The Anime Wallers Retrospectives Project (last edited 23/11/06)
Thanks to Tama-Neko for starting this page
All right so here it is. Let's start a project of retrospectives. How it shall work? Older members that have been around for a long while will be able to write reviews on influencial wallers of the anime wallpaper community. Why? For the fun of having interesting records to read later on. How? Now here is what has been decided for now (there is always a way to bring new ideas on the table, feel free to propose your thoughts);
---------NEWS--------------- After 15 weeks of procrastination, this is finally taking form! Thought I had forgotten about yall folks? Oh no no noes. So I ended up writting this bloody template. Right now I'm leeching off friends for help with the website where the reviews and info should be upped. If by any chance you *adore* coding websites or you have free hosting space to give out~ pm me and you will recieve FREE one love declaration! But for now I pasted everything in here, and will edit the writely page soon enough for the other community friends to take consequent action. So yeah this means that you guys should have what you need to start writting, wich is our main goal for now. Hoping you'll gladly still participate, cheers. N.B. If you are newly interested- no problem since there is no due date. Simply affirm who you want to review, and ask your questions <3 --------------------------------- You will have at your disposition a template with spaces to fill in and write about wallpapers. This will make everything easy for the ones who may not have so much inspiration. The template follows;
--About the Project
Purpose
You might wonder why this was started int the first place. The project is an idea started by one person and developed by many, aiming for the construction of an archive (as wide as possible) of past influences and artistic currents in the anime wallpaper community. The project is intended to be inter-community. This means
old wallers and other sites communities are also to participate.
Ethical Disclaimor
-The Retrospective Project is NOT an attempt at boosting artist's egos while being reviewed by fans
-The Retrospective Project is NOT trying to exclude wallers that would not be considered as "influencial" from being reviewed.
-The Retrospective Project is NOT striving for fame in any way
-The Retrospective Project is something criticizers should probably cooperate with in order to enhance it, not ignore and let die.
Objectivity There seems to be confusion about this. Please know that if you intended to review your favorite-waller-of-all-time (wich is not impossible), you are not to only write an essay of praise. The same criterias should be applied for reviews set on a more negative note. Your personal taste in wallpapers should not be felt throughout your review. Restrain yourself from giving your opinion in the description about the artist's history and works, you will have a specific place later on in the essay for that.
Of course discussing objectivity is not quite fulfilling as it does not really exist. But using your right mind, you are certainly capable of obtaining some sort of neutrality towards the essay and this is what you need to keep in mind.
-->Qualifications
Reviewer
If you have been in the communities for long enough you know it. A good approximation would be at least 1 year, but it can vary.
You need to have seen your reviewed waller evolve and proliferate, or else you will not be able to have a good point of view on his/her overall gallery. Reviewers will be able to review as many wallers as they want to.
Reviewed waller
Well someone that has enough walls to fit in every category. The waller can be long dead or still very active. You don't need to know him/her personally, just as long as you have followed his/her works. DONT pick your best friend and praise him/her. Be the as objective as possible.
-To get a diverse pool of artists and generations, wallers will only be able to be picked once. So make your choice and propose whoever you want first! If everything goes very well in the future, it will probably be possible to have more than one essay per artist, but for now let's focus on diversity.
-You can review someone close to you because you know him/her. But remember, objectivity is the key! Don't just praise the waller,
pointing out negative aspects is always interesting, as long as it is kept respectful.
-You cannot review yourself, silly.
-->Things to know before starting:
This is intended to be the most independent, professional and objective possible. Meaning you will need to write this as seriously as you can, think of it as a school essay (but a FUN essay). Subjective matters like comparing wallpaper forums with hatred or bad-mouthing community members will not be accepted. We are one big happy carebear family. Also see what is written about objectivity in the About section. Remember that since this is serious business, you will need to
write impersonally ( i.e. no "I think"s). On a more technical note, be sure you can find the needed information and files about the artist before choosing anyone. You can't review a waller if any trace of his/her existance have been erased and you don't have any archive to dig into.
When Picking a Wallpaper, remember to:
-Check the feedback. If that wallpaper ever was submitted to forums, try to find the thread/page where users comment, and note if it was positive/constructive/etc.
-Not just pick personal favorites. If you know your taste differs a lot from the majority try to go with the majority, you can always choose something you really like for "special mention"
-Read the artist's commentary. Maybe it would be a good idea to plug several words on what pushed the artist into this piece.
Writing about the Wallpaper:
You are indeed here to place foward the
interesting aspects of the wallpaper, positive and negative are both welcome. Here are things that should be found in your text:
-Criteria on wich you based yourself for selection, followed by the title (e.g. Most influencial: .:Summer with Evangelion:.)
-Objective information and description of the wallpaper. The date it was created, anime/artist it features, style and composition. Maybe something interesting to note?
-Community's feedback on the wallpaper. Was it popular? How much? Any "highlight/daily pick/contest winner"?
-Explain why was this wallpaper chosen (i.e. main paragraph)
-You can also talk of the technique of the wallpaper. Try to stay objective (e.g. Things like "Too much green, green is not a nice colour" isn't acceptable but things like "The balance of green and blue was a bit off and it gave the composition a feel of..." are. Pointing out things that were not seen as technical errors or difficulties then might be an interesting idea. (e.g. "outer glow was popular at that time but right now it looks like a newb low-effort method..")
Sharing your review:
When finished, be certain to re-read a couple of times and edit the vocabulary and syntax. Everything will be read before uploaded on the net, but you also need to make efforts yourself. Afterwards, send the following to
retrowalls@gmail.com:
-The review, with a
minimum of formatting. Subtitles, and paragraphing please. The text can be in a .doc file, or anything that works with both mac/PC
-The 4 wallpapers, full size and acceptable quality
-It may sound stupid to say, but please state who you are reviewing in the mail's subject
-The nickname/name you want to be used as a signature
-How is it fastest to contact you (forum pm/valid email)
-Love declarations to candy-chan is also accepted
You should then recieve an answer with updates about your review being processed to the database. You may be asked permission to edit English grammar and syntax.
TEMPLATE
1. General Info
Keep it short here, only a few words are needed to answer each question. If you're having a hard time finding or remembering the necessary information, you can always ask the artist himself/herself, there's no problem with that. This part should probably look like a profile page;-Artist's nickname(s): ____________
no real names unless this is the name we know him/her by
-Lifetime/lifespan:_____________
dates from the first post of the first wallpaper to the last
-Community(ies):______________
name all of the sites he/she joined. You can date them if you remember the period the artist was active
-Usual style of wall: _____________
don't get entangled in details, simply state a few words people will recognize
-Personnal site(s):______________
please state if the site is not updated anymore, still accessible or active
2. Introduction (more than 50 words)
Write a little history of the artist in one continuous text. Here are choices of paths you could go down:
-Walling History: A brief summary of the waller's history in the gfx communities. The curve of popularity towards the public, the speed at wich he/she posted works, etc.
-Community Involvement: Was he/she very active in the forums? Start any idea, group or debate in the communities?
-Artistic Evolution: Compare the latest productions to the early ones. From what levels or styles did he/she move on from or to?
-Personal Anecdotes: On a bit more personal note, you can write about anything worth reading. Something funny, jokes or /b/, but keep in mind that this is a review, not a myspace account. This is the one place where you can use the form "I", if you're involved in the anecdote, or for "I remember that time..." kinds of things.
3. Wallpapers (more than 100 words each)
This is the main part of the review. Feel free to write much more than 100 words for each wallpaper that you picked. Choose four wallpapers that should cover the main aspects of the artist's walling career. Following the criterias below is up to you, but try to be diverse and do not take easy paths like picking the four latest produced wallpapers. You don't need to go search for the very first wallpaper, as it will probably not be the one most remembered or interesting to remember. OK so let us repeat ourselves for more comprehension:-you CAN choose whatever wallpaper you want to talk about, as long as you have a good reason, and you will explain it later on.
-you CANNOT pick more or less than four wallpapers.
-you CANNOT select all four wallappers based ont he same criteria.
-you CAN choose your own criterias for selecting wallpapers, however you are recommended to follow the ones listed below.
See
Things to know before starting for more information.
Criterias:
A- Most Popular;
The community's favorite. Explain why it appealed to the masses. What cought everyone's eye, the special feedback it got..
B-Most Influencial;
The one that started a trend. Pick a wallpaper that everyone remembers for it's technique, one that every waller got inspiration from, copied, ripped.
C-Most Original;
One of a kind wallpaper. Maybe it did not start a trend because it was too different? It stands out from the waller's gallery for it's original composition, color scheme, theme. Why is it different from every other pieces? Most of the time this wallpaper will mean something to the artist, maybe you can investigate about that.
D-Special Mention;
A special favorite. Why should this wallpaper have gotten more attention from the public? Maybe it's the artist's most finest wall? Flawless technique. Here you can write a bit more subjectively, but again, no "I"s allowed.
4. Conclusion (more than 50 words)
Finally, you can resume what what said previously, just like a professional essay! Explain why should this waller be remembered. Why did you pick him/her, conclude and write whatever you feel like should be said, have fun.
5. Writer's note - Facultative
Just a little space for you to write whatever you wanted to say but did not dare do previously. Since here you speak for yourself, the "I" will be accepted. Licking will also be accepted (e.g. XXX has always been my hero, the way he vectors is for me a great source of inspiration! At once in my life, if XXX's works wern't there, I think I would have put a tragic end to my life-- you get it.)
-->QualificationsReviewer If you have been in the communities for long enough you know it. I would say for at least 1 year/6 months but it can vary. You need to have seen your "reviewed waller" evolve and proliferate, or else you will not be able to have a good point of view on his/her overall gallery. Reviewers will be able to review as many wallers as he/she wants to. <3
Reviewed waller
Well someone that has enough walls to fit in every category. The waller can be long dead (as long as you have the walls needed) or still very active. You don't need to know him/her personally, just as long as you have followed his/her works. DONT pick your best friend and praise him/her. Try to be objective
-You can't review your own walling career.
-To get a diverse pool of artists and generations, wallers will only be able to be picked once. So make your choice and propose/ask for whoever you want first!
-you can review someone close because you know him/her. But remember, try to be objective and don't just praise the waller. point out negative aspects and all
The list of examples was taken down in perspective of a wider range of requests. The goal of this project is not to ego boost some already "elite" wallers but to have a look on the past history and artistic currents of the anime wallpapers world. Cheers
List of Reviews to be Expected
-AkashaNosferatu --> reviewed by Devildude
-Bantam --> reviewed by w00tazn
-candy-chan --> reviewed by smilebit
-Cynical126 --> reviewed by Tama-Neko
-DernierCri --> Reviewed by DREAM
-drell --> reviewed by smilebit
-Kalico --> reviewed by highknees
-Kev --> reviewed by candy-chan
-Kuroimisa --> reviewed by smilebit
-Kenzotsuke --> reviewed by bromithia
-LSE --> reviewed by Gideon
-MeteorCloud --> reviewed by smilebit
-Minato --> reviewed by smilebit
-Ocelotisun --> reviewed by smilebit
-Phong --> reviewed by frozenwilderness
-red lee --> reviewed by w00tazn
-rem --> reviewed by 5stringDNA
-redxxii --> reviewed by Kalikodreamz
-sammo --> reviewed by jackalx66
-Sandy --> reviewed by Meg
-Sarcastic69 --> reviewed by Tama-Neko
-Semanga --> reviewed by candy-chan
-ShiNN --> reviewed by winterlilac09
-Shinta --> reviewed by 5stringDNA
-SirBoingalot --> reviewed by |Osiris|
-Tama-Neko --> reviewed by Meg
-Tatekane --> reviewed by Kalico
-Zero --> reviewed by 5stringDNA
There are 14 participants and 27 retrospectives to be expected so far
There will be no due date. This means whenever the template is done, you will be able to send your reviews and it will be posted on a site that is for now yet to come.
The project is intended to be inter-community. This means
old wallers and other sites communities are also to participate. So diffuse away!
Contact
If you would like to get involved, please contact us through
retrowalls@gmail.com You can also view the forum posts here:
MiniTokyo thread (updated)
AnimePaper thread (closed)
AnimeLayer thread (unactive)
KyoumiOnline thread (active)