New Gallery Structure

A New Gallery Structure

We have had some questions raised on why we accept some deviations and not others. To keep it short, the deviations we accept have to be positive. Positivity is very subjective, so some admins say yes to pieces that others do not. We are trying to streamline our process for accepting deviations to be equal for everyone.

To that end, we are changing our gallery structure. For a very long time, we have had gallery folders named after the type of art submitted such as digital, craft, dA related, and so on. This has caused some confusion in what is and isn't considered positive enough to make it into our galleries. So here it is. The new layout and an explanation of what you can find in each folder and some example works (please note that the example works are all from my own gallery for simplicity's sake)...

Connections

Connections are positive pieces that may have people and animals, animals and plants, plants and bugs, etc. It shows a positive connection between two living beings.

Emotional

Emotional pieces are those that evoke emotion in the reader or onlooker. Emotions can be happy, sad, and anything in between. Note that sad does not mean negative. We don't want negative emotion such as anger or hatred in our group.

Family Memories

This is just as easy as it sounds... Memories of you and your family, from parents to pets, kids to cousins, we love fun positive memories!

Friendship

Friendship is a beautiful thing. You show friendship in many different ways. Friendship does not mean drawings or pictures of friends unless they are together in a positive setting.
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Happiest Moments

All those happy moments in your life go here. It could be winning a fair ribbon, overcoming an illness, getting a new pet, etc.

Humorous

If you have a funny piece that will make people laugh, it goes here. Cute little cartoon drawings that make you go "hmm", a funny fanfic (written or drawn), a cat flying through the air after a toy, etc.
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Inspirational

Pieces that inspire people, either to do something or to believe something, go here. Inspirational pieces could be political, religious, or as simple as a photograph of a homeless person being fed.
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Positive Actions

Pieces that show positive action being taken or generate interest in positive actions go here. These could be volunteering, making deviantART a better place, or a journal entry about a new positive project going on.
<da:thumb id="502644038"/> Positivity Project: You're Special.:iconhello1plz::iconhello2plz:
 
(Sorry for being a bit slow with the replies! It takes me some time to write a good one, so I try to manage few a day.
Please don't worry though, everyone will be answered. )
There's so much negativity around us that the positivity often gets lost in it. We face a lot of harsh critique often, just plain hate or bullying, and we often lose ourselves in it. I've seen a lot of people feeling really bad about themselves and critiquing their own selves without a reason. Low self esteem is a common problem these days, and this happens because of the awfully negative and competitive society we live in.
And that's why I came up with a little idea. Not so much a project, just a little thing to brighten your day. I like making people happy. So let me tell you:
You're special. Yes, you.
And please don't think otherwise. We all are! There's no two people tha

Signs of Love

Hearts and love themes are a big theme for us, so this is where your creative heart works go! If it has a sign that means love (or happiness, peace, or other positive sign), it goes here!
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Support & Encouragement

Any pieces that supports a specific cause or gives encouragement to a cause or to other people go here. Some pieces may just be about support and encouragement of people or other things that are important to you. Some causes are the Relay for Life, RED (fight against AIDs), DARE (drug abuse education), etc.
<da:thumb id="368887545"/> PE: Procrastination and Creativity Procrastination and Creativity

"You can't just turn on creativity like a faucet. You have to be in the right mood.
What mood is that?
Last-minute panic."

Bill Watterson
You are well-aware of the importance of this project, in fact you can't wait to get to it! Too bad you promised your friends to go for a drink, and then there's that movie. Also, your productivity is at its strongest at Midnight, first Tuesday after the Full Moon, starting earlier would be a waste of time. Make sure you are well-rested! After all, is there a better way to prepare yourself for a productive tomorrow than an enjoyable today?
 Your diagnosis: Procrastination positive.

"Someday is not a day of the week."
Janet Dailey
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ARKworks

ARKworks are deviations that are for someone else or for a cause or event. They must be positive. If we can't determine that the work is FOR another person or event as a gift or form of help/positive action from the work itself or the description, it will be declined from the ARKwork folder.
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Quilt Squares & Kindness Quilts

This is a sub-type of ARKwork. It must be positive, follow the guidelines for ARKworks, and it must follow the guidelines for Quilt Squares and Quilts: here and here.

remARKs

remARKs are a third type of ARKwork. remARKs literally "remark" in a positive way (or give encouragement to) on a particular user, group, or group of users. These can be journal features, screenshots of comments, etc. Even group features, journals and comments fall under this category. Besides being positive and about someone other than yourself, they must follow the same guidelines for regular ARKworks.
Christmas FeatureChristmas time ...
... baking cookies
... granting wishes
... kindling lights
... listening to the crackling of the chimney fire
... building snowmen
... enjoying the silence
... reading a long lost book
... being lazy
... celebrating
...  being happy and
... featuring artists, friends, watchers from A to Z


A   :iconaeromodo:   
B   :iconbawboh86:      and   :iconberalismo:  
C   :iconcaptaincassieart:           and   :iconchromeantennae:  
D   :icondogyjoe: & Acts of Random Kindness Challenge Complete!Last year I didn't give you all much warning before kicking off my ARK Project effort, which I am going to remedy by posting this now! It's time to brush off those Acts of Random Kindness hats and get out into the community and spread the love. I've changed the rules a bit from last year, but the idea remains the same.
To Recap...
So what's this "ARK Project" thing you're talking about?
It stands for Acts of Random Kindness, which is exactly what I'm challenging you to do. If you want more than that, try this journal!

They dubbed this sort of random act of nice commenting a "remARK", and my end-of-challenge blog will be posted as soon as I can manage after Valentine's Day, and submitted to deviantHEART's remARKs gallery and DeviantART-Smiles' gallery, too. Twelve winners will get features, and depending on ho Fabulous FridaysYAY it's Friday!
You know what that means!
Fab Fridays here at the well, love Astrikos 
Thank you for being so considerate and helpful! 
:iconsimplysilent: 
  
 
Granted: Featured many people: fav.me/d6kdl4x
:iconfallingwithoutstyle: 
 
 
Granted: 8 to ~WynterPhoenyx
Featured *dragondoodle, =ChaosFay, ~mormonbookworm, *WingedUnicornCircus, and =

No longer accepting...

While we love great works that are pleasant or well done, we will no longer be accepting pieces that do not have a clear positive overtone. No more photographs of flowers or pets by themselves (some exceptions for pets apply), no more photographs of models that are not clearly displaying a positive theme or message, no more well-written literary works that do not have a clearly positive message, etc. Basically, what this means is that if your work is not clearly positive and fitting into our new gallery structure, it will be declined. This includes works that show self-harm or violence, even if it is fake.

Always Accepting

As always, we accept all art forms from craft and sculpure, to digital, to traditional, and more. Every medium of art is capable of transmitting a positive message!

How this affects you...

With a new gallery structure, you will have to think much more carefully about where you submit your work and what works you submit. If it doesn't appear to fit the chosen folder, you will receive a notice that you have placed your work in the wrong folder at which time you can withdraw and change folders or explain why you believe your work fits into the chosen folder. And if you have a positive piece that doesn't fit into any of the folders at all, please send a NOTE to the group so that we can see the piece and ponder the possibility of a new gallery folder.

What this doesn't affect...

This does not affect HeartArt, I Love, the Feature folder, and contests. Submission standards and voting is to remain the same for those galleries. Note as well that under Membership Guidelines, our submission guidelines are unchanged. These changes are in an effort to make the current guidelines clearer for everyone, including the admins.

Please feel free to ask any questions, link to deviations you are not sure about, or to suggest further improvements!

Lantiis