Or Fantasy Illustration 101…
For ages, I have been wondering how to set up a manageable fan art section on the site. Not wishing to add yet another post-your-own gallery to the thousands that are already navigating in cyberspace, and fearing it could well outgrow the rest of the site, neither Dom nor I had come up with a satisfactory solution. Well, not so long ago, I found the answer… on the site itself. Someone spontaneously launched a “Theme of the Month” idea on the forum. (Stand up and take a bow, you know who you are…) Now, there thought I suddenly, is no low-watt bulb of an idea!
So, we have it.
The fan art section will open in December to celebrate the first year of the site and will work as follows. Each month a theme will be chosen (by mysterious, arcane and unfathomably inscrutable means, of course – no, seriously, anyone can propose themes on the forum, and I’ll choose) and those who wish to post a piece of artwork may do so. At the end of each month, the picture with the most votes will then remain on the site permanently. Perhaps we’ll let the “winner” pick the theme for the following month, nothing is decided yet.
I had not yet discovered the way to keep the fan art section from potentially outweighing the rest of the site, but this seems like a fun idea (at least it does to me). It also has the merit of focusing the subject matter, and rather resembles an informal commission, which is perfectly in keeping with illustrating.
Here’s how it will work:
THE RULES…
Upload your image in the Fan Art section. (Please respect the image sizes). You may of course add your own title and description.
To vote: click on the image of your choice.
Sorry, no room for comments in this section, but feel free to leave your thoughts on the forum.
At the end of the month, the image with the most votes will find a permanent home in the “Flavour of the Month” category. All the others will be deleted.
Last but not least, Dom and I reserve the right to remove any inappropriate submissions and to re-format images which are not correctly sized. (By the way, no-one is allowed to complain about the restrictions and the way it’s set up; if you don’t like how it, there are hundreds of sites for fan art! I look at it as a way to compare and exchange pictures and ideas, and if I can motivate myself, it might actually be a good excuse to drag myself away from commissions and do a sketch a month just for fun.)
THE TECH BIT:
1. Image size: Maximum of 540 pixels in width (height in proportion) at 72 dpi in jpeg format. Compression: 40 to 50 %. No bigger than 200 Ko.
2. Thumbnail size: 150 x 108 pixels (also at 72 dpi). No bigger than 20 Ko.
3. If possible, please use the same frames that are in the Portfoilo, This is a simple operation, and Dominique will supply the .ATN script on request.
4. Lost? Frustrated? It’s too complicated? Write to Dominique; hopefully he can answer whatever questions you have. Otherwise, I’m sure there will be a forum full of ad hoc advisors in no time. Hopefully we will rapidly have it all running smoothly.
THE REAL QUESTION:
Oh yes, what should the first theme be? Any suggestions? Post them on the forum, I will choose one for December.
MOVING EXPERIENCES
[url=http://www.john-howe.com]http://www.john-howe.com[/url] will be shifting to a new server on November 21st. The forum will be closed for three days while Dom the mover packs the pixel boxes and file crates and loads them into his virtual moving van. The portfolio will still be open.
(PLEASE wait for the site to move before submitting any images to the fan art section, but in the meantime, you can draw and paint away.)
GETTING BY
Went to pick up a garden implement at the local hardware the other day and addressed myself to one of the salespersons, to be greeted by “Hello Mr. Howe.” (At least it wasn’t “Hello Mr. Lee”…) Why this reminded me of something entirely different is beyond me, (I think my mind is like a concrete application of the chaos theory… ) but remind me it did.
When our son was small, I used to take him to school and pick him up at noon, walk with him back to school in the afternoon and wait for him at the end of the day. It was a welcome and regular break from the drawing board. Naturally, all the other parents awaiting kids were mothers; the fathers, being good solid steadfast Swiss fathers, being away at work. One day, as I was hanging around waiting for Dana to emerge, I overheard this conversation from around a corner.
“Do you think that young man has found a job yet?”
“I doubt it, he’s here every day, morning and afternoon.”
“Such a shame, I hope his wife has work.”
I only realised they were talking about me when I rounded the corner and the conversation suddenly shifted to another subject.
I don’t know which situation I prefer. It did help me get the best deal on a leaf-eating machine at the hardware store, though. It looks like something Schwarzie would blast Predators with, except mine is made of orange plastic. Now I too can feel like a superhero while gardening.
If only the Matrix had a line of lawnmowers…
GANDALF
More from Oscar. In case you had forgotten (I constantly do) just how detailed his work is, here is a close-up of Gandalf’s dagger. (If you can gauge the talent of an artist by the amount of paint on his hands, Oscar is definitely a genius.)
