I could also call this the OC-ness of choosing one's DA favorites

Ever since I became an active member of DA, I've tried to apply a few semi-strict criteria in choosing my faves. At first I tried to select no more than three pieces from each artist to increase the variety of my "collection." These were chosen largely because they were representative of the artist's style and, uhm -- well, the word i like to use is they "resonated" with me.

What I mean is that the theme of the image moved me as much as the actual appearance of the image itself.

That gradually expanded, though, and I found myself faving (hello, DA-only verb ) more than three works from artists whose vision really inspired me. That's my cue to to
and

In the beginning, I found many of the pieces in my favorites gallery from the Daily Devs, Popular and New Devs featured on DA's home page. Later I learned how to browse through the myriad categories this site offers.

That's when my selection process fine-tuned itself even more. I've got this huge monitor at the office that displays seven rows of favorites, with two images on the first two rows and four images in all the rows after. After replying to notes and messages, I'd find myself staring at my favorites page and thinking, "The page could use a bit of sculpture this time..." Or digital art, or traditional painting, or... you get the idea.

Everytime I logged on to DA then, I tried to collect as many images as I could that would balance the appearance of the page, then tip the balance to give myself an excuse to collect more images again

This was how I found the truly amazing work of and among several others.

Last week though I challenged myself by narrowing down the criteria to Filipino artists whose work featured either original characters or reimaginings of our myths, legends, and folklore.

The result is now the current first page of my favorites. It took me _hours_ to find each piece because I didn't want to just randomly add them to the gallery. I tried to aim for a balance of colors and textures as well as for a diversity of approaches. Maybe I'm the only one who'll see the overall effect of the page, but I really am pleased with everything I've found.

On top of that, I'm so proud to have discovered a vast treasure trove of Filipino talent in this community.

Anyway, this long bit of rambling is my way of thanking all of you, every single one of you, for generously sharing your talent with fan-girls like me, and loads of other folks besides.

It's a deep honor to be on this journey with you.

Sunny Lorwyn subsides to dusk, and the shadows bring horrors untold...

Ahluvit!!!

I'll admit, though, that I had my apprehensions when I first heard of "Shadowmoor," the latest expansion of the trading card game Magic: The Gathering. I had grown very fond of Lorwyn's fairy tale denizens as well as the game's new emphasis on tribal mechanics. The ease with which these could be assimilated into story-based themes also heavily appealed to the Vorthos player in me.

Last saturday though, I finally got my grubby little hands on the new cards. Bought two tournament starters instead of precons since I needed new lands badly. Then to my complete and utter delight, one of my rares turned out to be...


Oona, Queen of the Fae !!!!!!!!!!!


Practically squealed my head off when I saw her. I've been grousing for months about never getting a single fairy rare since Lorwyn came out, and had thus joked about "deserving" Oona. Talk about a sweet little stroke of luck or was it fairy favor? Eheh.

Anyway, I now have a brand new fairy deck with several others in the works. Also managed to tweak many old decks with the new cards.

Still hoping to get Wooded Bastion, Raking Canopy, and a couple more Sapseep Groves.

We've also got a Demigod of Revenge for trade if anyone's interested

Gamers rule!

Got tagged by

8 FACTS ABOUT ME!
1. Post these rules
2. Each tagged person should post 8 facts of themselves
3. Tagged people should write a journal\blog about these facts
4. In the end tag and name 8 people
5. Go to their dA pages and comment saying that they are tagged!

So...

i. I don't make friends easily; but once I do, I'm fiercely loyal -- as in do-not-mess-with-my-friends-or-I-will-tear-out-your-spleen loyal
ii. Sharks make me giddy.
iii. If I'm eating alone, I have to read something...even if it's the peanut butter jar label.
iv. oh, oh, I _love_ peanut butter
v. I feed spiders. Take note: not feed ON spiders, but if I catch one of those flying ants, I drop it on a spider's web.
vi. I can eat more wasabi in one serving than you can imagine.
vii. I wanted to put Linda Medley, Colleen Doran, Charles Vess and Yoshitaka Amano among my favorite artists but the names wouldn't fit!
viii. A "Lush" branch becomes my instant happy place

Now I hope these folks won't mind being tagged...




eep... less than 8... *hides*

Hi...

feels weird writing this since i've been lurking around for so long.

i'm not really an artist but i admire a lot of the stuff i've seen on DA.

what i do end up posting here i guess will be just for fun.

all the best to all of you, and thanks for the amazing work you've shared.