August 10, 2005 marks the day that the newly created received its fame. While some people laughed, others went into a panic. Llama Day was a day of mixed emotion for many, but for the few special clowns in #clowntown, it was a hilarious time for the community.

Who would have thought that a 43 x 97 llama could fuel the fires of deviants? Revenge, plotting, outrage, disgust -- these were all things developed on August 10, 2005. This day marks the special journal, which launched the llama emoticon into deviant stardom: The Llama Conspiracy.

For those who have seen my journal for a while, you've probably seen that lone stamp. "Llama = Conspiracy". Was the llama a tool designed to insult and hurt the community? Was there some master plan behind it all? Would the shoutbox ever be safe again?

To cut it short: no, no, no. The llama was created out of sheer randomness. On that fateful day before receiving my seniorship status, I mentioned to +spyed and lolly that the lack of a llama was a "dire situation" and that "[llamas] are an important part of life" and they agreed.

No less than 10 minutes later, `neo-the-foxycoon had an impressive emote lined up for use. It was huge. It still is huge. And it was hilarious. And it still is. And then it was made an emote. And it still is. +spyed called $mccann and asked him to restart the entire dAmn server, just to see it in action. ~logey had the luck of being (probably) the first person on deviantART to get her page llamanated (I'm sure she felt proud). A tribute to the llama, designed by ~a-r, was even made a part of deviantWear history: [link] . The llama has since appeared on many deviantART products, so be sure to take home a piece of history. You can find the llama in the Moods system as well, in case you were feeling particularly llama-like.

The llama, to this day, remains a 43 x 97 statue of deviantART excellence. Every August 10, I wish for you to celebrate Llama Day with a full heart and lots of laughter. Make sure you give your friends, family, and love ones a special treat on this very special day:

A .

Thank you.

_{(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 its 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
No DD's were given within the last 3 months to the same artist
Remember Quality over Quantity
Including a reason for selection and a thumbnail is helpful

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!