vector-art looks like is like asking what an oil painting looks like. It could look like Rembrandt, Picasso, or a fifth grader's fingerpainting."


HELPFUL VECTOR LINKS
What Are Vectors? (In-depth)
How Do You Make Vectors?
Vector Do's and Dont's


DAILY DEVIATIONS
As part of my role here, feel free to send me or ^Ikue Daily Deviation suggestions. Please note the following however:
Suggest Vector Work Only Please
Make sure the deviant has no more than 4 DDs and none were given within the last 3 months
Remember Quality over Quantity

Also, if you just want to discuss vectors or talk about events, organizations, and groups related to vectors, feel free to send me a note or drop a line here!