Wallpapers?

[valiha]

So I've been thinking about how there are people out there who make Magnificent Seven icons, but there are very few who also create larger sized graphics, such as banners/headers, collages and wallpapers.

The recent BigBang showed that very clearly. We had to open up artist sign ups for people who were participating as writers, and then on top of that, have the artists create art for two writers. All of them rose to the occasion, but it wasn't an easy task. I'd like to see more artists participate in the next BigBang - which we will hopefully have. (I'd also like to see fanmixers, but that's a whole 'nother topic.)

For that purpose I've created a comm, mag7wallpapers, and I'd like to invite all Mag7 fanartists to think about expanding to larger sized graphics - not necessarily wallpapers - and start posting in the comm. I intend to eventually post all my graphics there, to have them all in one location on Dreamwidth. There's nothing much there at the moment, but you're more than welcome to join. :)

Comments

[slavelabour.livejournal.com]

There are a lot of people who make larger graphics but, for whatever reason, I don't see a lot posted outside of mailing lists or personal actor archives. I've never understood why that happens but I love seeing graphics on my lj/dw and I hope to see more. Do you mind if I spread the word about this comm? Maybe I can drag some of those people in. ;)

[dj-aida.livejournal.com]

Do you mind if I spread the word about this comm? Maybe I can drag some of those people in. ;)

Not at all; in fact, the more the merrier. I barely ever see any larger graphics, but I'm a member of very few lists - and I'm falling behind in following those I'm a member of.

I will have to dig into the settings, to see if people with OpenIDs can post. I also need to come up with some basic rules and finish tweaking it, but people are free to post now if they want. I think I will also need to enable adding tags to entries so that people can add tags for themselves. :is excited:

[grachonok.livejournal.com]

Just read that Open IDs can't post or join communities:(. But at least I figured it how to read it withput constantly confirming my age or so:).

[dj-aida.livejournal.com]

Ack! Well that's a bummer. I think I have some invites, if anyone needs them, but will have to check and see how many exactly, if you want to create a DW account and join the comm.

[slavelabour.livejournal.com]

I think plenty of fan artists don't think we produce anything that's good enough for public consumption so we just, yknow, share with friends or keep things on the down low. It's good that comms like this exist for those of us who celebrate this type of thing.

Clear rules would be very good. Since it's a WP comm, I'm assuming icons or small graphics aren't allowed? Is external linking allowed? What about graphic graphics? I mean, as in nudity or sexual pairings? And specific sizes would be useful for folks who are making WPs or banners. What about layouts or themes to go along with the banners? Should fanartists post their own rules about usage or will there be a comm policy regarding that? I'd better shut up before I give you a headache. {hugs} You're a brave soul and very kind for doing this. I know there are comms that allow graphics to be posted but I don't think anything exists for just Mag7 graphics. It's nice!

[dj-aida.livejournal.com]

I do have a general plan thought out in my mind, but yo raise some extremely valid points.

I can certainly relate to the feeling of not being good enough. I'm trying to get back to drawing and painting and I constantly find the quality of my work lacking. At this point, I would not show these works in public, but I am working towards being comfortable enough to post even lesser quality work eventually.

I think some of the rules set up for 7men1destiny would work for this comm too. Being respectful is very important to me, as not all the members will be top notch artists. Putting down someone's artwork will be grounds for banning. Constructive critique will not.

Regarding critique, not everyone will post in the comm with the goal of having their artwork reviewed or criticized, so member will probably need to ask for critique in their post, and maybe mark it with a critique tag.

Personally, I am perfectly fine with people using my graphics as a basis for their own work. They can feel free to cut them up and make something new out of them. The only thing I frown upon is presenting my completed work as their own, but I'm confident that the people I interact with know my work and would recognize it for what it is if someone ever tried to present it as their own. (I have a statement about that in my profile.) I'm also thinking about adding a small watermark to my graphics.

So yes, there would be general comm policy, but we'd also have mechanisms in place to override it. Say you made a specific graphic for a friend. You could post it in the comm, and state that it was made exclusively for so and so, and that is not meant to be used by anyone else. So, cascading rules, kind of like CSS.

When it comes to small graphics, how would you define small? 600x400px? 600x200px, which was the size of the banners I did for the Holiday Recathon? or smaller than that? I'm open to suggestions, and would be interested in finding out what the sizes posted on lists are. I think in general, anything above 800px in width would be a wallpaper, anything between 400 and 800 would be a collage, and anything rectangular (whether horizontal or vertical) would be a banner. I'm not clear on LJ/DW header sizes. Then there are also sigs, which aren't used on LJ/DW, but are popular on forums.

For icons (graphics 100x100 in size, though some sites may use smaller/larger I think??) I would encourage people to post them elsewhere, and it would be great if we could have a sister comm for them. (I think there was one on LJ, but is no longer active. We need to start recruiting new people!)

As for explicit graphics, if there are members who would like to post them, I think we'll have to raise the age restriction of the journal, and enforce the rule of all explicit graphics behind the cut. I don't think this should be viewed as a punishment for posting an explicit work - after all, there are plenty of nudes in the world of high art - but as an enticement: what exactly is hiding under a cut? But things would need to be clearly marked, since someone's kink may be someone else's squick.

I don't want to make the entire comm friends only, but those member who wish to do so, can make friends only posts. It will be up to them.

That's all I was able to come up with for the time being. Perhaps we should do a poll?? How do you even set one up on a DW comm?? Will have to envestigate!

[slavelabour.livejournal.com]

I was raised to not put my own talents on display, so to speak. Even putting them on my own lj makes me feel a little weird and I blame the church for their lessons on guilt and shame and ego but I'm getting over it. That was one reason why I was asking about external linking because I really like AO3 for centrally archiving some fannish things and I'm better about sharing graphics in graphic-based communities.

Yes to the poll but I am so limited on DW usage (usually only going for the Mag7Daybook and to check the circle once a week) I'm not much help in the How To respect. Since DW is piggybacking on LJ's code, perhaps it is the same? As to a general comm policy, I would suggest everything be off limits to usage or remixing unless specifically stated otherwise by the artist. Simply as a layer of protection for the artist and the comm, both. I see WP-sized collages often and it seems like there are new people making them recently, too. They look to be at least 800x600, most often, but even on MLs there have been warnings from the list moms about watermarking graphics because of past thievery, etc.

I can definitely try to spread the word on a few mailing lists. Last time I played cheerleader for AO3 and LJ/DW, I had several people ask me to explain what they were! I always forget that not everybody knows about the Mag7 communities outside of MLs!

[dj-aida.livejournal.com]

That's an attitude I find totally alien to my own upbringing. I don't think I've ever encountered it with people over here.

I don't see why external linking would be a problem. I haven't used AO3 much because I think they said they don't have any resources for graphic artists; if that's changed, it would be good to know. Can images now be uploaded there?

As to a general comm policy, I would suggest everything be off limits to usage or remixing unless specifically stated otherwise by the artist.

I agree, and I will state my own policy in an artist post - I think it would be useful to have one, where each artist can state their preference or share their views etc. I'd definitely recommend watermarking the graphics.

It would be great if more people became aware of LJ/DW and the Mag7 comms and individual journalers here. I certainly appreciate the effort you're putting into all of this. :)

[slavelabour.livejournal.com]

*nods* Everybody has a different experience, of course, but mine weren't very positive in regards to being raised strict Roman Catholic. I haven't been part of the church for about 20 years now and I still have issues from the things they taught me. You can take the girl out of the Catholic Church but you can't take the Catholic Church out of the girl, I guess. But to heck with guilt and ego, dude. I made up my mind to be a proper contributing member of the Mag7 community and I intend to do just that. :)

Not only does AO3 allow fanart and photoshoppery (or photochoppery, in some cases, lol) but Zeke/Istia was telling me they're going to be handling fanvids soon, too. Which is made of awesome! Do you need an invite code? I can email you one, if you don't already have an account. FYI, you'll have to host your images offsite but you can code them directly into AO3 postings. They've changed quite a few things lately and it's really cool but the biggest problem I run into these days is the dreaded 502 error. They're growing so quickly and probably need more servers.

[dj-aida.livejournal.com]

Aha, I remember reading about their plans to make it more fanart-friendly, but that image hosting would be far in the future because of the cost involved. I do have an account there, mostly so I can leave comments and kudos (love that feature!), but it seemed like overkill to have yet another place to put my stuff.

The 502's are probably because of Yuletide, yes?

[slavelabour.livejournal.com]

They had a big code rollout a few weeks ago and connection has been dodgy ever since but I'm sure the holidays and yuletide have a lot to do with it. And you're right, kudos are really cute!

[pezgirl7.livejournal.com]

I grew up Catholic as well, but maybe due to a different era or location, I luckily felt none of what you did. My mom was always very supportive, and even posted all my little creations from school on the walls of our back hallway. I hope you find a way to not feel that way now.

So what is AO3? I feel like I should know, but don't.

[slavelabour.livejournal.com]

My mother is still devoutly Catholic so we just agree to disagree about things. And I've always loved sharing things with friends, particularly making/writing things for friends, but it's the posting them in a public place that still makes me feel a little ridiculous. But in October there was this awesome quote that... tilted my world a little bit. And since then I've started posting things and archiving stuff and... having fun. Publicly. Like on Archive Of Our Own aka AO3. Do you need an invite? I can send you one if you like.

The quote I mentioned is here. And thanks for the kind words. :)

http://dj-aida.livejournal.com/83428.html

[dj-aida.livejournal.com]

That's a lovely quote, thank you for sharing! And about the "agree to disagree" - I wish more people would live according to that motto. There's a tenet in Islam that many often forget, which is "There shall be no coercion in faith". My late grandmother, a devout Muslim, would often repeat those words to me.

[pezgirl7.livejournal.com]

Thanks for the link. I think I'll just stick with LJ for now. :)

Oooo, that's a very pretty icon! It almost has a drawing feel to it.

[slavelabour.livejournal.com]

Thank you, ma'am.

[dj-aida.livejournal.com]

OK, about "As to a general comm policy, I would suggest everything be off limits to usage or remixing unless specifically stated otherwise by the artist." - how can we restrict usage of what's posted? Isn't the whole purpose of sharing your wallpapers for others to download them to their computers and use as desktop backgrounds or screensaver slides? Unless what you had in mind with "usage" differs from that definition.

Remixing, yes, that will be off limits unless explicitly permitted by the artist.

[slavelabour.livejournal.com]

Actually, what I meant was restricting the use to wallpapers and/or personal ogling rather than remixing or repurposing the art. Some people don't care about others scavenging their pics or turning them into icons and others don't even want them reposted elsewhere, yknow? Personally, I think if people want to steal your pic or use it for whatever they want, they'll find a way to do just that. The only way to keep it safe is to keep it offline, the same as fiction, but some folks feel very proprietary about their work. Even on AO3 there is a button for folks to download your pics and fics if they want. I don't think it's a big deal but some folks, yeah, they might. It's a good thing to have a comm blanket statement and then let the individual artists define those rules to whatever they're comfortable with. Which is, I think, what you had originally suggested, lol.

[dj-aida.livejournal.com]

Yes! OK, go check out the rules I have so far. I'm open to suggestions, so feel free to comment. :)

http://mag7wallpapers.dreamwidth.org/guidelines

I adore the download button at AO3! I have a fantastic Android tablet - Pocketbook IQ - and I save all the fics I want to re-read on it.

[slavelabour.livejournal.com]

OMG, that tablet is nice. I have an old Palm TX that I use for reading fic but it's getting old and dodgy and I've been thinking about replacing it. I've been slowly starting to shop around for a replacement for when it finally dies.

I noticed Lady Garnett suggested a comm on LJ for graphics and it's something I've been thinking about, too. A lot of folks in the community spend more time on LJ than on DW and lately some have disabled or deleted their DW accounts because they don't use them, reverting back to LJ because it's busier. If you need help with mirroring to an LJ comm, I would be happy to help, just say the word. :)

OK, I'm off to read your guidelines...

[dj-aida.livejournal.com]

I would totally recommend it! It's something like $140, which was an affordable price even for me, chronically broke that I am. There's a setting for reducing the brightness of the screen, prolonging the battery life and reducing the glare that can bother me when I want to read. There are also apps for audiobooks and podbooks, as well as an office suite so that I can open and edit Word, Excel and PowerPoint documents. I've loaded many of my postgrad notes and lectures on it, and I take it out every time I'm on a break and want to study a bit.

Well, as far as an LJ mirror is concerned, I'd love to have one, but I'm afraid it would be the straw that broke the camel's back. But between you Pezgirl and Lady Garnet, I think you would have it covered. I can create it and you girls can share admin duties, if you want.

[slavelabour.livejournal.com]

I'm definitely keeping it in mind, thanks for linking it!

And I would never want to break your back in any way. {hugs} One of the things I decided recently was fandom should be fun and to stop doing so many things for other people and start doing more for myself; that it was okay to be selfish. I was on the verge of getting out of the fandom because I was having a harder time finding the joy in writing and doodling, yknow? I'd just spread myself too thin. You're such a proponent for the fandom, I'd hate to see the same happen to you or have you get burnt out because we're asking for too much!

[pezgirl7.livejournal.com]

I can only speak for myself, but wallpapers take a lot more work. I can make an icon in about 3 minutes, but wallpapers take much more time, if I want it done right. Also, with M7, there aren't a lot of large, high res photos to use. Screen caps are almost impossible to use in a wallpaper and have it look good. But when you shrink it for an icon, it looks great! :)

[dj-aida.livejournal.com]

Don't I know it! It can take me several hours to make a detailed wallpaper. One way I go around the restriction of low quality screencaps is to use a lot of grungy textures, desaturation and intentional graininess/damage. I envy those fandoms with clear, hi-res images! That's also one of the reasons I want to improve my human figure and portraiture skills. :)

[pezgirl7.livejournal.com]

Yes! Grungy textures really help. At least we have some nice promotional photos. But I just know there are more tucked away in the MGM vault somewhere. :)

[dj-aida.livejournal.com]

I treasure those photos you found! They are truly wonderful. :glomps you:

[pezgirl7.livejournal.com]

:D I am always on the lookout for new M7 photos. And when I don't find any, I make my own. hehe

[ladygarnett.livejournal.com]

Is there any way this com can be mirrored in LJ? I don't have a Dreamwidth account and don't want one for the simple reason that I am not a writer or artist, and therefore cannot contribute to the wonderful Mag 7 creativity and have no need for another journal. *sigh* And signing in and viewing a com via Open ID never seems to work for me.

However, I would love to see the results of others' efforts.

[dj-aida.livejournal.com]

Honestly, I don't know. I'd have to investigate. Then there also the question of how much time I can invest into maintaining a comm - I already have one that's suffering because I'm swamped with obligations, but with making some changes and some careful planning, I think I can handle two. Three, not so much.

I'll definitely keep the possibility of mirroring in mind, and maybe come up with some sort of way to make the wallpapers visible across both journaling sites, or maybe recruit someone who'd be maintain the mirror. Right now, I want to concentrate of getting this one off the ground. Feel free to prod me every once in a while to remind me of this issue, though!

If you don't mind my asking, what problems are you having with OpenID? I can look into the comm's settings and see if I can enable anonymous commenting so that non-members can interact with artists without having to jump through hoops.

[pezgirl7.livejournal.com]

I could probably help! I was actually thinking of making a M7 graphics comm a while ago. I figured one for all kinds of graphics would be fine, seeing as there are so few graphics being posted to begin with. But then I thought, there are actually quite a few M7 comms already, is it really necessary to make a separate one just for graphics? Most people just post to the 3 main comms when they have something to share. It might be nice to have one where people can share resources and what not, but I don't really know how many people would use it.

[dj-aida.livejournal.com]

I'll hold you to it!

I was also worried about whether there would be any traffic, but decided to go ahead with it anyway. I'd like to consolidate all the resources I use into one location, before I forget completely where I found what, and what I used for which wallpaper (that's already happened for quite a few of them). There's more freedom at Dreamwidth since there aren't many Mag7 comms over there, so i could justify creating one to myself. At the very least I can make some sort of a newsletter post to Clarion News, like a weekly review of newly-made graphics.

[pezgirl7.livejournal.com]

:D I'm sure they'll be traffic, I just wasn't sure if people would want another comm to post to. Like now, when I post something, I feel bad having to post it to 3 different comms. I feel like I'm spamming, and maybe annoying people! LOL Recently, I've been choosing just one comm to post to, figuring that most people are probably members of all the comms, so they'll see it. But having a comm just for the artists to share and talk would be good I think!

[dj-aida.livejournal.com]

I think it's mostly because there's been a shift in focus for the comms. Like mag7fans for example; that was supposed to be a discussion comm, right? And clarion_news was supposed to be a newsletter style com, correct?

I'd love a comm just for the artists. I sometimes feel we're neglected. :(

[pezgirl7.livejournal.com]

Was mag7fans a discussion comm? I think that might have been before my time. I just remember when I first joined LJ, that was where I made all of my M7 posts.

I kinda know what you mean about feeling neglected, as so much focus seems to be on fan fic. Although that might be because the ratio between fic and graphics is so uneven.

[dj-aida.livejournal.com]

I... think it was? there are discussion tags. OK, but that doesn't have to mean it was meant to be solely a discussion comm. Don't know!

(Hee, you've got me talking to myself - asking and answering!)