So all those sub cats...

Its no secret that the stock and resources gallery is HUGE.  On a scale thats intimidating, complicated and a bit like a bottomless pit of sub, sub, sub, sub, sub cats.

Last year we were very lucky to have a bit of a makeover job in Resources/Fonts and Resources/Stock, however, we are looking with "new deviant's eyes" (Yes, we kidnapped new deviants and stole their eyeballs) to look at our gallery long and hard.  HARD.

You can read more about whats going on with this huge project here - [link]

What we'd love to get from you guys

Feedback and suggestions! 
Do you know of sub cats that are completely obsolete that we could tidy up and get rid of?
Are there dark alleyways hidden in the maze of resources sub cats that need a light shining on them?
Can some categories be merged, or renamed to make them more logical/useful to todays deviant community?

Shortly we will be posting a links journal to all the different galleries so you can head out into the wider DAverse to find out whats happening in other places and to add your thoughts and comments.
Main journal has now been posted here -
REMINDER Gallery Makeover Project JournalsGreetings Deviants! 
As I have no doubt most of you have heard from $Moonbeam13's journal, a lot of the galleries here on DeviantART are having a makeover. This largely consists of merging and getting rid of categories, but please take a read of the original journal for more details.
I am sure a lot of you have seen these gallery makeover journals floating around already, but here is a definitive list of all the journals so far. Please note that not all galleries are on this list, more may be added later. Also some of these links may be updated in future, and we'll be sure to update the link here as neccessary.
Please comment on the appropriate journals for each area if you have an opinion as to how each gallery can be updated. Remember the more opinions the better so share this journal, and lets get as much of the community involved as we can!
Trad. Typography

Go check out the suggestions for improvements across the other galleries on the site!!

Here though we are concentrating on the stock and resources gallery, so please keep your suggestions/comments on topic!

Resources/Fonts..

Since the resources/fonts category is quite complicated, we've once again bribed ^pica-ae to post a journal specifically for it here - [link] So if you have suggestions specifically for the fonts category, please post your comments over there so we can more easily keep track

Resources/Fractal Resources

Our lovely ^SaTaNiA has done a Fractal specific Gallery Makeover journal here - [link] so if you use the fractal resources gallery, or have suggestions on improvements, please pop over there to post your comments!

Digital Art and Application Reference Tutorials

For a long time the Resources/Tutorials/Digital Art (OR Application Reference)  galleries have been something of a minefield, with miscats and confused deviants scattered across the landscape.  There are a plethora of duplicated software sub cats and completely obsolete areas that now exist that we would like to get sorted once and for all.

Issue -  Currently the tutorials gallery is organized by tutorial content EG Application Reference, or Digital Art Which means there are multiple sub cats - for example Photoshop, that appear to have no difference whatsoever in the submission type despite the location of the parent category.

Proposed Solution - Instead of having tutorials classified by what they are about, we propose to turn things around on their head, and make the tutorials gallery classified by the software you want to use.  So, instead of having tutorials for Photoshop in 5 different locations, you will now have 1 main Photoshop tutorial gallery. Within that Photoshop Tutorial gallery will be sub categories for tutorials on using Photoshops tools, Tutorials on how to draw and paint using Photoshop etc - for each major piece of software. 



Pros
More logical layout/gallery tree
Fewer chances of miscats.
Generic tutorials that do not mention any specific software can be placed in the same format, without the gallery loosing continuity.
Cons
Many pieces of software available - some in very niche areas which will have to be placed into an "other software" sub cat

Artisan Crafts Tutorials

Issue For a long time Artisan Crafts has been woefully neglected with next to no helpful sub categories to aid artists drill down to more specific areas they are interested in

Proposal  The addition of some new sub categories to the following effect:


Pros - More clarity for Artisan Crafts Tutorials
Cons - Are more sub categories actually needed?

Devious Suggestions

These are some of the suggestions currently put forward:

Update Application Resources/Photoshop .PSD files title to: ".psd and .png files" (or similar) Suggested by =CelticStrm-Stock and =Thy-Darkest-Hour

Merge Application Resources/Photoshop Custom Shapes with Photoshop Patterns and change the title to: "Photoshop Shapes, Patterns & Styles" ** Do the same for Illustrator as well** Suggested by `shelldevil

Ensuring there is a generic art tutorials area for non software/media specific tutorials. Suggested by ^pica-ae and *SenshiStock

Vector, Vexel & Pixel tutorials should be kept separate because of how different they are. Recommended by ^TheLastHuzzah `Krissi001 and ~MLAproduction

Ensuring AC tutorials/Textiles, needlework & plush toys description is clear and concise to include tutorials for clothing that is not costumery. Recommended by ^Talty

Including stone work and glass work in the new "Metal and Wood working" AC tutorials sub cat. Recommended by ^Talty

Change the name of AC tuts/"Papercraft" to something more inclusive of other paper craft types such as origami and book binding etc to - "Folding & Papercraft" Recommended by ^Talty

Add a specific sub cat for AC tuts/Miniatures for polymer clay food mini's and other mini items like doll house props/furniture etc. Recommended by ^Talty

Add a specific top level resources/pixel resources gallery as per fractals and vector to better support pixel artists searching for related resources.  Suggested by ~krissi

We would love to hear your thoughts on these proposals, and any other suggestions/issues you can see in the stock and resources galleries

About Project 'stock-A-zine'...

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What is needed and how can 'YOU' help?

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Conclusive...

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How to submit?

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The Stock and Resources community is an integral part of deviantART, both for having an active community of its own as well as providing high quality stock to all deviants. 

As this community has grown so much over the years, so has the amount of invalid stock and resources that have been provided by some deviants. The Stock and Resources community feels like this reflects negatively on them, the volunteers have a hard time trying to teach people about valid stock and how to use it correctly, and it gives an appearance that deviantART Staff tolerate so-called “art theft” or copyright infringement.

In this article our aim is to reinforce our policies regarding stock and stock use and clear up some misconceptions.

Stock and Resource submissions to deviantART:

What are Invalid Stock and Resources?
In short, invalid stock or resources are anything which you do not have full permission to upload. This includes images of celebrities, images taken from films, games and books or images found via search engines. 

If you didn't take the picture, or have clear and explicit permission from the artist prior to submission your stock or resource will be considered invalid. All submissions to deviantART must comply with our submissions and copyright policy

FAQ #157: Can I use things created by other people in my submissions?
deviantART Submission Policy
deviantART Copyright Policy

What happens to Invalid Stock and Resources?
First we will look to see if the deviation would be better suited to a different gallery or a deviants scraps, if that is the case than it will be moved. If we need take further action then we will request that the deviant provides proof of permission to submit. Once we have requested proof of permission, the artwork will be suspended from public view for 30 days, during this period the deviant can lift the suspension by providing the necessary proof. For repeat offenses or large scale infringement other administrative actions may be applied, this may include immediate deviation deletion or account suspensions. The falsification of submission proof is met with zero tolerance and will result in immediate removal of the image as well as a suspension or indefinite ban on the account.

FAQ #193: How do I prove that I had permission to use someone's work?

Stock and Resource use on deviantART:

 
What can I use in my submissions?
You can only use images in your submissions which you have permission to use. This is either works created entirely through your own means, valid stock and resources or images for which you have obtained specific, verifiable written permission to use.

You may also use images that are considered Public Domain in your submissions. Please note however that public domain does not mean anything you can find on the internet. Public Domain images are images which are free from copyright either because the term of copyright has elapsed or copyright was never applied to the artwork. The current term of copyright that deviantART adheres by is the life of the artist and 70 years after their death.

What must I do to make sure that my images are valid for submission?
deviantART requires that you document your source material and encourage you to provide links where possible. We also require that you follow the terms and conditions set by the provider or host website. Most providers and host websites do not allow the redistribution of their stock or the modification of their stock in to other resources, such as application brushes, premade backgrounds or "renders". We will remove any works that violate a stock or resource providers terms and conditions once notified by the provider or their legal agent.

FAQ #217: What are "Stock and Resources" and can I use them in my submissions?

My image was deleted but it came from a stock website, why is this?
There are a lot of sites claiming to be valid stock and resource sites, but they are offering materials which they do not have permission to offer. If we receive notice from the copyright holder or their legal agent acting on their behalf then we will honour their copyright and remove any infringing work, even if you thought it was taken from a valid stock and resource site. You should use extra caution when using materials from sites offering famous images or photos of well known people, as these are rarely valid stock. We recommend that you only use recognised stock and resource sites such as fotolia.com, sxc.hu, istockphoto.com, gettyimages.co.uk or our own stock and resource providers.

Stock updates, HOLIDAYS!

So, the holiday season is upon us, and I am writing this from a computer that has been attacked by tinsel and other shiny things that keep distracting me!!

^PirateLotus-Stock and I wish our entire stock and resources community a safe, magical and warm festive season no matter when or how you celebrate!  After the recent devastating news of the killings in Connecticut its a hard reminder that family and friends can be swept away from us in the blink of an eye, so cherish them and smother them in love every chance you get.  We all know that there are many out there who won't be able to, and we send you our love.

The stock community has been ticking along quite nicely the last month or so which is lovely to see, we really dislike drama affecting the stock & resources galleries and try to head it off where we can!  This is a reminder to everyone that we are here to help you, no matter what the issue or problem and that its important that you tell us what's going on - we can't help otherwise!  If I am not available, then Erin ( ^PirateLotus-Stock will be or vice versa.  In fact, its not just Erin and I but the entire community volunteer team along with our awesome bosslady $Moonbeam13 who are here to help you should you need it!  Don't be worried about getting in contact with us!!

NEW STOCK CONTEST ON THE WAY!  Yes, you heard it here first! We are in the process of finalising and organising a new all encompassing stock contest for you which we will tell you more about in the new year!   This one is designed to get the entire community involved no matter what type of stock or resources you make currently

News and Features from around the community

You may have already seen/read/faved some of these but if you haven't they are well worth checking out!!

Features by ^Elandria




Features by ^PirateLotus-Stock