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1st place:

*marcogiuseppe with "A gap between chaos and peace"

_{other work by this artist}

2nd place

*Miesis with "Carminblue"

_{other work by this artist}

3rd place

~vs3a with "Seal"

_{other work by this artist}

Pre-festive activities hold me firmly in their grip - from the company Christmas party to some visits of various Christmas markets in the area to getting all presents ready. I saw I haven't done one of my features in a while, so I decided to get one out now before I have to do whatever else again ^^

Favourite Art using my stock

 

Stock Art

   

in case I don't get around to another journal before Christmas, I want to wish you a happy holiday and I also wanted to thank you all for using my stock with such passion! It is always a joy to see the things you create!

Jasmin

As announced last week in this journal, the public choice winner was determined via poll over the course of last week. You can find all entries in this collection.

Now I am happy to announce the complete set of winners from the contest

Personal Favourite

Why? Because I love the elegant lightness she captured with her painting

*Abbyanna will receive 500 points and an exclusive stock pack from myself and
^PirateLotus-Stock each as well as a feature from Earlymorningdarkness.

Public Choice

*DarkDevil16 will receive 200 points  and an exclusive stock pack from myself and
^PirateLotus-Stock each as well as a feature from Earlymorningdarkness.

Honorable Mentions

My mini contest Herbstspaziergang has come to an end and now it is time to vote for your personal favourite You can find all entries in this collection.

As there are exactly 11 entries, I'm going to choose my fav first - that image will not be in the public choice poll (max. options allowed is 10).

and the winner is:

Why? Because I love the elegant lightness she captured with her painting

*Abbyanna will receive 500 points and an exclusive stock pack from myself and ^PirateLotus-Stock each as well as a feature from Earlymorningdarkness.

Your Turn

The public choice winner is determined in this poll --> [link] Please vote until the end of the week, so the public choice winner and the honorable mentions can be announced soon!
NOTE: If I catch someone asking others for votes via journal, comments or notes, they will be disqualified!



Thank you all for taking part!

Jasmin

I hope you still remember my mini contest "Herbstspaziergang" - all you have to do is use one of the images given in a manip or as basis for a drawing and send me a note!

Collab Contest Winners

1st Place: *kingabrit and =thefantasim

2nd Place: =nitchwarmer, =PattiPix and =nikkidoodlesx3

3rd Place: =eclipsy and ~Doom-Art

Congratulations to all the winners! I will be contacting you for your exclusive stock shortly


Jasmin

Okay, first off, I'm a little overwhelmed at the moment. The reason is that my latest stock submission, Herbstspaziergang IV

   

has apparently shot to dA's front page yesterday and got faves over 800 times since

Soooo, in honour of that (and in the hopes of many great manips/drawings/uses in general) I'm having a

Mini Contest - Herbstspaziergang

• Task: Use at least ONE of the images below to create a manip or drawing.

• Deadline: 24.11.2012, 11:29 pm CET (German time) - find a countdown here [link]
• How to enter: note me with your entry (notes are better than comments for keeping track!) and I will add it to the MiniContest Folder in my faves -- please put in the artist's comment that it's for this contest!
  
• Judge: =kuschelirmel-stock & poll
• Prizes: 500 points for my personal choice winner; 200 points for the public choice winner (poll with the finalists); 50 points for honorable mentions; exclusive stock pack from =kuschelirmel-stock for winners and honorable mentions; exclusive stock pack for each of the two winners from ^PirateLotus-Stock
  plus of course a journal will be displaying all winners/honorable mentions here and from *Earlymorningdarkness
  

         

Things you should know!

The CSS Calendar Project

`ginkgografix is doing another css calender project this year If you want to participate, head over to her journal and let her know!

I have already secured a spot, so this would be a good time to tell me if you have any special css wishes - I'm always looking for fresh ideas! Just leave a comment!

Password Protected ZIP/RAR Files

There was some news that zip files with passwords will no longer be tolerated on dA - see this announcement. While at first I was like "wtf did they do that for?!" I now do get it after reading ^Elandria's whole journal (so please do the same before complaining!). I would rather be a little inconvenienced that give idiots the opportunity to spread viruses to unsuspecting dA users. That means my own password protected packs will soon be moving and only the covers will remain. I think I will also put the individual images up as Premium Content, so people can have singles more easily, but winners still win packs (I hope that sentence made sense ^^).

CSS Did you Know Series

I stumbled over a very cool series of articles - one that tells me I should do more css so I don't get completely rusty! I'm talking about ^ladygagz's series "CSS Did You Know?", below is a selection of what he's been writing about so far:

• CSS Did You Know Introduction
• CSS Tips: Presentation & Custom Buttons
• Class Selectors & Advances CSS 3D Buttons
• Custom Boxes
• Gradients with CSS & How to: Styling

you can find his CSS Did You Know Archive here [link]
I hope he'll be doing a lot more of these!

"New" Stock & Resources CV

Well, "new" is a bit of an exaggeration, I guess, since ^PirateLotus-Stock has had her hat for a few weeks now, but I still wanted to give her a spot in this journal, just cos she's awesome to have as CV!

Play with me, if you dare

Comment on this journal and I'll...

1. Tell you something I learned about by looking at your dA page for 13 seconds
2. Tell you a color you remind me of
3. Tell you my first memory of you
4. Ask you a question
5. Tell you something I like about you
6. Give you a nickname
7. Tell you the object that is to the left of me
8. Dare you to do this yourself in your journal

_{stolen from ^PirateLotus-Stock}


PS: 21 answers over night, oh my! This is gonna take a while

I haven't done a tag in ages so I was actually pleased when tagged me So here goes:

The Rules

1. You must post these rules.
2. Answer the questions the tagger set for you, and create new questions for the people you tag to answer.
3. You have to choose 10 people to tag and post their icons on your journal
4. Go to their pages and tell them you have tagged her/him.
5. No tag backs.
6. No crap in the tagging section about "you are tagged if you're reading this." You have to tag 10 people.

The Answers:

1. Where are you from and what is it like there?

I'm from a very tiny village in Germany situated between Ulm and Stuttgart in the South West. My parents still live there, but I moved out first to study in Karlsruhe and then for work I moved to Frankfurt am Main. The small village is a typical Swabian one, where everyone knows which family you belong to and people get upset if you don't greet in the streets (kinda like at work these days, actually) *grins*. The lansdscape is beautiful and it's very rural and when I grew up, I was only able to see the downsides (with the lack of anonymity and the endless drives needed to get from A to B), but these days, when I visit my parents, I can actually enjoy the beauty.

2. How did you first get involved with ?

Someone in a forum told me about the site. I looked around, but hesitated to join because at the time I was still doing wallpapers and sigs from tv show stills and I knew I couldn't upload those here. But the longer I lurked the more intrigued I became. After discovering all the art on here I came to the conclusion I needed to try this, too, so I joined in October '04 as `kuschelirmel. I opened this stock account the minute I bought my first small point and shoot camera

3. What is your biggest dA related Pet Peeve?

Related to my stock, it's people who are too lazy to read the rules and instead ask you "can I use your stock for this?" (when from the rules it's plain that they can) or when they ask how to install a gallery css when all they had to do was open the read-me file inside the zip they just downloaded ^^ Things like that make me feel like shouting "I'm offering this for free and you can't even be bothered to take a minute to read stuff?!" It's just... gah! My biggest pet peeve on dA in general is though that no matter what you do, there's always a bunch of idiots complaining. Not that anyone forced them to participate or like something in particular - but instead of being positive and helping out or at least just keeping their mouth shut, they decide that complaining is the way to go.

4. What book/movie are you currently reading/watching?

Book: A Song of Ice and Fire by George R. R. Martin
Movie: I seldom watch movies, but I love watching TV series Currently, I'm into True Blood, Grimm, Teen Wolf, Breaking Bad. And waiting for the return of Supernatural, Dexter and certainly a whole bunch of other stuff I can't remember atm

5. If you ran into your favorite celebrity at your local store, what would you say to them?

Tricky question, as I don't have a favourite celebrity But if I were to meet any of my series heros, I'd either squeel and ask for an autograph (with picture) or I'd be muttering to myself that it surely can't be them, but I should really just go and ask until they would drive off and leave me biting my ass for keeping silent.

6. What type of outdoor activities do you enjoy? (e.g. camping, floating, etc.)

I'm not much of a sports person, but I do enjoy going to the pool/lake for a swim (and reading a good book on the grass) or taking a walk through the woods. I also love exploring new cities with my boyfriend and my camera

7. Share a deviation from each person you plan to tag:

 
:thumb321750716:  

8. Give us a quote that defines you:

Everything will be okay in the end - if it's not okay, it's not the end.

9. If you had a chance to swim with sharks, would you?

If I was in a cage for it, yes

10. If you ruled your own country, what would it be like?

Phew, I'm not the ruling type so I expect it would be very chaotic

The Questions [aka the Tag]

I found all of those I'm tagging in my stock faves - some of you I know, some I don't, and after this I hope to get to know you a bit better (don't be afraid to be wordy if you like) Buuuut, if you're absolutely not the type to do tags (or just don't feel like it today), I completely understand. So here goes:

I tag:

1. How did you get into stock?
   
2. Is this stock account your only account on dA or do you have another one for your art, too? Tell us a little about your "art side".
   
3. What is your stock image or resource that you personally love, but the users seem to be ignoring?
   
4. Show us three pieces of art made from your stock that you love (all time faves or recent ones, you choose).
   
5. What is your most used image and is it used in different ways or mostly the same thing on repeat?
   
6. What do you love & what do you hate/could you do easily without about being a stocker?
   
7. What kind of gear do you use (special camera, lighting setup, etc)?
   
8. What kind of stock is your favourite stock to take (model, landscapes, specific situations or genres, etc)?
   
9. Show us three stock images (from someone else) that you wish you had shot yourself (explain why if you can).
10. Is there an artist (or three) who you would love to have your stock used by?

That's it

Jasmin

If you have known me for a bit, you may know that while I love providing all kinds of resources, I take special pride in my tutorials. They are the ones that take longest to make and it's the most rewarding if someone leaves a comment telling me they learned something new through one of my tuts.

So when I logged on today and saw a ton of new faves on my Flood It Tutorial and I finally realized it had gotten a DD, you can imagine how absolutely thrilled I was! And still am!

Thank you =CelticStrm-Stock for suggestion and ^Elandria for featuring!!!

Please don't be mad if I don't get around to answering all comments (I'm not even going to try and thank for faves - that's just too much!), rest assured I read them all and I treasure each one

Feature (Art & Stock)

Jasmin

Finally a new css from me - it's certainly been a while! This is based off a manip I did for my fanfiction "Hey Jude" (fandom is Highlander The Series, the story is a work in progress currently only available on FanFiction.net where I also go by the kuschelirmel nickname). It features a motorcycle gang and I imagine that this is the logo they wear on the back of their cuts. But aside from that, it's just nifty dark and rather colourless so it'll be great for features as well as text.

>>Please if you fave, fave the Installable Version - Thank you!

Terms of Use

1. This CSS is free for use on deviantArt for non-commercial purposes (i.e. use it in your journal and that's it - if there's a demand, I might make a gallery css, too).
2. I cannot allow you to use the images as backgrounds for modules because the stock I used is not completely without restrictions.
3. That is also why you need to keep the credit line (in the footer section) intact as long as you use the journal with its original images.
   
4. The images that are included are meant to be used with this journal ONLY! They are not your "stock" and not to be altered in any way (no colour changes to match whatever you have in mind either!) for any purpose (including avatars, sigs and what not).
   
5. Feel free to play with the code (altering the custom divs to fit your need or the link colours is perfectly fine as long as credit is given), just don't pretend you did it all yourself when all you actually did was change colours and swap the images. Just like the fact that I don't want to see any css contest entries that are basically this skin, just with different images.
   
6. No "skin remixing" i.e. I don't want to see my header on someone else's journal with yet another person's footer or whatever you may have dreamed up. I created the images to work together, tearing them apart is... just don't.
   
7. Once you do swap the images (completely) and play with the code, I'd love to see what you create! I'm curious like that.

How to Use

You can use this css without knowing much about HTML or CSS, there's just one thing you should definitely do, and that is change the links in the header section to match what you need/want to use. To do so, go to "Edit Skin" and in the header locate the part that that inludes "Link One" etc. You need to put the actual URL instead of the # [hash tag] and the name instead of Link One - repeat for other links. Copy and paste a line if you need more links! (If you use too many, they'll overlap with the headline and journal text, but you'll see that for yourself.)

Other features include:

Here's a list of things you can use, they're also shown below with some lorem ipsum text.

• The h1 tag (also accessible in the sta.sh menu) creates the rose headline.
• The h2 tag (also accessible in the sta.sh menu) creates the skull headline.
• The h3 tag (also accessible in the sta.sh menu) creates the small red headline.
• The h4 tag (also accessible in the sta.sh menu) creates the small beige headline.
• Unordered lists look like the one shown here, that's done using ul tags (also accessible in the sta.sh menu)
• Ordered lists look like the one shown above, that's done using ol tags (also accessible in the sta.sh menu)
• blockquote tags make the fine black line on the side - after 300px it will cut off and show a scrollbar
  
• There's a custom div called "noscrollquote" that has the same properties as using the blockquote but it won't cut off the text and start scrolling.
• There's also a div that creates a dark box, imaginatively called "darkbox"
• Featured images, no matter if you use the thumb code or sta.sh, will look the same, with a thin black border that turns red on hover.

Moar?!

As I said above, don't forget to exchange the links with your own and please leave the credit line intact. It's made so it only expands on hover (cos there's a ton of credits there) to be unobtrusive.

And now for some loooong dummy text. Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Curabitur purus  orci, egestas sed luctus eu, porttitor eget metus. Morbi pellentesque egestas fringilla. Curabitur ipsum metus, euismod quis elementum a, bibendum at odio.

Donec et metus ante. Curabitur dolor nulla, placerat eget volutpat sit amet, facilisis non dui. Praesent dapibus tellus ac purus rutrum eleifend. Ut bibendum turpis suscipit nisl aliquam at eleifend velit rhoncus. Aenean diam quam, faucibus vitae malesuada ut, molestie ac justo. Sed dapibus magna ut est dapibus id accumsan elit commodo. Aenean ac felis eget dui iaculis ultricies. Pellentesque imperdiet iaculis hendrerit. Etiam ut orci est.

Donec et aliquet mi. Curabitur a erat diam. Aliquam eget neque ligula. Vestibulum dapibus cursus lorem a vulputate. Phasellus ac leo auctor urna tristique mollis. Mauris ornare tristique mi sit amet lacinia. Maecenas aliquam cursus purus eget vestibulum. In hac habitasse platea dictumst. Donec aliquet euismod nunc, nec consectetur leo tincidunt vitae. Donec ut sodales lorem. Fusce rhoncus porttitor sapien, ut commodo risus hendrerit vitae. Cum sociis natoque penatibus et magnis dis parturient montes, nascetur ridiculus mus. Ut at tempor nisl. Pellentesque at adipiscing nibh.

Sed placerat volutpat mauris, ac lobortis libero pretium ac. Sed ac fringilla augue. Vivamus eget lacus nec felis egestas suscipit nec eu sem. Nam dapibus tellus non ipsum egestas aliquet. Aliquam a risus risus. Sed massa orci, hendrerit vel hendrerit vitae, sagittis nec arcu.  Aliquam nec diam in urna gravida placerat ut ac augue. Aenean ornare lacus nisl. Pellentesque nec nisi libero. Nam cursus consectetur fermentum. Suspendisse vel velit vel nisi tristique commodo. Nam varius suscipit est a feugiat.

Fusce convallis lacus id tellus euismod adipiscing. Donec tortor purus, rutrum non fermentum id, porta ut lacus. Pellentesque sollicitudin enim vel nisl mattis condimentum. Nulla eget odio ac elit dictum bibendum vehicula eu dui. Curabitur sed dui eu purus eleifend condimentum. Quisque eget nulla arcu. Aliquam sed est eget orci pellentesque ultricies. Integer quis lacus odio. Nam et sem vitae est varius porta porta et libero. Fusce in elit euismod nisi faucibus lobortis lobortis non leo. Nunc eget augue eget quam rutrum ullamcorper eu in nisi. Cras id dolor metus, ornare condimentum magna. Nullam iaculis nisl et est pulvinar sodales. Integer ullamcorper tortor sodales mauris tincidunt blandit.

In hac habitasse platea dictumst. Integer leo quam, tincidunt et gravida  quis, adipiscing ornare nibh. Aliquam pharetra tortor eu elit posuere dapibus. Donec at diam augue. Sed sed felis nec odio pulvinar porttitor.  Nulla lorem sapien, sodales a vulputate id, dictum at urna. Curabitur nibh lorem, rutrum non interdum id, congue in justo. Proin lobortis commodo tellus vitae interdum. Suspendisse ut ipsum lacus, tristique dictum nibh.

Donec et aliquet mi. Curabitur a erat diam. Aliquam eget neque ligula. Vestibulum dapibus cursus lorem a vulputate. Phasellus ac leo auctor urna tristique mollis. Mauris ornare tristique mi sit amet lacinia. 

Sed placerat volutpat mauris, ac lobortis libero pretium ac. Sed ac fringilla augue. Vivamus eget lacus nec felis egestas suscipit nec eu sem. Nam dapibus tellus non ipsum egestas aliquet. Aliquam a risus risus. Sed massa orci, hendrerit vel hendrerit vitae, sagittis nec arcu.   Aliquam nec diam in urna gravida placerat ut ac augue. Aenean ornare lacus nisl. Pellentesque nec nisi libero. Nam cursus consectetur fermentum. Suspendisse vel velit vel nisi tristique commodo. Nam varius suscipit est a feugiat. 

Feature Example

Jasmin

In fact, I've been writing longer than I've been creating artwork. I started reading FanFiction because I could never get enough of my favorite shows. I finally started writing because I got to the point where no one seemed to be writing what I wanted to read. If you've ever tried sifting through a million Mary Sues you'll know what I mean.

In some ways, FanFiction is like photomanips: you use stuff others have created and turn it into something new. It sounds easy, so a lot of people try their hands at it and the first steps are usually pretty ugly (I know my first story was - thankfully it's in German and so not many people will read it even though it's still online at FanFiction.net because I dont have the heart to delete it). And that in turn gives it a bad name even though you can find some really good and creative writing there (just as you can find good manips).

I'm an awfully slow writer. My current fic was first conceived in December 2010. It's now at almost 30000 words and still not finished, but this time, I'm actually happy with the way the plot develops and it's not going to be abandoned like the last one ^^.

But I'll let you be the judge of that, if you want to. Below is an exceprt from Chapter 9 - my favourite scene so far. The fandom is Highlander - The Series which I guess not many will remember even though it's safe to say that it's a classic (it aired in the early 90's). At least I think so *wink*. The story itself takes place in Los Angeles where Methos has joined a biker gang - question is, why would our mild-mannered, "I'd-rather-not-fight" old man suddenly turn rogue? The answer can be found 10 years in the past...

Hey Jude [excerpt from Ch.9]

Amanda drew her sword as soon as she felt the immortal approach. Turning the lights off, she flattened herself against the wall beside the door. As much as she would have liked to make herself believe that the guy coming in any minute would be "her" Methos, she knew the chances of that were slim to none. For one it could well be someone else entirely, but she didn't think so. This was Jude Nichols' apartment after all. No, it would be Methos alright. It just wouldn't be the man she remembered.

And with that in mind, she couldn't be sure she wouldn't have to fear for her head either. Cos let's face it, even in his peaceful Adam Pierson days he could have bested me without me realizing what hit me, she thought, even without resorting to nasty tricks. She didn't even want to know what he could do now, now that he was in training so to speak.

Amanda  heard a floorboard in the hallway creak before the door was slowly eased open. A sliver of light cut through the apartment's darkness, growing larger, before it was blocked by a shadow.

"There's no need to hide," a cold voice threatened, "I'll find you anyway and then you'll meet the same fate as that bitch you lot sent after me. Nothing like two lightshows in one night." With that the man stepped into the room, blocking her advance easily.

Amanda didn't have time to ponder his words as steel rang on steel. To get more room to maneuver, she scrambled away from the wall, only to find herself facing another disadvantage. The light was at his back, making her squint to see. And still the blows kept on coming. Taking another step back she felt the couch press into her legs.

"Stop," she cried, "it's me, Amanda!"

Another blow delivered from above sent her falling onto the couch and she felt her sword knocked from her grip. Here's to hoping it's Methos, she thought, panic welling up inside her as cold steel was pressed against her throat.

"Stay  put," he growled as he picked up her weapon and switched on the light. He took a chair opposite her, his sword never leaving her neck.

The  man's face went from hostile to surprised and back to hostile so fast that Amanda couldn't be sure she'd actually seen the transformation at all. What she could be sure of though, was that while the biker in front  of her could be no other than Methos, there was no denying he had changed a lot since he'd walked out of Joe's bar all those years ago.

His  careless, teasing smile was gone and had left nothing but suspicion behind. Methos' hair was longer, his face unshaven for days and he looked tired. He wore a biker kutte, but no shirt underneath, revealing an array of tattoos. Amanda couldn't help but stare at the one on his chest. It was a black and grey depiction of four horsemen, long coats billowing behind them, their hoods drawn low so none of the faces could be seen. They were thundering towards her in a cloud of dust and debris and the rider in front was seated on a pale horse.

"Amanda," Methos stated matter-of-factly. "What are you doing here?"

Amanda  tore her eyes away from the tattoo with some effort. She looked at him incredulously, at a loss what to say. He just stared back, waiting for her answer.

>> To read more, please visit Hey Jude @ fanfiction.net - you can leave a review there or on this journal if you want to. 

This CSS

is based on the "cover art" for the story above (that I plan to publish on dA in pdf format on my main account once it's finished - which in all honesty might take a little while longer still *grins*). Yesterday, I was looking at my psd archive and thought "why not turn it into a journal?". I've been meaning to do a narrower, less colourful one that will be good for art features as well as text.  It will be available as free css (no premium content) once it's done (so I have a chance to include your feedback).  Below, I explain what tag does what with some added dummy lorem ipsum text.

The roses headline is a h1 tag, the skull is h2. Those headlines can be accessed via your sta.sh from a drop-down - no need to know html. The blockquote tag was used for the exerpt above, it starts scrolling after 300px. There's also a custom div that is styled the same but won't scroll, it goes by the name of noscrollquote. Custom divs are used like this: <div class="classnamehere">content here</div>

• this is an unordered list with list items
• Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit.
• Donec tempus fringilla velit, non faucibus purus laoreet eu.

Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Quisque lacus mi, mattis quis bibendum sed, vestibulum vitae erat. Nam quis arcu turpis, in eleifend mi. Suspendisse potenti. Phasellus quis tortor in elit tincidunt hendrerit at sit amet est. Quisque faucibus condimentum sapien, ut tincidunt neque suscipit in.

1. this is an ordered list with list items
2. Duis tincidunt ante sit amet dui lobortis eget porta nisi venenatis.
3. Curabitur tempor arcu vitae augue rutrum quis laoreet sem porttitor.
4. Donec lacinia augue vitae nisi iaculis vestibulum.

Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Quisque lacus mi, mattis quis bibendum sed, vestibulum vitae erat.

This is a H3 Headline

Nam quis arcu turpis, in eleifend mi. Suspendisse potenti. Phasellus quis tortor in elit tincidunt hendrerit at sit amet est. Quisque faucibus condimentum sapien, ut tincidunt neque suscipit in. Fusce sed risus hendrerit arcu rhoncus pulvinar at vel arcu. Vestibulum volutpat congue purus in ultricies. 

This is a H4 Headline

Pellentesque ac cursus massa. Duis vitae diam in turpis consequat scelerisque. Aliquam leo tortor, pharetra in elementum ut, egestas sit amet tortor. Integer sodales sollicitudin vehicula. Nulla elementum diam massa, nec tempor erat. Etiam eu nisi vitae nisl convallis vehicula vitae at lacus. Cras vehicula, dolor ac vehicula fringilla, lectus nisi tempus leo, ut fermentum justo justo ut nisl.

Features

_{I tried to align these justified so the smaller rows would stretch across the whole width like the single, big images - but no matter what I try (in the css, as html tag) nothing works - any ideas?}

  

Jasmin