When my grandfather was deployed in Europe, he was stationed at a P.O.W. prison, and was responsible for guarding a number of captured Germans. He talked to them every day after a while, as best he could, exchanging stories, and eventually making friends.

When the Dutch moved in to take over, he was moved to other duties. Two days later, he found out that the men that he guarded were promptly shot dead, executed by the Dutch. And he felt horrible. They were not Nazis, they were regular soldiers, men exactly like him.

When you remember them, remember them all.

http://thevelvetsun.livejournal.com/248185.html?view=1743481#t1743481

I have discovered that Bacardi in sweet tea is almost invisible to the senses.

IT HAS BEGUN.

Current Mood: silly

For anyone who likes art and amazing competency.

http://www.anilgupta.com/

Okay. This is just getting ludicrous now. This being the whole "realism VS. cartooning" thing going on in the furry fandom. What makes this so outrageously amusing is that I have yet to see anything that could be considered realism IN the fandom (that being actual realism [Realism being an approach to art in which subjects are portrayed in as straightforward manner as possible, without idealizing them and without following the rules of formal theory] or photo-realism, which is as close to as I can figure the term all these people keep referring to.

I have yet to see ONE furry artist get anywhere even near photo-realism, and as for it being realist, furry is mainly all about idealism, if not completely. I also barely ever see a glimmer of high art, but that's something for another day.

What I do see, and a lot of it, is good to poor illustration. The best stuff, I might expect to find in nice mid-range comic or trade paperback, but in no way could be labeled accurately as either type of aforementioned realism. It misses the bar to qualify in either category. This is not meant to knock illustration in any way, I adore it, and doing what I do for a living I survive on a lot of the principles that go along with it. This does not mean however, that I am going to fudge my personal definitions of it to make myself feel better about some of the stuff I do.

To address a couple more random points that keep cropping up OVER and OVER and OVER and you get the idea:

"If you don't like it, don't look!" If you can't handle someone looking and being critical, no matter how well founded or poorly constructed that criticism may be, then do not display it. Criticism, good and bad, is part and parcel with making any kind of art.

"I don't care what YOU think, I do my art for myself!" If one were not to care what others thought, one would again, not display any creations. Not caring would remove any need whatsoever for another living person to see whatever has been made. In turn, making something that is not meant to be displayed would not be art, and rather an utterance by the person. Art is only art if someone else sees it and has a reaction. Art must have a purpose that involves interaction by more than just the artist, it is what makes a person an artist. Art is to tell a story/create a reaction/have an impact/to communicate.

I do not do art for myself, I do it because I need to. I do care what is thought because I wish to communicate properly. I crave criticism. I will not put my head in the sand. I welcome the need to reexamine myself in the face of others. I can never be good enough, and I can never stop trying. I am part of society's billboard, and it is sublime.

Current Mood: creative
Current Sensory Input: Exorcist

WEE! AnimaFera is back up! That was quick, hope it stays that way instead of the expected 2-3 days.

AF is down for 2-3 days for something related to the database. We weren't notified either, so bear with us. :P

I forgot. 5¢ a day if you want custom avatars and sounds, but free accounts get scroll and access to all the rooms.

And for those that DO want custom avatars, you have the full 256 .gif colour range to play with.

http://www.animafera.com

In beta testing, but open open open!

Just finished writing the FAQ, hopefully that will be up later this week. Mwahah.

Current Mood: amused
Current Sensory Input: Angel

create your own visited states map
or write about it on the open travel guide

Not much on the go, taking my computer over again tomorrow, hopefully I can get new parts this week and finish draggin up to the painting stage. Bored.

Current Mood: bored
Current Sensory Input: Buffy