Acephalous

[ecru]

Username: acephalous

Spam proof E-mail: e* c* r* u* 0* 0* 6*@yahoo.com
(Just take out the spaces and stars)

Hello, my name is Laura and I'm interested in creating a site to host my artwork and occasional comics on.  It would be more of a portfolio website, where I regularly update the images I've drawn.  While I don't have a concrete update schedule, I am fairly consistent in posting things as I create them.  However, please don't let my mention of comics make you think that maintaining one is my goal here.  I suppose you could call them... those crazy "artiste" comics that take forever to do, have no schedule, and are more of an art project.  I hope that doesn't deter anyone, but honestly, my true passion is in my regular art.  And that is exactly what I want to show professionally: those finished (and slightly less finished) works.  I've been bounced around from server to server by some not-so-reliable hosts, never being able to maintain a site long enough to attract regular viewers.   I'm encouraged by the Xepher motto and management, and it seems that this would be a great place to be.

So... an art site, you say?!  I work in traditional, digital, and photographic mediums.  I do everything from singular illustrations to comic pages to darkroom photography.  

Yes, well maybe I had better shut my mouth and give some examples!
First, some generic gallery sites:
http://ecru.deviantart.com
http://www.flickr.com/photos/ileum/

Alright, so I am a multi-media-all-over-the-place girl.  But my favorite?  Traditional.
Mixed Media:
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v400/ecru/tok_skulls_sml.jpg
(this one has nudity, eek!) http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v400/ecru/abstract_mess_sml.jpg

Watercolor (my favorite type of paint):
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v400/ecru/ofanglesandangels_sml.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v400/ecru/watercolor_sunglasscity_sml.jpg

India Ink:
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v400/ecru/20sgirl_color_sml.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v400/ecru/teeth_sml.jpg

However, I also do some digital work, mostly oekaki stuff (because digital painting is just not on par with traditional media in my elitist au-naturel painter world.  (kidding)):
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v400/ecru/oekaki_plantsex.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v400/ecru/oekaki_emobloodyboy.gif
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v400/ecru/oekaki_avantgardeboy.gif

Annnddddddd a page of this comic that is taking me forever to do and is just for kicks:
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v400/ecru/grasshopper_page01.jpg

As you can tell, I really change my style up a lot.  With painting things, I tend to go realism all the way.  On my sketches and doodles, I take a more... cartoony (I... dislike that word) style.

Okay, and a few photos just since I mentioned it:
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v400/ecru/photo_lauragrass.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v400/ecru/photo_ashsiting.jpg


Allrriigghhhttt, I think that is enough for now.  Luckily I have a large body of work to get started with.  (oh, making all those thumbnails will be so terribly exciting.)


Okay, and now to talk about my .html skills:
I am quite familiar with .html.  Uhm, however, I do not have a "website" up at the moment.  HOWEVER, don't write me off just yet.

First, my LJ account. (which also has lots of sketches on it that aren't on my DA account.)
http://ecru.livejournal.com
I know I know, you're all thinking "what good is this?  They provide the template!"  But please consider:  I'm using the S1 style system on LJ, which means I had to create ALL of the code needed to customize it to look like that.  I researched it all and typed it out, and I know it like the back of my hand.  And no, I DID NOT just take code from another layout and paste it in my overrides box, nor did I slightly tweak someone elses layout.  All of that is done by hand, using my own ideas and visions.  My LJ also shows that I know a good deal about CSS: customizing bgs, colored scrollbars, how to change font, cursors, borders, tables, header images, etc etc etc etc etc.

And don't worry, even though I can use pure .html, I am actually a bit of a cheater and have Dreamweaver to design sites with.  So, along with the LJ, here are some screencaps I took of layouts that I have done in the past: (and please forgive the downsizing, they were just too large in a mortifying way.  Oh, and I mostly just took screenshots of the art pages because, well... they're so much more colorful and happy.)
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v400/ecru/prevdesign_01.jpg  (whoopsies!  Sorry, the scroll bar got repeated as I was hurridly trying to paste the two screenshots together.)
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v400/ecru/prevdesign_02.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v400/ecru/prevdesign_03.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v400/ecru/prevdesign_04.jpg

As you can see, I typically go very veerrryyyyy simple on designs.  This is because for the longest time, up until last year, I was one of those lucky lucky lucky lucky dial-up users, and boy oh boy did I feel the love when met with pages designed with flash or made up of image maps!  However, I must admit that my empathy for the dial-up users is quickly fading now that I have my broadband power-up, and I am stealthily tinkering with image maps as we speak.  However, as far as my site goes here, at first it will definitely be simple and clean.  (also just because it makes maintenance and editing so so so much easier.)

And, well... that just about sums it up.  I've wanted my own clean pristine gallery for ages.  Something about only having my work on DA just... creeps me out a little bit.  Plus I love tinkering with webdesign, even though... I... I don't know how to use FTP. (But it will come!)

So, please let me know what you think.

Best wishes all!



PS - I don't mean to step on anyone's toes, but could someone please direct me to the Terms of Service page for Xepher.net?  I looked around but couldn't find anything, and I'd like to read it before all this (possibly) gets set in stone.  I'd just feel more comfortable knowing what my artist's rights are within the site along with all that other legal jargon.

[Xepher]

Very nice art. I am impressed on that already. The HTML stuff... it sounds like you can manage, and that's all I'm really looking for. Don't have to be a web design guru here.

As for "terms of service" there really isn't one. The closest thing is the Rules section here: http://xepher.net/index.php?page=hosting which includes a link to my bandwidth providers Acceptable Use Policy. You seem mainly concerned with "artist rights" which, in my head, means you basically want to make sure there's not some hidden clause (like at deviant art) where you're giving up the rights to your work. There's no such thing here. In fact, there's no legal agreement at all. From a paranoid perspective, that can be good and bad. The good is that you're in no danger of giving up any rights, on the other hand, you have no guarantee that I won't just kick you out tomorrow because I don't like the way you spell "colour" or something.

From a practical standpoint, I can tell you this. I claim nothing in terms of rights over anything you put up here. It is, and will remain yours, unless YOU specifcally give those rights to someone else. I do claim the right of ownership over the service though. That means, I own the bandwidth, storage space, etc. that are used by xepher.net and its members. That gives me the right to remove, ban, or delete anything I don't like... which means I can have rules like "No Porn" here. As I say in rule #2, 99% of the time, I never need to exercise these rights. I always talk to people first, and let them know if they're doing something borderline. The line between porn/nudity is often one of those lines. I've even set up a thread on the forum with clarifications on such things.

Bottom line, you're not signing or legally agreeing to anything, nor am I. It's a handshake agreement, and either of us can leave it at anytime, and only with what we had at the start.

[ecru]

Thank you!

And also, thanks for the timely response.  I wasn't very concerned at the lack of all that legal mumbo-jumbo, but you pinned my fears on the head when you mentioned DA.  That was more what I was worried about, that there was some secret clause here that made Xepher.net eligible to use and own my art as they pleased.  I am very happy that that isn't the case!

And I don't plan on showing porn of gratuitous violence here either.  I don't think I've ever drawn any in the first place.

I checked out those two pages before, and I'm perfectly fine with the rules that you have set up.  I have no plans of causing trouble or trying to weedle myself through the guidelines.

Once again, thanks for explaining all of that to me and making it clear!

[Xepher]

Approved! You should have an email with instructions. Please follow them to setup your account.

[Munerift]

Oh I didnt get to say Yes! =P

...if only everyone were this organized.

[fesworks]

wow! very sweet paintings!