RULES FOR USE OF MY STOCK

If you use any of my stock, you must credit me in your artist's description and notify me of each stock use.

MAKE AN EFFORT. Changing the colour, dropping a filter or texture over, conversions to black and white or adding a frame is NOT A MANIPULATION. Do not submit derivative works to the photography gallery. Violators of this rule will be reported.

Please, respect my models. Do not make sexual remarks or lewd comments. You will be reported for this behaviour.

No one is permitted to use my stock in deviations that promote hatred towards animals, people, religious groups, races, or any other act prohibited by dA policy. Use of my stock in pornography or fetish images are also unacceptable. You ARE allowed to use this stock in religious/spiritual devotional work so long as it does not condemn other religions. This stock provider does not care who you pray to.

dA Prints are ALLOWED. Feel free to submit your work as a print, provided you have followed the above regulations. Please notify me so that I may add it to my wishlist. OTHER commercial products NOT provided by deviantART require my written permission.

You may post derivative works containing my stock offsite in personal websites, portfolios, forums or what have you PROVIDED you credit me as you would submitting your work here.

Have fun already!

I've not been around much, so I apologize for not being able to comment or add your deviations to my favorites lately. I've also not been able to shoot any new stock, due largely for lack of space in my apartment during the holidays.

Anyway, this new year just started, and I've already been dealt some evil blows from low places. I don't really want to share too much about it, but suffice it to say that patience does have an end. After such a long period of putting up with abuse, I have to put my foot down some time. This has nothing to do with stock, or art, or even dA, but strikes on a much more personal level.

I wish I could explain what I mean. Someone I love very dearly, a family member, is very sick. This person has been mentally ill for so long, and despite old wounds healing and toughening they are still capable of delivering fresh new ones. I know they aren't solely to blame due to the illness, but it doesn't stop me from feeling terrible and used all of the time. If they said something to hurt me, or a sibling, that comment still cuts deep even if an hour later that person denies they even said it...then chooses to deny it further by saying "well, okay I said it, but you have to learn to let go of it. I can't have that guilt on me."...well. That's nice for them, but I still feel the wound, and they deserve to feel the guilt for it. I've run out of patience for all of this. It's abuse, and even if it means I have to let them go and cut them out (no matter how badly that hurts) I guess I have to.

My siblings and myself, we've taken quite enough of this. No more patience; hurting others is not okay. Pretending it never happened is not okay.

Unfortunately as a result of dealing with all of this though, I have not been feeling terribly inspired lately. Please forgive me. I will try to be more communicative when I've figured things out and gotten over this. I know I'm not alone, so all of you out there that are feeling this too--I'm there with you. So are my siblings. It helps to have that strength in numbers.

In the meantime, before I can bring you new stock or a more cheery journal, how about some features of things that do not suck.

-Ash

RULES FOR USE OF MY STOCK

If you use any of my stock, you must credit me in your artist's description and notify me of each stock use.

MAKE AN EFFORT. Changing the colour, dropping a filter or texture over, conversions to black and white or adding a frame is NOT A MANIPULATION. Do not submit derivative works to the photography gallery. Violators of this rule will be reported.

Please, respect my models. Do not make sexual remarks or lewd comments. You will be reported for this behaviour.

No one is permitted to use my stock in deviations that promote hatred towards animals, people, religious groups, races, or any other act prohibited by dA policy. Use of my stock in pornography or fetish images are also unacceptable. You ARE allowed to use this stock in religious/spiritual devotional work so long as it does not condemn other religions. This stock provider does not care who you pray to.

dA Prints are ALLOWED. Feel free to submit your work as a print, provided you have followed the above regulations. Please notify me so that I may add it to my wishlist. OTHER commercial products NOT provided by deviantART require my written permission.

You may post derivative works containing my stock offsite in personal websites, portfolios, forums or what have you PROVIDED you credit me as you would submitting your work here.

Have fun already!

It has come to my attention that some stock artists are making life difficult for other artists, such as myself. (Aaaand vice versa, of course.) I am familiar with the numerous problems that stock artists face, because I am one. I know your frustration over how much time has gone into creating stock images all too well. However, a simple re-examination of how your stock rules are worded can probably ease frustration a bit on both ends.

I speak now not as a stock artist, but a frustrated artist. I have the utmost respect for artists who are able to publish commercially and keep track of each credit for each item in an image and go out of their way to make sure each stock artist is notified and permission gained for each new upload, etc. There is absolutely NO reason someone like that deserves any crap from any stock artist.

Lately, I've been developing a series of images that I intend to be able to sell copies of separately from dA.

In my search I have noticed that some stock artist's rules are horribly unclear as to whether or not people differentiate between commercial use and noncommercial use. It interests me how I read the words "PRINTS ALLOWED" and "NO COMMERICIAL USE" within the same rule set. I sit, and boggle, and wonder if prints are being traded for seashells or barter or other such thing as to not incur a monetary gain. I find myself puzzling over it so long that I wind up noting the stock artist, and more often people are okay with me selling prints...but if I were to sell a book cover or cd cover design then THAT would be considered commercial, and thus a big no no. So, now I am left wondering how high the print run has to be before it's considered commercial, and if materials created matter.

I don't have a problem following the stock rules of others because I understand and respect copyright law, but could we attempt to make them a little more clear? This doesn't apply to everyone, of course.

Additionally, if you aren't active in your stock account anymore...could you please store your images and throw in the towel? There's no point leaving an image up with restricted rules on a dead account. People who want to use your work cannot reach you. There's nothing wrong with having restricted rules, so long as when you say "note me with questions" you're actually going to answer the damn note. Dead accounts are my current bane.

My other current bane is the sheer number of accounts that I have to play Marco Polo with in order to find their rule set. Guys-- here's a clue. If you want your stock used (and most stock artists do), why on earth would you HIDE your terms of use? No one wants to play the copyright hide and seek game.

My long story short, I wish to propose a trade of commercial licenses between stock artists who also make art. We give so much to the community, it's hard to be able to afford a commercial license. (at least for me.) You'd never have to ask me for commercial purposes, just show me what you've made and that it keeps with the rest of my rules. ( No hate art, no porn, credit where possible) I will happily fill out any forms you need if your publisher requires it. (have also done this several times in the past )

Can anyone help a girl out? I'm hardly working and the one shot I have at earning a meager income is hard to obtain. I'd do (and have done) the same for you guys. I am finding that I am starting to pay for commercial licenses for images at a time just to make sure the art I make is okay for sale in places other than dA. ( like conventions or festivals )

Are there any stock artists out there willing to help me in my quest for images I'm allowed to print off-dA? I've already spoken with some of you guys.

Just my mild frustration for the week. Back to crafting go I! Sorry for the scattered and disjointed rant.

-Ash

RULES FOR USE OF MY STOCK

If you use any of my stock, you must credit me in your artist's description and notify me of each stock use.

MAKE AN EFFORT. Changing the colour, dropping a filter or texture over, conversions to black and white or adding a frame is NOT A MANIPULATION. Do not submit derivative works to the photography gallery. Violators of this rule will be reported.

Please, respect my models. Do not make sexual remarks or lewd comments. You will be reported for this behaviour.

No one is permitted to use my stock in deviations that promote hatred towards animals, people, religious groups, races, or any other act prohibited by dA policy. Use of my stock in pornography or fetish images are also unacceptable. You ARE allowed to use this stock in religious/spiritual devotional work so long as it does not condemn other religions. This stock provider does not care who you pray to.

dA Prints are ALLOWED. Feel free to submit your work as a print, provided you have followed the above regulations. Please notify me so that I may add it to my wishlist. OTHER commercial products NOT provided by deviantART require my written permission.

You may post derivative works containing my stock offsite in personal websites, portfolios, forums or what have you PROVIDED you credit me as you would submitting your work here.

Have fun already!

If you don't know how difficult it was to judge this contest, then you need to know that I have literally been sitting here an hour a day for a week trying to figure out which entries had such spirit that it knocked me backward. (And that is how they were judged. On the spirit of the piece, the emphasis on technical ability was significantly diminished this time around. Also, if you followed the rules of the contest you had a better shot at winning.) 'Historical' accuracy and evidence of research (beyond the ever-popular wiki quote lol) also had to be taken into account, which benefited some and damaged others. Artist's comments that contained pertinent information were read and considered as part of the piece. The trouble is, there were about half of these pieces that contained the spirit I was looking for, so weeding them out was rather heartbreaking.

To every entrant I can offer this: I was unable to comment fully on your entries to be fair, and if you would like me to offer critique or more significant comment I am more than willing. I will warn you though, I cannot tell you why your entry did not place specifically because it may cause anger, so I can't tell you that. If you cannot handle criticism, you probably just want to stick with the longer comment deal. Just let me know.

On to the Winners. Please help me in congratulating the following outstanding artists:

First place is awarded to =Renilicious


Incidentally, it was also the first entry to the contest. This one was also far and away the favorite of Pagan friends whom I asked to look at the entries and give me their impressions. The juxtaposition of sword and quill is a very powerful one; in fact it's so eerie I'm not sure what to say about it, but it's as if somehow the artist managed to tap into the same spirit that has called me forth as well. Congrats.

Second place is awarded to: *Shyada

Oddly...the second entry to the contest. This is spooky, guys. I could not resist this frightening and awesome depiction of the Badb; she looks like a crimson death flower. Part bansidhe, part corvid, and a guardian of death. Certainly a lively and carefully crafted piece.

Third place is awarded to: ~JuanCSilva

For a simply unique and outstanding depiction of Manannan macLir. I was quite struck by the freedom of the brush strokes here, which were as the confined chaos of the sea itself. The image is blended well, and the use of color was most effective in depicting Manannan as the very spirit of the Sea, even though this is not his sole function. The artist also used solely stock that I provided, and that is quite a feat.


As an added surprise, I would like to name three honorable mentions who get an A for effort and other reasons:

Congrats to *nitchwarmer*Aseamlessbond and =Pickyme
Each of these three has won an exclusive stock pack from me.

And now I must recover from the headache that was eliminating some seriously beautiful artwork. A very sincere thank you to everyone who took the time to participate. This contest turned out to be less "mini" than I had intended. Winners will receive notes soon.

=Renilicious wins:

-One Stock Request (to be fulfilled to the absolute best of my ability)
-Pack of stock images from the requested set for YOU AND YOU ALONE.
-A News Feature written by =suntanna
-8x10 Print from my Art Gallery
-2 Exclusive Stock packs from me
-1 Custom Manipulation by me (*Lindowyn)
-3 Month Premium deviantArt subscription from =Grinmir-stock
-Journal Features from: me, =Grinmir-stock, =suntanna, `Elandria, =CSnyder
-Poem About the Winning Entry by *Faoiltiarna-Wolf
-1 Exclusive Stock Pack from =Grinmir-stock
-3 Exclusive Stock Packs from *HiddenYume-stock
-1 Exclusive Stock Pack from `Elandria
-1 Exclusive Background Prize Pack from =Funerium found here: [link]
-1 Exclusive Stock Pack from *frozenstocks


*Shyada wins:

-5x7 Print from my Art gallery
-1 Exclusive Stock pack
-1 Custom Manipulation by me (*Lindowyn)
-Journal Feature from me, =Grinmir-stock, =suntanna, `Elandria, =CSnyder
-Poem About the Winning Entry by *Faoiltiarna-Wolf
-1 Exclusive Stock Pack from =Grinmir-stock
-2 Exclusive Stock Packs from *HiddenYume-stock
-1 Exclusive Background Prize Pack from =Funerium found here: [link]
-1 Exclusive Stock Pack from *frozenstocks


~JuanCSilva wins:

-5x7 Print from my Art Gallery
-1 Exclusive Stock Pack
-Poem About the Winning Entry by *Faoiltiarna-Wolf
-Journal Feature from me, =Grinmir-stock, =suntanna, `Elandria, =CSnyder
-1 Exclusive Stock Pack from =Grinmir-stock
-1 Exclusive Stock Pack from *HiddenYume-stock
-1 Exclusive Background Prize Pack from =Funerium found here: [link]
-1 Exclusive Stock Pack from *frozenstocks

Thank you to everyone that offered a prize, a feature, or mentioned the contest to others. My notes are being written, so if you contributed you'll see one soon and if you're a winner you'll see one soon.

RULES FOR USE OF MY STOCK

If you use any of my stock, you must credit me in your artist's description and notify me of each stock use.

MAKE AN EFFORT. Changing the colour, dropping a filter or texture over, conversions to black and white or adding a frame is NOT A MANIPULATION. Do not submit derivative works to the photography gallery. Violators of this rule will be reported.

Please, respect my models. Do not make sexual remarks or lewd comments. You will be reported for this behaviour.

No one is permitted to use my stock in deviations that promote hatred towards animals, people, religious groups, races, or any other act prohibited by dA policy. Use of my stock in pornography or fetish images are also unacceptable. You ARE allowed to use this stock in religious/spiritual devotional work so long as it does not condemn other religions. This stock provider does not care who you pray to.

dA Prints are ALLOWED. Feel free to submit your work as a print, provided you have followed the above regulations. Please notify me so that I may add it to my wishlist. OTHER commercial products NOT provided by deviantART require my written permission.

You may post derivative works containing my stock offsite in personal websites, portfolios, forums or what have you PROVIDED you credit me as you would submitting your work here.

Have fun already!

I'm an artist, sortof. I like art, and I like attempting to translate emotions into something visual. Sometimes it's not 2 dimensional; sometimes it's in 3d like theatrics. I try to think outside the box, because I'm not really sure I got a box to begin with.

Mom and dad are both artists. Mom doesn't have an account here, but my dad does. ( ~TimBryner ) He does a lot of abstract sort of paintings, and likes to work in three dimensions. His paint strokes have texture that he leaves on, and sometimes he incorporates unusual found objects into his work. He didn't go to school for art, and I daresay that his irreverence for the 'rules' is evident. It's also what makes his work unique; he tries to capture color in emotion. That's what's different about my dad.

Mom is different; she went to art school and got an AA for design. She's very talented, but her drawings lack the emotion that my father makes up for in leaps and bounds. I've always looked up to her because I felt that her "proper" and rule abiding way of doing things was correct. Though both parents were very critical, and neither taught me a damn thing. No, wait. Mom once attempted to teach me how to draw eyes. My sisters and I, as the progeny of two artists, learned by observation. Somehow though, I still felt painfully deprived. In art classes, the students would get angry at us because we made something that looked, in their opinion, better than their own. Just because something is technically correct doesn't mean it's something I'd be proud of.

In fact, that's my current problem. When I joined dA, my powers of observation ("this goes next to this...and sticks thiiiis much further out than that..." ) were the only tools I had at my disposal. Really, the preciousness of it all is frustrating. Without proper background in anatomy and how things actually look, I felt like I was spinning in a circle and not going anywhere. I could make shapes that resembled the right one...but my perspective was always confused. Friends were excited about my drawings, but I felt like they were hollow. They were based off a photograph and had very little life of their own...like a more tedious version of what a scanner might do. Right now, that is my biggest artistic battle. I'm tired of making copies and trying to breathe life into something, and I'm struggling with color theory. I sat through a lecture today given by visiting artist Caroline Lathan-Stiefel ( [link] ) and started hating the fact that I can't translate my visions in the same way. Nothing I do will ever impress either of my parents, but this learning process isn't for THEM.

This leads me to another current problem. I am currently enrolled in a drawing-for-nonmajors class at Towson because I wanted to learn the basics and how to actually draw without dragging my hand across the paper which creates some foggy little blob of a subject. I feel like I'm actually progressing and learning, but with each exercise the class is getting progressively angrier with me. Tonight, the teacher asked me if I wasn't secretly a Senior Painting student or something while the class was quite vocal about the fact that I was pissing them off. I've got some news for them: My art isn't good. I'm learning. I am only just learning to express myself now that I'm getting the basics. And they're adults, and this childishness is unbecoming.

Want proof? Today we had one hour to draw ourselves in a mirror from observation, at a 3/4 turn, using the methods we learned earlier in class.
This is what mine wound up looking like: It's somewhere between me, a Native American and a Spanish Conquistador. I even drew a goatee on myself for fun at one point. It's mediocre at best, but I guess in a room where everyone was drawing footballs with lines through them I was an easy target for anger.


My parents were always hard on me (and my siblings) when it came to art. It's hard to hear things like that when you're growing up, but I've developed a thick skin about my work because of it. I've learned to appreciate both a flaw, and a beautiful flaw...and that they both have a place in art. It's okay to scribble and make mistakes.

My goal for the upcoming year is to be less afraid of digital painting...and ordinary painting...and just earn the freedom to color outside the lines without having a conniption. *sigh*

The Irish Deities Mini Contest is ending at midnight tomorrow EST( midnight November 20th...which I guess technically makes it the 21st?). Please make sure you have read the contest rules CAREFULLY before making your submissions.

You can see the rules, prizes, info, and entries here: [link]

BREAK A LEG!

I lack the vocabulary to express what strikes me about them...but they struck me hard.

RULES FOR USE OF MY STOCK

If you use any of my stock, you must credit me in your artist's description and notify me of each stock use.

MAKE AN EFFORT. Changing the colour, dropping a filter or texture over, conversions to black and white or adding a frame is NOT A MANIPULATION. Do not submit derivative works to the photography gallery. Violators of this rule will be reported.

Please, respect my models. Do not make sexual remarks or lewd comments. You will be reported for this behaviour.

No one is permitted to use my stock in deviations that promote hatred towards animals, people, religious groups, races, or any other act prohibited by dA policy. Use of my stock in pornography or fetish images are also unacceptable. You ARE allowed to use this stock in religious/spiritual devotional work so long as it does not condemn other religions. This stock provider does not care who you pray to.

dA Prints are ALLOWED. Feel free to submit your work as a print, provided you have followed the above regulations. Please notify me so that I may add it to my wishlist. OTHER commercial products NOT provided by deviantART require my written permission.

You may post derivative works containing my stock offsite in personal websites, portfolios, forums or what have you PROVIDED you credit me as you would submitting your work here.

Have fun already!

It has come to my attention that Bethany Beach, DE (my home town) is currently under water. I shouldn't be laughing.

Anyway, my uncle got up at dawn and took these photos:

SC_0448.jpg"

SC_0437.jpg"

His website: [link]

(I realize those photos are larger than my journal and look ridiculously wide...LOL, but I can't fix it so...)

Now, I won't say that it's necessarily because no one has made any entries to the Irish Deities Mini Contest depicting Manannan MacLir. Necessarily. I mean, that would be PREPOSTEROUS. UNHEARD OF. RIDICULOUS. But you must admit it's a strong coincidence!

Please help appease the -not that often angry- God of the Sea! I can't even say this without laughing.


Seriously, folks. The dudes are seriously underrepresented in your entries. I know some of you have them in the works-- but to the rest of you guys HERE'S YOUR SIGN!




You can see the entries so far here: [link]