Hey everyone, Deamond here~

We got a lot of comments and questions about 'Why did you deny my work?' 'Is my work that bad?' 'What are you guys doing?!' so I think it is the best to explain a couple of things here =) (This is NO RULE!! xD It is just a try to make you clear what we are doing when you submit art.)

I'm pretty sure you all have noticed already, that since the launch of the group-system and since we allow to submit art here in the gallery, our inboxes get flooded with deviations from the different groups we all are in. Partly there were days in which I got 5 new deviations from artists I watch and over 100 from the 3 groups I'm in.

Our group got a lot of notes that this was just too much and we noticed it ourselves as well. So we had two choices: Rising the limit of deviations per week or rising the submission-standards. As it is hard to keep track on who submitting something already this week and who not, the first one was no option.


So, what does this mean, we 'raise the standard of submissions'? It means that we want to see heart and effort put into it! It has nothing to do with skills, but we want to see that you really sat down and thought about what you were drawing.

I will give you some examples, so you understand better what I mean =)

(Text added due to misunderstandings: )
These examples are for MY case! It wouldn't use me anything to upload them as I know I didn't give my all. So if I actually want advice or critic, it will be useless on these.
It doesn't mean your pictures have to match a standard! Again: We are NOT judging upon skills!! Please remember this. We can't look into people's heads. We try to make it fair for anybody. (*added text: end...lol)

Speed-Paint: Ary and Ledah by Deamond-89 <- This would NOT be accepted. Why? Because of what I already stated in the artist-comment... it is a SPEED-paint. There is no details at all in it, almost no background, etc...

In contrary to this: Chibi-Led and -Dea by Deamond-89 Fine shadings and even though there is not much background either, there was attention paid to every single detail.

NO: Frosta - Bodymodeling by Deamond-89 Wallpaper Ifrit by Deamond-89


YES: Start of a new Era - Sketch by Deamond-89 Leda by Deamond-89

It is hard to tell the difference soemetimes? Yes it is. That is why there is no clear line between 'Denied' and 'Not Denied'. Some of our mods might think that a certain work is allowed to be in the gallery while others say it could have more detail, effort, whatever.

To make it fair, a deviation needs 3 positive or negative votes to be either denied or accepted. Means, if 3 mods say it is okay, then it will appear in the groups gallery! But if 3 mods say 'Nya, I think it could be better' then it won't.

To submit sketches is probably the hardest as most of them get rejected, but of course if a sketch looks absolutely stunning, it will get through ^^

Another reason why we deny submissions is if you put it into the wrong category. A lineart belongs to LINEARTS, a sketch to SKETCHES and a tutorial to TUTORIALS. Same goes for colored linearts, homeworks, etc...

We don't have to handle that Screen-shot, art-theft, tracing-subject again. I think the previous journals made things for this clear :giggle:



What we are doing is NOT judging your skills! We don't say 'Your work sucks, go home' or 'This isn't good enough for our standards!'. All we are saying is, that you could have put a little more effort into it ;P It has absolutely nothing to do with your skills.

Remember, we are not a showcase but a community to help you improve your work. Your main-goal shouldn't be to get your stuff up into our gallery, but to gain from the experience others can offer to you.


It is hard to make anyone happy. The one side says they don't want their inbox flooded, the other side says they want their art submitted. We try to find a good way so both sides are happy but this means to sometimes accept, that we cannot submit a certain piece of work to our gallery.


Please understand this and don't be angry at our moderators (who are doing an awesome job in my opinion! Thanks for everything guys!) if one of your works gets rejected. :heart::hug::glomp:


Regards,

Your MangaAcademy-Team
If You Haven't Noticed Already Deamond and Alera just put up their NEWEST LESSONS!! :excited:  Time to Learn..

Deamond89    Cloth-design n Ornament Lesson by Deamond-89

Alera-Chan

Reminder that the CSS Contest ends January 25!!

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CSS Contest :eager:

We need a Journal CSS and what would be better way then hosting a contest!
It starts Now!! :love:

Winner will Recive a Full Year Sub to dA :nod:
1 year sub 1st Given by jpmeister

Contest Due Date January 25 (If any one feels they need an extention please feel free to note me :3 )

Requirements..

-CSS must contain the Mascots at either the Header or Footer!! (Contest Entries can use the Mascots and download them! - They're at the top of the home page.

-Remember Contestants...looks aren't everything. If you can manage to create buttons for the following...

<Submit to MA>
<MA Rules>
<About Us>

Plus any other that would be beneficial to the club that would rasie your chances of Winning ;)

Besides that, keep watch if any other requirement comes up...but pretty much go ahead and go crazy with it! Have Fun! :love:
To gain understanding about copyright, check the bottom. :)

1) We shall not accept any copy or traced work from official art work (especially copying a picture that is from something like an anime fanbook/artbook or a screenshot). And no, just linking back to the original source is not enough.
2) We will not accept anything that had used screenshots in the deviation in any way.

Copied and traced work is still plagiarism and people have gotten in trouble for it. (It's the art version of plagiarizing from another person's essay or even from your own essay sources. Hence, the reason why MLA is very important...not just for school but also for life and to protect you from the law.) They are NOT fanart.

What is acceptable is to go through dAPoses or another stock club for whatever thing you need, read the stock artist's rules (only of the stock artist that you chose for the meantime), use the stock to help you get the pose down then turn that pose to whatever character you wish. That is standard for millions of people. (I am in awe with those people that can draw using their mind 100%...but that must have taken tons of training...)  

However, if you wanna post your copies and traced work...the admin says it's okay to even put them in the scraps. Deviants themselves have said...put them elsewhere....or just keep them to yourself.

You can learn from copying and tracing work. That is actually true. Copying and tracing can be very helpful. (There are even teachers that says this and people have been able to 'see through another set of eyes' due to this and have even improved in their other interests.) However, what I would do is keep them private. Think of copying and tracing just a step... like a presketch...not in any way a final result.


Screenshots is also a similar case. You can get in major trouble just be using official work even if it's a collage wallpaper. (Seriously, collages has always been an iffy part in art in general.) Actually, even if you create something using a generator, that can be a problem. If it's a face generator, keep it in scraps since the character is still yours.

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This pretty much applies to all genres and art forms. Just linking back is clearly not enough. People can sue you even if you link the source. Actually, putting up the source makes it more readily to be taken down. I'll explain.

Always ask for permission if you WANT TO reproduce a picture you don't own for practice AND WANT TO SHOW YOUR WORK OFF even if it's NOT for commercial use. Otherwise, it's still considered stealing.
a) Instead, you can always take the picture yourself.
b) Personally, I rather go through stock first. They have rules you can read which covers 'getting the permission' part because the answer would be there already and since stock is made to be used by other artists. If you don't get the answer in their rules, ask them. They make their stock TO IMPROVE YOUR ART.

You may get yes and you may get no. There are people that LOVES THE BIG COPYRIGHT and there are people that LOVES THE CREATIVE COMMONS.

People who say no even for NON COMMERCIAL uses would probably be the BIG C (COPYRIGHT) people. Even if you reproduce, release it online, link the source...you can still get sued for not asking for permission.

Actually, for the big companies, it's probably better to avoid though because their a big business compared to where you maybe one person. You can e-mail but whether they will read it is perhaps another question. And since they're a big company, they can sue you for thousands of dollars. You don't wanna get into debt that way. (Hehe...the maybe cost of another four (or eight) more years of college at least that you can't even get anything out of it from....) I know that can be the cost of merely stealing a song...and that's just for non-commercial use. And don't think that 'they have not complained' covers it either. What happens if they actually discovers it? And dA probably will not even help you if you are in big trouble.

Then there are people, like myself, that likes creative commons. They say yes for non-commercial uses. You may actually not see creative commons around but asking permission can be a big difference. Actually, even for artists that may say yes, they may not like it if you skip asking permission in the beginning. Learn more about creative commons here... creativecommons.org/

And sadly, this site is an American site. As long as you're here, it's like you're in the United States. You must follow our rules even if your country follows a different set.



Essential for all authors of manga: the screentones. Sometimes hard to find, here is a small summary of resources on the internet ...

(original journal here > bakenekogirl.deviantart.com/jo…)

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“ Screentone ( or Halftone ) is a technique for applying textures and shades to drawings, used as an alternative to hatching. In the conventional process, patterns are transferred to paper from preprinted sheets, but the technique is also simulated in computer graphics. It is also known by the common brand names Zip-A-Tone (1937, now defunct), Chart-Pak (1949), and Letratone (1966, from Letraset). ”


Screentone


:bulletred: A traditional screentone sheet consists of a flexible transparent backing, the printed texture, and a wax adhesive layer. The sheet is applied to the paper, adhesive down, and rubbed with a stylus on the backing side. The backing is then peeled off, leaving the ink adhered to the paper where pressure was applied.A screentone saves an artist's time by allowing quick application of textures to line art where a hand-shaded area would not be reproduced in a timely or acceptable manner. Much like halftone, the size and spacing of black dots, lines, or hatches determine how light or dark an area will appear. Visual artists need to take into account how much an image will be reduced when prepared for publication when choosing the pitch of a screentone.

Screentones can also be layered to produce interference patterns such as moire effects, or to simulate multiple sources of shadow in an image. Different styles of screentone exist, variously intended to depict clothing, clouds, emotions, backgrounds, gradients and even objects such as trees. While the sheets are most commonly produced with black ink, there are also varieties in solid and patterned colors.Screentones can also be modified by lightly scratching the backing with an X-Acto blade to produce starbursts and other special effects.

Screentones are widely used by illustrators and artists, especially for cartoons and advertising. Use of the original medium has been declining since the advent of graphics software and desktop publishing, but it is still used, for example, by some Japanese Manga authors (Deleter and Maxon are common names within this specialty). While computer graphics software provides a variety of alternatives to screentone, its appearance is still frequently simulated, to achieve consistency with earlier work or avoid the stereotypical appearance of computer-generated images. It is sometimes accomplished by scanning actual screentone sheets, but original vector or bitmap screen patterns are also used.


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:bulletred: Digital halftoning has been replacing photographic halftoning since the 1970s when "electronic dot generators" were developed for the film recorder units linked to color drum scanners made by companies such as Crosfield Electronics, Hell and Linotype-Paul. In the 1980s halftoning became available in the new generation of imagesetter film and paper recorders that had been developed from earlier 'laser typesetters'. Unlike pure scanners or pure typesetters, imagesetters could generate all the elements in a page including type, photographs and other graphic objects. Early examples were the widely used Linotype Linotronic 300 and 100 introduced in 1984, which were also the first to offer PostScript RIPs in 1985.

Early laser printers from the late 1970s onward could also generate halftones but their original 300 dpi resolution limited the screen ruling to about 65 lpi. This was improved as higher resolutions of 600 dpi and above, and dithering techniques, were introduced. All halftoning uses a high frequency/low frequency dichotomy. In photographic halftoning, the low frequency attribute is a local area of the output image designated a halftone cell. Each equal-sized cell relates to a corresponding area (size and location) of the continuous-tone input image. Within each cell, the high frequency attribute is a centered variable-sized halftone dot composed of ink or toner. The ratio of the inked area to the non-inked area of the output cell corresponds

to the luminance or graylevel of the input cell. From a suitable distance, the human eye averages both the high frequency apparent gray level approximated by the ratio within the cell and the low frequency apparent changes in gray level between adjacent equally-spaced cells and centered dots. Digital halftoning uses a raster image or bitmap within which each monochrome picture element or pixel may be on or off, ink or no ink. Consequently, to emulate the photographic halftone cell, the digital halftone cell must contain groups of monochrome pixels within the same-sized cell area. The fixed location and size of these monochrome pixels compromises the high frequency/low frequency dichotomy of the photographic halftone method. Clustered multi-pixel dots

cannot "grow" incrementally but in jumps of one whole pixel. In addition, the placement of that pixel is slightly off-center. To minimize this compromise, the digital halftone monochrome pixels must be quite small, numbering from 600 to 2,540, or more, pixels per inch. However, digital image processing has also enabled more sophisticated dithering algorithms to decide which pixels to turn black or white, some of which yield better results than digital halftoning.


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:bulletred: Typical resolution of screentones


The resolution of a halftone screen is measured in lines per inch (lpi). This is the number of lines of dots in one inch, measured parallel with the screen's angle. Known as the screen ruling, the resolution of a screen is written either with the suffix lpi or a hash mark; for example, "150 lpi" or "150#." The higher the pixel resolution of a source file, the greater the detail that can be reproduced. However, such increase also requires a corresponding increase in screen ruling or the output will suffer from posterization. Therefore file resolution is matched to the output resolution.

Screen Printing 45–65 lpi
Laser Printer (300dpi) 65 lpi
Laser Printer (600dpi) 85–105 lpi
Offset Press (newsprint paper) 85 lpi
Offset Press (coated paper) 85–185 lpi


( Wikipedia original context: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Screento… )

:bulletwhite:More explanations > www.dtp-aus.com/hlftone.htm


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:bulletred: 1st choice, Buy on internet.


- Software -


Photoshop > see tutorial and brush


Manga Studio > is aimed at designers manga. The interface of Manga Studio is located in the line of Illustrator. The software multiplies the tool palettes. He offers many features: management layers, converting bitmap drawings in vector mode, multiple tools, brushes or effects, a wide selection of models of pages, and several features to work faster (scripts, use of several instances of the same design ...)

:bulletwhite: Manga Studio ($) > my.smithmicro.com/win/manga/in…


Powertone > is made by the same company made Manga studio. It is a filter plug-in for Photoshop and ComicStudio 2.0, so you can tone your page in Photoshop. Though the tone is not vector base, if you mess up, you have to retone it all over again. Powertone only work in Japanese OS. To use it, either you have a Japanese computer, or set your computer to Japanese mode.

If you own Manga Studio 3 EX, the powertone is come in free as bonus plug-in (Inside install disk 3. It change name to computone in English version.) The free computone only work as filter under Manga Studio, and it can't work in Photoshop. It's different from the tone insdie Manga Studio tone menu. In extra computertone filter, you can set the tone to white ink color instead of only black.

:bulletwhite: Powertone ( Japanese Site $) > www.celsys.co.jp/products/pt/i…


- Screentones ready for use -


:bulletwhite: Letraset Manga ($) > www.letraset.com/ ( This is an ideal introduction for Screentone novices! CD and print. )

:bulletwhite: antarctic-press.com ($) > www.antarctic-press.com/html/v…

:bulletwhite: AKA ($) >  www.akadot.com/categories.php?…

:bulletwhite: Maxon ( Japanese Site $) > www.e-maxon.com/

:bulletwhite: Deleter ( Japanese Site $) > www.deleter.jp/


There are plenty of other ...


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:bulletred: 2nd choice, Freeware on internet.


- Software -


Pixa

Pixia, the original Japanese Edition was created and developed by the author, Isao Maruoka, but has also been aggressively raised by its fans, which makes this software to be quite unique and different from other tools.

:bulletwhite: "Pixia" > www.ne.jp/asahi/mighty/knight/


Texture Processor is a program for creating various textures. He allows to get practically unlimited quantity of complex textures.

:bulletwhite: "Texture Processor" > www.softpedia.com/get/Multimed…


The Rasterbator is a software ( Online or Downloadable ) that allows creation of large halftone type posters

:bulletwhite: "The Rasterbator" > homokaasu.org/rasterbator/&nbs…;


- Screentones ready for use in Devianart -


:bulletred: The links below include free screentone, but the use of some requires a permit! :bulletred:


:bulletwhite: In DA > browse.deviantart.com/?qh=&sec…

:iconbakenekogirl: > bakenekogirl.deviantart.com/ga… :iconpinkcamellia: > pinkcamellia.deviantart.com/ga…

:iconscreentones: > screentones.deviantart.com/ :iconshimmen-iero: > shimmen-iero.deviantart.com/ga…

:iconnirakone: > nirakone.deviantart.com/galler… :iconkyouyatsu: > kyouyatsu.deviantart.com/art/S… kyouyatsu.deviantart.com/art/S…

:icontrashpandadeluxe: > jekylnhyde.deviantart.com/gall… :iconamegoddess: > amegoddess.deviantart.com/art/…

:iconskybase: > skybase.deviantart.com/gallery… :iconwyldflowa: > wyldflowa.deviantart.com/art/H…

:iconcospigeon: > debi-chiru.deviantart.com/gall… :icondebh945: > debh945.deviantart.com/gallery…

:iconkabocha: kabocha.deviantart.com/gallery…


- Screentones ready for use in internet -


:bulletwhite: Chotto.art.coocan > chotto.art.coocan.jp/tone-.htm…

:bulletwhite: Aya's tone book > gui.walraven.org/screentone/

:bulletwhite: Screentones > psychobob.xepher.net/screenton…

:bulletwhite: Computer screentones > www.geocities.com/kiraseldon/s…

:bulletwhite: Japenese Tones > www.f-child.jp/mp/file/pc/soza…

:bulletwhite: SCOF Kurse > www.scof.keepfree.de/basteldow…

:bulletwhite: Fillamanga > fillamanga.netfirms.com/screen…

:bulletwhite: Milano Aoyama > www.geocities.co.jp/Milano-Aoy…

:bulletwhite: Photoshop patterns > haruusagi.gozaru.jp/NewFiles/p…

:bulletwhite: Yokohama Patterns > yokohama.cool.ne.jp/alisato/ch…

:bulletwhite: Screen Tones > saisaibatake.ame-zaiku.com/scr…

:bulletwhite: Screentones Depot > www.mangatutorials.com/tut/scr…

Mandichan

> shounenaigo.comicgenesis.com/t…


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:bulletred: 3rd choice, Tutorial and other for create your screentone.


There are also a lot of tutorial on the Internet:


:bulletwhite: In DA > browse.deviantart.com/?qh=&sec…

:bulletwhite: In Google > www.google.fr/search?sourceid=…

:bulletwhite: Create your screentones with Manga Studio > bakenekogirl.deviantart.com/ar…

:bulletwhite: Halftone Screens and Dots > www.dtp-aus.com/hlftone.htm

:bulletwhite: Video tutorial for Photoshop > video.google.fr/videosearch?rl…

:bulletwhite: Learn to create halftone shading with Adobe Photoshop > www.melissaclifton.com/tutoria…

:bulletwhite: An Easy Method for Making Custom Halftones in Photoshop > www.digitalartform.com/archive…


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:bulletred: 4th choice, Other methods


A sheet of paper, pencil, scanner and let's go! With a little imagination you can find it.


- the white ink -


Create your screentone

Create your screentone


- Painting Pad -


step 1

step 2

step 3


I thought it was pretty clear that stolen work MUSN'T be submitted to the gallery, but as the mods found out, we actually had one in our gallery, let's make a rule out of it =P I removed the artwork right away but for the future:

Each member that submits a stolen piece of work will be banned without warning.

I think anyone agrees with me that stealing art has NOTHING to do with improving or art at all! It is an insult at the original's artists hard work. People who submit such things shouldn't be in our group. We are a group of artists that are eager to learn new things about drawing. I wouldn't want this group to become a source for art-thieves T_T

So~ Things said...

Hope you guys had a nice Christmas! ;P

Regards,

~Deamond

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