http://search.deviantart.com/?q=by:adverbial-spectra&section=today deviantART RSS for by:adverbial-spectra en-us Copyright 2009, deviantART.com Mon, 07 Dec 2009 22:24:31 PST deviantART.com http://blogs.law.harvard.edu/tech/rss http://s.deviantart.com/minish/widgets/apple-touch-icon-precomposed.png http://adverbial-spectra.deviantart.com/journal/28144533/ http://adverbial-spectra.deviantart.com/journal/28144533/ Wed, 04 Nov 2009 14:42:31 PST Hey guys...

I love Another Studio and I don't want to leave them, but I don't feel any support over there. Making images isn't easy for me, as I'm not artistically inclined, so without a support network I lose motivation really quickly. Maybe I should just keep taking requests on The Secret since I hear from more than just the requester over there, but we have a small graphics staff team so I have to keep the pool of requests small, and that means less selection for me.

I like studios and I want to be a part of one. But AS feels a little abandoned nowadays, and after all the work I've put into making images there I just... I feel unappreciated. We've not once been thanked for our hard work. Am I expecting too much? There's no community left and the admin team is difficult to get a hold of. I feel like such a tool always mentioning what needs to be done in the Cbox, but I don't know what else to do. I don't WANT it to die, but I have no power there. Even the mods can't do a whole lot.

Does anyone know of any photomanipulation studios (prefereably on an Invisionfree or Proboards platform) that is active, nice-looking and friendly? I've been invited to Insincere and I've had a look at Scythe, VOS and Imagine That. None of them grab me instantly. I'm very wary of new sites, since I don't trust admins to be as ridiculously active as I am. I'm a real sucker for gorgeous skins (especially ones not in pale grey, that's so overdone) and I feel more at ease when the power is distributed so things don't all fall to pieces when one admin gets busy and poofs. I'm a member on Surreal Studios, but I was rejected there in the past so I'm not incredibly keen to go throw myself at them again. Also their skin really doesn't appeal to me right now, and that's a big thing for me.

I just don't know where to go. I figure it might be easier to fit in somewhere where one or two people already sort of like me. Then I won't feel so invisible.

]]> ~adverbial-spectra http://adverbial-spectra.deviantart.com/journal/27649152/ http://adverbial-spectra.deviantart.com/journal/27649152/ Thu, 08 Oct 2009 11:44:46 PDT Hey guys, what's new? No really, I like talking to you guys, so just start rambling.

I've been okay lately, been having more panic attacks cause of midterms and public speaking and being broke and, well, generally my anxiety and stress is through the roof. Photoshopping is pretty relaxing, which is probably why I've been posting so many images lately.

I know, I know, I never post depressing journals. But if everyone else keeps doing it, well, maybe it helps somehow.

If anyone not-broke wants to commission me, that would be cool. It would help. I don't expect people to pay money for crap they can get for free, but the benefit is I'll do whatever you want as opposed to being picky about which requests I lay claim on. Heck, I'll even do wolves, which I have avoided like the plague in the past (along with mythicals). I'll even swipe my boyfriend's tablet and work on not sucking so hard at manes and tails.

To be honest, I don't expect anyone to be interested. But if you are, drop me a note or comment. I probably won't charge more than $10USD, which seems to be the going rate, but considering how many hours I'll put into it you're barely paying for a tenth of the work it takes. Still, every little bit helps.

]]> ~adverbial-spectra http://adverbial-spectra.deviantart.com/journal/27355059/ http://adverbial-spectra.deviantart.com/journal/27355059/ Tue, 22 Sep 2009 11:08:42 PDT Should I be threatening to leave or something to get attention? xD Seems like everyone's done it at least once. Seriously, what's with people getting all disillusioned about photomanipulation lately? It may not be "high art" like that fancy-pants stuff you do with your hands, but frankly there's not much photography and drawing/painting that I absolutely adore. Most of it bores me, so I mostly follow photomanipulators. At least I can learn something from them.

For the record: I am not an artist. I'm a writing student and this is a hobby for me, NOT my career path. Maybe if more of us stopped taking ourselves too seriously we'd be able to chill out and not get burnt out.

On a lighter note, if you don't follow ~saregona, you really should. She has dial-up so she hasn't been able to go around getting much exposure yet, but she totally deserves more attention for her work!

]]> ~adverbial-spectra http://adverbial-spectra.deviantart.com/journal/26741019/ http://adverbial-spectra.deviantart.com/journal/26741019/ Fri, 21 Aug 2009 19:03:24 PDT Hey there! I know I don't post journals often, so LISTEN UP! Jk lol. Why is Spec nervous? Does it have to do with the hurricane in her journal title? Not really. Kinda.

Soooo for once I'm going on vacation with my family! This is unusual because they normally go without me now that I live FAR FAR AWAY for university. But woohoo we're flying out to Nova Scotia (that's in Canada for all you folks who don't know your provinces and/or that I live in Canada). Aaaaand it just so happens that after we land a hurricane is gonna come through. Wheeee! No worries though, that's gonna be more on the Halifax side and we be chillin' on the Bay of Fundy side. So we'll get some awesome wind and crazy waves, but nothing roof-demolishing.

Why am I nervous if not about the hurricane? I'm going to be without internet for SEVEN WHOLE DAYS! I've never spent that much time without at least checking in on The Secret (the RPG I run, [link] for you newbies that haven't seen me link to it in every other deviation comment) which I've totally checked from hotels cause I'm such a fretful site-mother. Can my staff advertise enough to keep activity from dropping? My co-admins ~Baveh and ~Schattensauce are around this time (or at least I hope they will be) so if anything terribly dramatic happens I know they can handle it. We're a pretty mature bunch, for all our silliness.

Anyhow, I'm off on a jet plane tomorrow, so don't expect to hear from me until August 29th. I hope the internet doesn't crumble without me. xD

]]> ~adverbial-spectra http://adverbial-spectra.deviantart.com/journal/25481442/ http://adverbial-spectra.deviantart.com/journal/25481442/ Mon, 22 Jun 2009 19:15:36 PDT Anyone planning on attending the devMeet in Toronto [link] ? I wasn't planning to go, but if a couple people who have actually heard of me are going, I'll be in the area and might stop by.

I know most of you guys aren't Canadian, so I'd probably just end up being some shy nobody in the corner. But if you'll be there, I'd love to meet you! Ooo, meeting people from the INTERNETS, scary! xD

Twitter people, I am [link] , but beware! I use four-letter words, and they aren't "pony" or "cake". Okay, maybe cake. You have been warned!


Smile!

]]> ~adverbial-spectra http://adverbial-spectra.deviantart.com/journal/25088025/ http://adverbial-spectra.deviantart.com/journal/25088025/ Tue, 02 Jun 2009 12:28:40 PDT In case you hadn't noticed by the three deviations posted in the past 24 hours, my laptop is back! The Staples guys didn't even mess anything up! I'm pleased.

I think my Photoshop-withdrawal has subsided a bit now, so I can sit back and maybe not make another manip for a day or two. XD Photomanipulation kind of eats my day when I get into it. Where does all the time go? On the upside, the Photoshop diet is a good one because I forget to have lunch. XD Okay, not so good. But I snack, which is proven to be better for you if you snack on healthy foods. Also, I'm SUCH a tea addict these days! Mango black tea is awesome.

I'm operating my laptop with the battery taken out, so it won't burn out the charge circuits. My warranty runs out in a while (less than a year I think) so I've got to take extra special care of poor Stanley. I'm so glad to be back on my own machine though, with all my settings still intact!

Oh, and I guess more people are into Twitter these days, so I'll repost my URL: [link] . I do swear and stuff though, and I talk about geeky things, so be warned. I'm 20 now, so I don't think at a PG-13 rating. Also, I enjoy creeping people out.

Woo! Okay, I think it's time to feed myself cause I looked at the time and realized I should be hungry. Toodles!


<3 Spec

]]> ~adverbial-spectra http://adverbial-spectra.deviantart.com/journal/24858893/ http://adverbial-spectra.deviantart.com/journal/24858893/ Wed, 20 May 2009 15:27:22 PDT For those of you who haven't yet been subjected to my whining, my laptop is away for repairs. I won't be able to make any images til I get it back, since it's the only machine in the house powerful enough to handle Photoshop. Thankfully I've done a full backup so I won't lose anything if they have to completely revamp it. I think it's just the battery though, it kept saying "battery not detected" when the battery was clearly in.

I guess it's partly my fault for having it plugged in all the time, cause people more computer-savvy than me have said that if you use it plugged in a lot you should take out the battery or it will get worn out. Oh, and you're supposed to drain and recharge it every week or month or something?!? -facepalm- Why didn't they tell me that when my machine was NEW?!? Oh right, maybe it was in that manual I DIDN'T READ. XD

So hopefully my Stanley will be back in a couple weeks with a brand new battery, which I will try not to kill.

Until then, nothing new over here! I'll just be stalking my watchees.


]]> ~adverbial-spectra http://adverbial-spectra.deviantart.com/journal/24229728/ http://adverbial-spectra.deviantart.com/journal/24229728/ Mon, 13 Apr 2009 21:59:12 PDT This is just a quick update to say "hey, I'm still alive and I'm almost done my second year of university!".

Oh yeah, and you should totally check out Another Studio [link] because it's an awesome place and I'm on the staff team. So for those of you who don't have time to join The Secret [link] to get a manip from me, you can always place a request on there and I or someone better will get to it. XD Have I mentioned that =jendee rocks at making skins? She does. Go check out Another Studio. We're the same, except probably less snooty than your average studio.

We won't break your spirit. Unless you kick a kitten.



]]> ~adverbial-spectra http://adverbial-spectra.deviantart.com/journal/23593871/ http://adverbial-spectra.deviantart.com/journal/23593871/ Sun, 08 Mar 2009 14:40:22 PDT ○● B R I T I S H ○●
[x] You drink a lot of tea.
[x] You know what a brolly is.
[ ] You wanted Ben to win X Factor.
[x] You use the word "bugger" or the phrase "bloody hell”
[x] Fish and Chips are yummy.
[x] You can eat a Full English Breakfast.
[x] You dislike emos almost as much as you dislike chavs.
[ ] Its football...not soccer.
[x] You believe the correct way to spell ‘Color’; is ‘Colour’, and 'Centre.'

Total: 77.8%

○● A U S T R A L I A N ○●
[ ] You wear flip flops all year.
[ ] You call flip flops "thongs", not flip flops.
[x] You love a backyard Barbie.
[x] You know a Barbie is not a doll.
[x] You love the beach.
[x] Sometimes you swear without realizing.
[ ] You're a sports fanatic.
[ ] You are tanned.
[ ] You're a bit of a bogan.
[ ] You have an Australian something.

Total: 40%

○● I T A L I A N ○●
[ ] The Sopranos is a great show.
[x] Your last name ends in a vowel.
[ ] Your grandmother makes her own sauces.
[ ] You know how a real meatball tastes.
[ ] You know Italian songs.
[ ] You have dark hair and dark eye color.
[ ] You speak some Italian.
[x] You are under 5'10".
[ ] You know what an Italian horn is.
[x] Pizza/spaghetti is the best food in the world!
[ ] You talk with your hands.

Total: 27.3%

○● S P A N I S H ○●
[ ] You say member instead of Remember.
[ ] You speak Spanish or some.
[x] You like tacos.
[ ] YoU TyPe lIkE ThIs On Da CoMpUtEr.
[ ] You are dark skinned.
[x] You know what a Puta is.
[ ] You talk fast occasionally. (ALWAYS hah.)
[ ] You have had highlights or have dyed your hair.
[ ] You know what platanos are.

Total: 22.2%

○● R U S S I A N ○●
[ ] You say villain as: Vee-lon.
[ ] You get short tempered.
[ ] You know of somebody named Natasha.
[x] You get cold easily.
[ ] Rain is fun for you.
[ ] You get into contests all the time.
[x] You can easily make do with the cold weather.

Total: 28.6%

○● I R I S H ○●
[ ] You think beer is the best.
[ ] You have a bad temper.
[ ] Your last name starts with a Mc, Murph, O', Fitz or ends with a ley, on, un, an, in, ry, ly, y or L.
[x] You have blue or green eyes.
[x] You like the colour green.
[ ] You have been to a St. Patty’s day party.
[ ] You have a family member from Ireland.
[ ] You have red hair.
[x] You have/had freckles.
[ ] Your family get together always include drinking and singing.

Total: 30%

○● A S I A N ○●
[ ] You have slanty/small eyes.
[ ] You like rice a lot.
[ ] You are good at maths.
[x] You have played the piano.
[ ] You have family from Asia.
[ ] You laugh sometimes covering your mouth.
[ ] Most people think you're Chinese.
[ ] You call hurricanes typhoons.
[ ] You go to Baulko.

Total: 11.1%

○● G E R M A N ○●
[x] You like bread.
[ ] You think German Chocolate is good.
[ ] You speak some German.
[x] You know what Schnitzel is.
[x] You hate it when stupid people call you.
[x] You went to Pre-school.
[x] You're over 5'2.

Total: 71.4%

○● C A N A D I A N ○●
[x] You like/play/played hockey.
[ ] You love beer.
[x] You say eh.
[x] You know what poutine is.
[x] You speak some French.
[x] You love Tim Horton's.
[ ] At one point you lived in a farm house.
[ ] You watch/watched Degrassi.

Total: 62.5%

○● A M E R I C A N ○●
[ ] You hate foreigners.
[ ] You hate non-Christians.
[x] You're lazy.
[ ] You have had an abortion.
[ ] But love the penalty.
[ ] You don't read.
[ ] You shop at Wal-Mart.
[x] You think this survey is rather biased.

Total: 25%

○● B E L G I A N ○●
[ ] you grow some small vegetables in the yard.
[x] you like French fries.
[x] you think Belgian chocolate rules.
[x] you know that the 'official best beer in the world' is Belgian.
[ ] you speak both Dutch and French
[x] you like Belgian waffles.
[ ] you call a pub or bar a café.
[ ] you fully realize and acknowledge that your football team sucks.
[ ] you drive/own a French or German car.
[ ] you have a lot of comments on your government.

Total: 40%

○● D U T C H ○●
[x] you like the colour orange.
[x] you are a football enthusiast.
[ ] you often go to 'coffee shops'.
[ ] you know what is meant by 'coffee shops'.
[x] you tend to overreact and show your emotions.
[x] you have a cheerful nature.
[x] you like the sea... ]]> ~adverbial-spectra http://adverbial-spectra.deviantart.com/journal/23281077/ http://adverbial-spectra.deviantart.com/journal/23281077/ Wed, 18 Feb 2009 23:09:57 PST [warning: rant ahead]

I guess you guys have kinda noticed that I don't update my journal much, eh? I tend to fly under the radar that way. I don't like to ramble on about stuff that's going on in life, I guess. Partly cause I don't want people I know to come across stuff written "in the heat of the moment" and all that. So I guess my laid-back persona on dA is partly just self-censorship. If I want to talk something out, I'm sure one of my university friends could be suckered into listening to my confused whining.

If some people find venting on the internet to be therapeutic, power to them. But I think I would just feel ashamed of what I'd written, so I don't do that. My silence is not because my life is perfect. Far from it. My mum has cancer, university is eating all my savings, I have yet to develop any close friendships in Montreal. Among other things. But I don't really feel like talking about that.

I've seen the attention some people are getting from making depressed journal entries, and I just don't get it. Who wants a reminder of all that stuff on their front page? Getting it in my inbox is depressing enough. Bad things happen to everyone, it's a fact of life. I'd rather not be reminded of it.

I'm not targeting anyone specific here, I'm just tired of the weepy end-of-the-world journals. Walk away and do something, get some sleep, go outside. Then come back and see if it's really worth typing out all that anguish for the world to see. Because when you post it on the internet you have no idea who will read it. Some people, like me, care too much about people. And when that starts to consistently drag me down, I have to call an end to it. I'm not saying that posting one angsty journal is a crime, just that consistently making depressing journal posts is upsetting and annoying as hell. If you're really so messed up, you need a therapist, not an online audience.

Pull yourselves together.

Call me heartless, maybe I really am a bitch inside, but I've seen enough. Next time I'm just going to unwatch people's journals. I've had enough.

---

On a lighter note, I now have Twitter and it's proving to be pretty fun following Darth Vader, that crazy cat Sockington and the Questionable Content characters. Oh yeah, and Neil Gaiman and real people like that too.

If anyone really feels like following what I yell to my friends and randomly comment on, here I am: [link] . I'll try to be remotely amusing.

]]> ~adverbial-spectra http://adverbial-spectra.deviantart.com/journal/22560135/ http://adverbial-spectra.deviantart.com/journal/22560135/ Tue, 13 Jan 2009 11:47:07 PST Hey, just a quick update to say you should check out these artists, they're awesome people and very talented! Not to mention great RPers. Yep, these two are buddies of mine on The Secret [link] .


~foxtrot98 has some serious mad skills. Her technical skills are pretty darn flawless and her way with colour makes me jealous. She's been bashed a bit for supposedly copying others' ideas, but all the evidence I've seen shows that she only had one stock image in common with the other artist's manip and the atmosphere/theme was barely even in the same general category. I say "innocent until you give me some proof that actually LOOKS like what she made"!


~saregona is rapidly climbing her way up the ranks to awesomedom! She's fairly new to dA so you probably haven't heard of her yet. Now you have! Head on over to her gallery and watch as her star rises. She tells me she's only been Photoshopping for 6 months, but at the rate she's improving she's going to be kicking my butt soon.

Go visit them, they rock!

]]> ~adverbial-spectra http://adverbial-spectra.deviantart.com/journal/22466817/ http://adverbial-spectra.deviantart.com/journal/22466817/ Thu, 08 Jan 2009 09:09:04 PST Capture my 4000th pageview and I'll make you a manip! If no one gets it on the dot, closest one (after 4000, obviously) gets it.

Oh yeah, and it seems that I've been on dA for over a year now, yay! I guess I haven't done too badly. Let's have a look at the year I've had in dA statistics:


adverbial-spectra has 3,890 pageviews total and her 71 deviations were viewed 14,590 times. She watches 71 people, while 89 people watch her.

Overall, her deviations received 812 comments and were added to deviants' favourites 755 times, while she commented 2,217 times, making about 5.76 comments per day since she joined DA. This means that she gave 27 comments for every 10 that she received.

Her deviation with the most comments is Iron Horse with 56 comments, and it is also her most favourited, with 61 favourites. Her most viewed deviation is Iron Horse with 1,343 views.

9 favourites were given for every 10 comments.

Every 5.4 days she uploads a new deviation, and it's usually on a Sunday, with 18 (25%) of her deviations.

Her busiest month was November 2008 with 11 (15%) of her deviations.

The majority of her deviations are uploaded to the digitalart gallery (69), while her favourite category was photomanip>animalsplants with 65 deviations.

Comments per deviation: 11.43
Favourites per deviation: 10.63
Views per deviation: 205.49
Comments per day: 2.11
Favourites per day: 1.96
Views per day: 37.95
Pageviews per day: 10.12


Wow, did I really upload that much stuff in November? That must've been when I got over the death of my hard drive.

Anyhow, here's to another year of fun and pwnies!

P.S. Anyone else wanna post their gallery stats? They're so interesting!

]]> ~adverbial-spectra http://adverbial-spectra.deviantart.com/journal/22265414/ http://adverbial-spectra.deviantart.com/journal/22265414/ Mon, 29 Dec 2008 17:21:06 PST Want comments?

Feedback is awesome. Half of you found me because I commented on something of yours. I go on massive commenting sprees, commenting on random people's (most often equine) deviations. I admit, it is in the selfish hope that some of them will come look at my stuff and give me feedback in return. What goes around comes around, right?

But I guess that's not terribly fair to the people who are already watching me. So, watcher or not, if you reply to this journal I will visit your gallery and comment on a piece of yours. If you'd like me to look at a specific piece, go ahead and post the link.

And, y'know, I love comments too.


Much love,

Spectra
[link]

]]> ~adverbial-spectra http://adverbial-spectra.deviantart.com/journal/21864167/ http://adverbial-spectra.deviantart.com/journal/21864167/ Sun, 07 Dec 2008 11:52:33 PST Blame *auredd for tagging me. These are fun to do though.

1.Grab the book nearest to you, turn to page 18, and find line 4.
In old Western movies, when one hombre taunts another, it is customary for the second to drawl "Smile when you say that pardner" -my Poetry textbook

2.Stretch your left arm out as far as you can. What do you reach?
Deodorant, flashlight, moisturizer, retainer, chopsticks, mittens

3. What is the last thing you watched on TV?
Haha oh dear... we were watching silly YouTube videos on our TV (yes, our TV is a computer). I think the last one was the Food Fight one with the taquito and the doughnut (hush you, I'm Canadian and we like to spell things the hard way).

4. Without looking, guess what time it is:
2:30

5. Now look at the clock. What is the actual time?
2:26 (I did kind of peek though)

6. With the exception of the computer, what can you hear?
~Elminster-ZK's music. He likes indie stuff and I tend to not dislike much.

7. When did you last step outside? What were you doing?
Heh. Walking home at 3am after clubbing til 2am and chilling at La Belle Province with massive plates of fries and poutine (fries with gravy and cheese curds, it's a Quebec thing). I'm not a huge fan of poutine, I would rather have fries with vinegar.

8. Before you started this survey, what did you look at?
I was working on some posts at The Secret [link] as well as checking for updates to the webcomics I like. Questionable Content (which is quite clean actually) [link] Cyanide and Happiness (which is seldom clean) [link] Dr McNinja (who is a doctor and a ninja) [link] Truck Bearing Kibble (said many times to be the new PBF) [link] XKCD (nerdy. those who don't know calculus and/or computer programming won't get half the jokes) [link] Order of the Stick (a Dungeons and Dragons themed comic, but I find it funny even tho I've never played DnD) [link] and Patches (which is usually just a panel of silly hamster-like creatures) [link]

Yes, I multitask.

9. What are you wearing?
A green nightdress covered in black, white and piebald horses. I'm done classes for the semester so I don't really need to get dressed in the MORNING.

10. Did you dream last night?
Yeah, I dreamed that I was getting high with some natives. WTF?

11. When did you last laugh?
Last night. A lot. That tends to happen when my friends gather.

12. What are on the walls of the room you are in?
No pictures or anything, just paint.

13. Seen anything weird lately?
Yeah, NO SNOW IN MONTREAL!

14. What do you think of this quiz?
It's long but kind of interesting. I would like it to end so I can go watch House now.

15. What is the last film you saw?
Batman Begins. I had only seen it once and wanted to watch it again. Especially since I had already seen the second one (The Dark Knight) three times.

16. If you became a multi-millionaire overnight, what would you buy?
An insane amount of clothes and a chestnut Hanoverian mare. Oh, and some decent riding equipment too, I'm a real rider on a dime. I have second-hand almost everything. Oh yeah, and university is eating my money so I can't even afford lessons.

17. Tell me something about you that I don't know about.
I'm probably going to get glasses this month. I think they'll look hot on me and I have no desire to wear contacts.I would just like to be able to read street signs before it's too late to put my turn signal on. Oh yeah, did I mention I can drive?

18. If you could change one thing about the world, regardless of guilt or politics, what would you do?
Make the human race incapable of hatred. With magic or something. Just -poof- no more hate.

19. Do you like to dance?
Yeah, but I'm terrible at it. That's why I like to dance in big groups so no one notices. We went dancing at a club last night, it was fun.

20. George Bush:
Baaaaaaaaaaaaahahahahahahahaaaaaaaaaaa! I'm sorry, you c... ]]> ~adverbial-spectra http://adverbial-spectra.deviantart.com/journal/21354339/ http://adverbial-spectra.deviantart.com/journal/21354339/ Thu, 06 Nov 2008 09:15:16 PST *does a happy Photoshop dance*

I love CS4. Yeah, I haven't played with it enough to see what really differentiates it from CS3 Extended, but oh well. I didn't uninstall CS3 yet, because I still love it and it's kind of cute to see the two similar icons sitting together on my desktop.

Well, in Digital Imaging class we need to use Photoshop's 3D capabilities in Extended, which are super-limited according to ~Elminster-ZK who knows some 3D. Apparently CS4 has way better 3D features, so maybe I can get through my assignment without having to search the net for a gorram 3d marble. Wahoo!

The only difficulties I've had are that my laptop is, well, a laptop and has an integrated graphics chip instead of a graphics card, so I don't get the cool zoom, rotate and fling features. Also, as usual the details don't look so hot when you're zoomed out. The coolest part about CS4, for you people with graphics cards, is that it makes your graphics card do all the rendering, so you can have smooth zoom, the compass rotate thing that allows you to view from different angles without actually rotating your image on the canvas, you can fling the image when you're navigating with the hand tool, and the details look great when you're zoomed out.

Alas, I'm not really feeling the benefits. I have to resize and then view at Actual Pixels to make sure my credits aren't too small to be legible. But it's a new layout, right? And it's less taxing on my system, which is good because it's only got 1GB of RAM.

]]> ~adverbial-spectra http://adverbial-spectra.deviantart.com/journal/20731582/ http://adverbial-spectra.deviantart.com/journal/20731582/ Sun, 28 Sep 2008 20:03:22 PDT Yeah, I know I have no subscription and no intention to acquire one, so when I feature people it isn't very exciting, but here goes.

*percara is an awesome equine artist. I remember ogling her work at Badri Studios long before I'd even thought that one day I might be a photomanipulator. She does the most amazing things with lighting, and her blending is just perfect every time.
Definitely check out these pieces of hers and more: [link] [link] [link]


Well, now that I'm talking about inspiration, I might as well mention other artists that inspire me to be better (and keep me from getting too cocky about what I do).

*devils-horizon is the best, hands down. I don't know how she makes everything so different, but she paints details onto horses and all sorts of wild stuff. I am insanely jealous.
[link]

=jendee is another artist who just gets it right. Great blending, lovely colours, and her manes and tails are always so perfect. Girl has photo-realism down to a science, and she produces a lot of pieces too.
[link]

~CharlieAngel is another of the artists I looked up to at Badri. Her text style is always similar but always seems to fit seamlessly. She's especially great with wings and multiple-horse pieces.
[link]

=inPrint is great with moody lighting and clouds, as well as conveying lots of emotion in her pieces. Like, damn. Those poor lonely horses.
[link]

~auredd is good with text and always manages to balance her pieces, whether they be super-bright or a dark night scene. She also manipulates cats and people.
[link]

~hyppopatamoose is the queen of advanced blending. Seriously, she'll take limbs from a whole assortment of different poses and make them work so seamlessly that you would never guess it wasn't real. She's great with people, horses, wolves, leopards, whales, anything and everything!
[link]


I'm sure I missed a few, but I'll have to sing their praises another time. I'm watching most of the old Badri Studios gang, and they've been doing this a lot longer than I have, so obviously I look up to them. I've only been Photoshopping for a year now, so yay for me! I'm always learning, always improving. Maybe one day I'll catch up. In the meantime, they continue to inspire me to push past a simple cut-and-blend. You rock, ladies.

]]> ~adverbial-spectra http://adverbial-spectra.deviantart.com/journal/20641723/ http://adverbial-spectra.deviantart.com/journal/20641723/ Tue, 23 Sep 2008 19:06:19 PDT Yep, I'm going for the shameless plugging, just to make sure I reach every one of my horse-appreciating watchers. Surely some of you must like play-by-post RPGs, and if you like those and horses, then you'll love this one.

If my sig hadn't already given you the hint, you really should join The Secret [link] . We're soooo close to having 200 members, and we've only been open since Feb 2008! I've been really impressed with activity lately as well, we've had between 10 and 20 members on each day.

It's lots of fun, and we have some really awesome posters on there. I mean awesome as in interesting, not "posts a small novel to prove they're better than everyone". It's an intermediate/advanced RPG, so you'll see posts from 200 to over 1000 words long. Not much more than that, though, since we would rather not spend half an hour reading about the tiniest movements of your horse.

Here's my trustee ad that seems to get everyone's attention and explain the options all in one fell swoop:

[link]

Hello there literate roleplayers. Are you tired of bland Light vs. Dark plots, equine RPGs that all seem the same, and plots that don't affect your character?

Well we've got a surprise for you. At The Secret it's not just about good and evil. In fact, good and evil don't have a lot to do with things. No matter whose side you're on, you can be as nice or as cruel as you see fit. But if you live in the north you'd better be tough if you want to stay alive. Here's a summary of what kinds of characters you can make:

• Southern equines: The Resistance. You like freedom and would rather be left to your own devices. Conquering is not really your thing, you just want to be left alone to start a herd.


• Weakland equines: The Captives. You keep your head down and hope you don't get beaten up too often. You dream of escaping to the south, but know you'll be killed for trying. Mostly mares live here, though there is a small number of stallions. They usually get beaten down the most so they can't rebel.


• Northern equines: Tartarus's Legions. You work for the mastermind, Tartarus, the one who blew the news about the object of power out into the open. You answer to his captain Atlas, and you spend your time fighting, bullying mares in the Weaklands, and training colts for the army. If you have any spare time you can gather a small herd.


• Haven of Hesperides: The Secret Keepers. You know not hate nor greed, and you live within the walls of the Haven. You may leave to explore, but other equines seem so different to you. You live in peace and philosophy, seeking knowledge and enlightenment. But you know what is brewing, and the battle will come to your doorstep even though they cannot break down the door.

We are also accepting staff applications for Global Moderators, Graphics Designers and Skin Designer.


What's going on... ?


There was peace once, though by now it is but a distant memory in the minds of those old enough to remember. There was order and cohesion, and nothing to fear. The Keepers of Hesperides stayed within their walled Haven, and none disrupted their peace. There was always a rumor that an object of unspeakable power lay hidden within those great walls, but in time the rumor grew dull with age. But now a young stallion, maddened with greed, is gathering all the information he can about this mysterious object of celestial power. Flanked by the powerful drafts of the northern lands, he is murdering and taking prisoners left and right. There is only a handful of southern herds that stand against him, led by the mysterious Theseus. If they are vanquished, the Keepers will be on their own. Chaos and uncertainty abound. How much longer can the forces of reason hold off this madman?

The board is set, the pieces are in play. Whose side will you join?

Read more.

Canon positions open for audition, so join today!



But just, y'know, if you feel like it. And I'd love you forever, or at least until you fall inactive, at which point I will shock you with a defibrillator.

Thanks for reading, I hope to entice at least a few of you to join.


]]> ~adverbial-spectra http://adverbial-spectra.deviantart.com/journal/20136998/ http://adverbial-spectra.deviantart.com/journal/20136998/ Sun, 24 Aug 2008 19:17:20 PDT Alas, it's time for an update on my contest entries. =arrsistable's contest results were posted, and I didn't place at all. That's fine, there were lots of quality entries. It must have been a hard decision, and I liked some other images better than the ones chosen, but oh well. Out of over 200 entries, the odds were against me. But I thought I had something.

What gets me is that I love those two images (When I Fall and Phantom of the Opera) and I was really proud of them, and now I feel like they've just been shot down. I can deal with that, I'm not looking for sympathy here, I just want to know... what am I missing? I know you win some and you lose some, but why are my favourites worth nothing to better artists?

I'm aware that I do place sometimes, but since that's usually in contests held by my watchers, I already know that they like my stuff. Whenever I enter a contest by a really well-known artist, no one gives my work a second glance. *shrug* So I'm feeling a bit overlooked. Of course, I realize I'm just preaching to the converted, since if you're seeing this because you watch me then you already take the time to look at what I make. Is anyone else feeling like a complete unknown out there?


Savage [link] for ~SharysAogail : 2nd place
Iron Horse [link] for *kuschelirmel-stock : didn't place
Perfect Storm [link] for ~Miss-Independant1995 : 1st place
When I Fall [link] for =arrsistable : didn't place
Phantom of the Opera [link] for =arrsistable : didn't place
Falling Slowly [link] for ~Hykey : contest closes Sept 3rd
Be Strong [link] for ^WilderWein77 : contest closes September 28th




]]> ~adverbial-spectra http://adverbial-spectra.deviantart.com/journal/19904078/ http://adverbial-spectra.deviantart.com/journal/19904078/ Mon, 11 Aug 2008 19:23:21 PDT Yeah, I just wanted to post something happy to get the negative journal off my front page. Some people are jerks and I can't change that.

I noticed that my past four deviations were not orders, but contest entries. I guess contests are big in the summer. So I thought I'd post a list so I can keep track of what I've entered so far.

Savage [link] for ~SharysAogail : 2nd place
Iron Horse [link] for *kuschelirmel-stock : didn't place
Perfect Storm [link] for ~Miss-Independant1995 : 1st place
Falling Slowly [link] for ~Hykey : contest closes ???
When I Fall [link] for =arrsistable : contest closes August 20th
Phantom of the Opera [link] for =arrsistable : contest closes August 20th
Be Strong [link] for ^WilderWein77 : contest closes September 28th

Wish me luck! Well, actually, you don't have to, but yeah. I'm gonna need it, there are some awesome manips that mine are up against. *fingers crossed*


]]> ~adverbial-spectra http://adverbial-spectra.deviantart.com/journal/19741990/ http://adverbial-spectra.deviantart.com/journal/19741990/ Sat, 02 Aug 2008 20:09:30 PDT Ugh, don't you just hate some people?!? I had hoped that I would never have to ban anyone from my page. So much for that.

I'm not afraid to say what I think, especially here, since what are you going to do to me? Roll your eyes a little? Leave a scathing comment? Really now, is that going to cut me deep? No. But I come here for fun, and dA becomes a little bit less fun when I have to deal with immature people who won't even bother to read what I write.

No, I'm not talking about ignorant comments or anything. I mean outright rudeness, drama queen behaviour I haven't seen since middle school. Remember ~Miss-Independant1995's contest? Me and many others entered. We were asked to pick our top three favourites, even though they wouldn't influence judging. I gave some comments with mine to explain why I made my choice. One of the entrants must have misread my comment regarding hers (I love the colours and awesome mane and tail smudging. DON'T BLUR YOUR MANES, PEOPLE! Smudging strands looks a million times better. The horse is a bit too bright for the background, but it has a nice effect.), since she posted an angry message of my front page (it's still there, but I'm not naming names). I tried to sort out what part of my comment she was taking offense to, but she never replied. So that was that.

Until she watched me the other day. I stopped by her page and inquired if things were cool between us, if she'd read and understood that I'd meant nothing negative towards her piece. She hadn't even bothered to read it, and said so quite rudely. So I pasted it there in case she didn't want to go hunt for it. She wrote the following, and immediately hid the posts:

Are you that kind of person who must speak?
I do not care for any words. What you had written, though for a moment, was your impression upon my work. Pasting your comment on here is slapping me in the face, since I have no intention upon reading it.

I expect more when I should expect less.

If you learn anything in the time you began manipulating till now it should be this::

I do not care.

The sorry fact that you still remember the whole charade is ridiculous. Get on with your life and for goodness sake, leave the internet to its own. Know when to speak and when to keep your mouth shut.

If I did not want to read your reply in the first place, what would cause you to believe I would wish to read it now? Especially upon my front page?

My actions were wrong. However, repaying the favor is more of a dis-service to you.

Good day.

What good is saying your actions were wrong if you continue to treat the person as sub-human? And hiding the whole thing, well, I get that she wanted to forget about it, but that doesn't show any remorse. Then she notes me and tells me I will be banned from her page if I continue the conversation about the comment. I send my final reply, saying I just wanted to understand why she was mad (and there was no need to be rude). And I got my final reply, another rude message which also said that I was now banned. I couldn't care less. I can't have any respect for an artist who can't keep her cool and have a civil conversation to sort out a little misunderstanding. That's just low. I'm surprised that some younger deviants show so much more maturity than the ones closer to my age.

I think she was aiming for a flame-war, and I didn't give her one. But I am annoyed that she thinks she can get away with treating me so poorly just because she hides her rude comments. Well I won't hide the one on my page. I won't take this kind of crap in silence.

I'm not saying you should go post mean things on her page. That would be immature, and I know you're better than that. I'm just telling you what happened, and you can dismiss it or reevaluate your impression of her. Or both. But I'm not going to shut my mouth because she says so. She was exceedingly rude, and I'm sick of letting people walk all over me like that. I was as civil and understanding as could be, and she didn't change her tone one bit.

She's no longer on my watcher list, so chances are she'll never see this. Not that I care. What can she do? She can't hide this.

And I banned the little punk.

]]> ~adverbial-spectra http://adverbial-spectra.deviantart.com/journal/18218329/ http://adverbial-spectra.deviantart.com/journal/18218329/ Wed, 07 May 2008 20:11:51 PDT I have been tagged! ~auredd got me. It's funny because my first thought was "What? She knows I exist?". So I normally don't respond to tags, but out of respect I think I will this time. It looked like fun anyway.

The rules are:
1. Post these rules.
2. Each person tagged must post 8 random facts about themselves
3. Tags should write a journal/ blog of these facts
4. At the end of the post 8 more persons are tagged and named
5. Go to their page and leave a comment telling them they're tagged

On with the show!

1. Someone has asked me to marry them in the past, and they were serious. I hardly ever speak to him now.
2. I have short hair but my boyfriend has really long hair! It's gorgeous and full of ringlets. I brush it sometimes. He won't let me put it in pigtails.
3. I have a tendency, when single, to be attracted to any guy I can have a decent conversation with. Within reason, of course.
4. There is a small part of me that hates people who can stay skinny without trying. I run for 45 minutes 3 times a week, I eat only healthy food, I drink 3 liters of water a day, and I WILL NEVER LOOK LIKE THAT! I see skinny girls eating delicious food that I really wish I could have, but I know I can't. I hate that, it's so unfair!
5. Then I see people with really bad acne and I figure they hate me for not having to wash my face all the time.
6. I can speak and write French. In fact I go to university in a city where you can't get a job without knowing French. My American friends who go there are going to have a tough time.
7. I don't like broadcasting my feelings and the goings-on in my life on the internet. I can ask for attention just fine in the real world, thanks. And it's the people I know in real life (aka not just on the internet) who need to hear it anyway.
8. I don't like mustard.


Most people who do these kinds of things have done so already, so I'll leave it up to you to decide. Do it if you feel like it. (Take THAT, rules 4 and 5! Hey, rules were meant to be broken!)

]]> ~adverbial-spectra http://adverbial-spectra.deviantart.com/journal/18140288/ http://adverbial-spectra.deviantart.com/journal/18140288/ Fri, 02 May 2008 21:18:45 PDT
Well, I'm done my first year of university and I seem to have survived just fine. Next year will be a lot different since I'll be in an apartment with some friends, and I'll have to take the subway into class all the time. Ah, the price we pay for living in a neighbourhood not full of drunks!

I'm really thrilled with the success of "my" equine RPG The Secret. Really it was created by ~Baveh as a sequel to Avatrai [link] when the admin disappeared, but she came back shortly after we had gotten the new version on its feet, and so we had to take all the ideas down because the original version came back. That place really has an awesome plot, but it's in a slump again due to admin inactivity.

Anyhow, so Bav handed over the site to a few other admins, of which Schatten and Azurade brainstormed up a really neat plot for that then-unused site. Azurade had to quit because of personal reasons, and I stepped in. Before I was just going to be the graphics girl, but it turned out that making a site was something I found rewarding (and already knew how to do) so I soon took over many of the admin duties like making boards and rules, advertising, etc. Before we built the site back up from scratch, of course, Schatten sent me a draft of the plot, and I helped by clearing up some foggy points, and filling in such blanks like what the object of power really is, what it does, and the names of characters and such. Now that Schatten can't be online as much as she would like due to strict parents, I am the main admin. Bav has returned as a member, which is great because she's awesome.

We've got a bunch of active members now, which is really great. It's hard for me to keep myself at four characters, but I know I don't have the time to post with any more than that. Theseus, Apollo, Chantico and Khepri are my charries, you've likely seen the manipulations I made for them. I'm really happy with the new skin I designed for The Secret, you can see it here: [link] . It's probably the first decent skin I've made without using a premade skin. Yay for me!

Still taking auditions and staff on there, though auditions will close soon. It'll be exciting having all the positions filled! I'll stop rambling now. Clearly I love that place too much. I'm an advertising fiend, too.

If you want to join, I'll love you forever. But no pressure, we're not struggling.

]]> ~adverbial-spectra http://adverbial-spectra.deviantart.com/journal/17521608/ http://adverbial-spectra.deviantart.com/journal/17521608/ Wed, 26 Mar 2008 07:46:53 PDT for letting me know where she saw it. My deviation Gallow [link] can be seen here [link] in some random person's Photobucket album! I didn't give them permission, because the only user I authorized to use it was given a smaller version of the image to put in a table. She was never given the link to the larger deviation on dA.

[link] There it is, in the larger 800 pixel wide version I only released on deviantArt. I have it in 1280 pixels wide as well, but that won't be put on the internet for obvious reasons.

I have taken action an e-mailed the Photobucket Copyright Agent. Don't let art theft go unreported!


--------------------------------------------------------------------------

On a happier note, thanks to for the adorable new icon she made me!

]]> ~adverbial-spectra http://adverbial-spectra.deviantart.com/journal/16159607/ http://adverbial-spectra.deviantart.com/journal/16159607/ Sat, 29 Dec 2007 22:49:37 PST
I am too impulsive sometimes, and then it leaves me with an image I'm not quite happy with. I've only been doing this for a couple months, so I have a lot still to learn. I look at other people's images and I wonder how they make everything WORK so well, and then i remember that I have hardly any experience.

The game plan: tutorials and lots of trial and error. Practice, practice, practice.

]]> ~adverbial-spectra http://adverbial-spectra.deviantart.com/journal/15960729/ http://adverbial-spectra.deviantart.com/journal/15960729/ Sun, 16 Dec 2007 14:32:38 PST [link] where I am predominantly a writer, though I might start doing manipulations on there too. Spectra is my alias on the horse RPG Avatrai [link] where I generally do lots of awesome things and occasionally make images for people.

One look at my gallery will tell you that I'm horse-crazy. I can blab about riding forever, though sadly I'm not taking lessons at the moment. I have university sucking all my money, I can't afford to ride!

Anyhow, enjoy the stuff!

]]> ~adverbial-spectra