ArtSpots

From WikiFur, the furry encyclopedia.

(Redirected from Jaxpad)

ArtSpots (previously JaxPad) is a non-adult anthropomorphic art gallery that showcases artwork from anthro artists with a Web 2.0-inspired interface. It has a focus on artistic improvement, helping potential applicants get up to skill for reviews.

Addresses:
- Website: http://www.artspots.com/
- LiveJournal: http://community.livejournal.com/artspots/ (recent art feed)
- IRC: #ArtSpots on Anthrochat
Founder: Seurat the Cheetah Artiste
Administrators: The ArtSpots Team
Ran from/to: October 9, 2006 - present

WikiFur News has a related story:

ArtSpots merges with JaxPad; offers $500 scholarship, 2¢ promotion

WikiFur News has a related story:

ArtSpots, JaxPad launch Giclée prints service

1 History
2 Features
3 Art Policy
4 Trademark
5 References
6 See also

[edit] History

Initially a codebase built from scratch for viewing art by a team of individuals of furry inclination, a post on Yerf's LiveJournal offered^[1] to transform this fledging project into a combined all-access and quality controlled PG art site for ex-Yerf artists who were leaving the site during its second major crash on the Autumn of 2006.

After taking some more input and suggestions from people on the journal, the first functional beta version of JaxPad^[2] was announced on October 9 of 2006.

Shortly thereafter, ArtSpots was created to be a "second-tier," skill-reviewed gallery site. Artists wishing to have their work displayed on ArtSpots were required to submit a five-piece portfolio demonstrating their understanding of anatomy, perspective, lighting and composition.^[3]^[4]

The sites were tied together with a common database and user accounts. The combined sites totaled over 7,000 pieces and 399 artists as of 23 June 2007, 129 of whom were artists on ArtSpots.^[5]

On June 27, 2008 the sites were merged, with ArtSpots displaying art from all artists. Artists previously featured on ArtSpots were given the title compagnon (journeyman). At the time of the merge, over 19,000 pieces had been uploaded by close to 900 artists.

Prior to the merge, the ArtSpots acceptance rate was 38.6%. A significant factor in the merge was the delay in reviews, with 44 applications in the queue, the oldest one being 299 days old.^[6]

[edit] Features

ArtSpots has some features that make the site more useful to artists and patrons alike.

[edit] Commission Tracking System

As part of their ArtTools, ArtSpots has a commission tracking system that allows artists to organize and display a to-do list of commissions, including all the relevant information associated with them including descriptions, due dates, payment, and a work-in-progress image. It also allows users of the site to directly commission artists, send/track payments through PayPal and view a list of outstanding commissions or each one individually.^[7]

Users can also see if an artist is offering commissions or sort the artist list by those who are.^[8]

[edit] Drag and Drop Favorites Organization

Like an operating system GUI, the favorites enable users to drag and drop images into custom-created folders for personal organization.^[9]

[edit] "Fetch Folders" (Smart search folders)

A folder can have a search term attached to it, so that each time it is viewed it can run a check and add images that fit the search criteria. Images can be removed and will not be added again, plus new images can be added like regular folders.^[9]

[edit] Emailed Comments

Similar to LiveJournal, comments and replies to comments can be emailed to the users.

[edit] Filters

In addition to watching artists, a user can, akin to Egypt Urnash's Peggy's VCL Sieve blocking feature, block an artist from their view across the entire site.

[edit] Variable Thumbnails

The thumbnails can be adjusted to respect older monitors or laptop screen restraints, but are open to larger, newer monitors and LCD screens.

[edit] Tightly Integrated Forums

The forums on ArtSpots are integrated with the rest of the site, not requiring a separate user account to use. Because of this, direct links to galleries, favorites, and other site information are automatically displayed and linked to.

[edit] Art Policy

ArtSpots' ratings are set between G and PG-13 focus. The criteria for admittance are skill-based, reviewed on anatomy, perspective, lighting and compositon.^[10] ^[11] ^[12]

Some key rules are:^[13]