So LOTS has happened this past month! I'm sure all of you are aware that Groups has launched into beta! Be sure to check out the Groups Directory to find your personal niche. Or feel free to #makeagroup or #convertaclub that you had before. Remember though that there are only a handful of people approving groups at this time and it is very much in beta so things wont go as fast as everyone would like or work as well as everything should. So if you have a group you are encouraged to check out #devBUG and help report any bugs you see or just stay up to date with how things are going on that front. If you're looking for information pertaining to the community on the whole then check out #communityrelations. Pretty soon it will be your one stop shop for all things CR related. I may actually start posting the CR Updates there

So! How many groups do you have or are in? Link me below in the comments And please be sure to check out #VectorGallery I'll be using it as a place to meet and mingle with new vector artists. Features and information galore! So if you've got or know of another vector group please send them there I'm compiling a list

Golden Pen

It's that time of year again. Time for the Winners of the Golden Pen Award! So I'm still very much looking for some suggestions as to who you think should win the award for each sub category in the vector gallery. You can check out Last years winners, to get a feel for the excellence that I'm looking for. And please don't delay, I'm a bit behind the 8-ball this year and I need to get them in asap.

Deviousness

I'm still very much in shock at this months deviousness award winner. I'm still beyond grateful but I still can't believe that it's true. It was the perfect start to this December and since then everything else seems to have fallen into place. There are qute a few personal things happening, but that is for a personal journal and not a CR update. So I'll keep those hush hush for now.

I Hope you all are having a wonderful December, whether your celebrating a holiday or not.

Vector Art
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 (and the free inkscape). 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."

How to suggest a DailyD

• Suggest Vector Work Only Please
• Make sure none were given to the deviant within the last 3 months
• Remember Quality over Quantity

The Daily D suggestions are trickling in... I really don't get all that many from you guys and I don't know why. There are a few of you that send in like clock work and I love you for it... but mostly I get suggested miscats and things from totally different galleries :S So I implore you, if you come across a Vector piece that you love and fav, chances are it's DD worthy so send them in I'm eager to see what you find.

Also... I have spoken with several of the other gallery moderators and most of them have given me the go ahead to feature from their gallery. This obviously only pertains to those galleries that have a vector subcat, so please no suggestions from the photography gallery I really don't need them Those galleries include:

• Customization > Wallpaper
• Resources & Stock
• Cartoons & Comics > Digital Media > Cartoons-or-Comics
• Manga/Anime > Digital Media
• Fanart
• Antrho > Digital Media

The Digital Gallery Directors
Digital Art: ^JunkbyJen & ^archanN

►3Dimensional: ^joannastar
►Fractal: ^Platinus
►Photomanipulation: ^Destin8x
►Pixel: ^armaina & ^Mistress-Jaeden
►Text Art: ^Sander-Seto
►Vector Art: ^Ikue
►Vexel Art: -vacant-