The Wonderful World of Pixel Art - Animated Gifs and Free Emoticons

By Paul Nizhinsky

The internet is a huge place. By its very nature it's home to an almost infinite amount of weird and wonderful interests and pursuits that most of us probably don't even now exist. With its sheer size and user-generated content, it's a place full of discovery that panders to every human whim, fancy, and interest. One of these is the wonderful, quirky, and often adorable world of pixel art.

Let's cover the basics: what is pixel art? Pixels are the tiny little squares used to make every image on your computer screen, and can be used to make tiny animations in .gif format. You can make these yourself in programmes like Corel Photo-Paint, or more specific programmes like Jasc's Animation Shop. Many, particularly younger people, will be familiar with some of the uses of pixel art. Emoticons, anikaos, and animated gifs are all examples of basic pixel art used on forums, MySpace, and Windows Live Messenger as a means of aiding expression in an essentially text-based form of communication, as well just simply for fun. Emoticons are perhaps the most widely used and searched for.

A range of emoticons come as standard with Live Messenger and most forums. These tend to be your basic set of emoticons to cover the main emotions and actions expressed while chatting.
Many websites however offer more advanced and diverse emoticons in varying sizes and shapes, some even with sound. The latter tend to frequent more on pay-sites. There are though far more user-generated emoticons on the net, and are frequently exchanged between users of Messenger - which allows you to add and save emoticons used by others.

While emoticons are by far the most popular in the west, their eastern counterparts 'anikaos' (pronounced ani-cows, meaning literally 'animated faces' in Japanese) are becoming more and more popular as interest in Japanese popular culture continues to grow. Anikaos are typically floating spherical blobs bobbing up and down with a cute face depicting any number of emotions and actions. They tend to be used more on forums and are incredibly diverse, ranging from generic white blobs to household animals, peas, and characters from anything between Star Wars and Dragonball-Z. The user-generated nature of anikaos, like most pixel art, means their diversity and numbers continue to multiply.

Yet, beyond the world of communication-aiding emoticons and anikaos, the possibilities are even more varied. People can make literally anything they want in miniature using pixel art - and they do. People love to have things made tiny and love to use them on their websites, MySpace pages, and on Messenger.

A very popular form pixel art at the moment is animated gifs of Nintendo and Sega characters from the '80s and '90s such as Mario, Kirby, Link, and Sonic the Hedgehog recreated exactly from the 8-bit, 16-bit, and 32-bit games on which they appeared. The current craze for all things retro, especially in gaming, is certainly adding fuel to this. Particularly with girls, animated gifs of the characters Hello Kitty and Pucca Love are also extremely popular, and can be found on many a MySpace page. Hello Kitty and Pucca Love are very cute characters that are used frequently to personalise web pages and make them more attractive.

The fact that both Hello Kitty and Pucca Love have huge merchandising markets 'offline' easily explains their popularity in this respect. Likewise with both sexes, Pokemon animated gifs are extremely popular, particularly on MySpace and gaming sites. The cuteness of many Pokemon characters and the fact they are already computer game sprites makes them perfectly convertable into animated gifs.

But it doesn't end simply at branded corporate characters, oh no. There is a whole pixel art culture out there with people creating weird and wonderful designs of their own constantly.
Witness blinking cheeseburgers, winking cake slices, a strange beige bob running towards you with a chefs for absolutely no reason at all! The possibilities are endless and quite frequently very, very strange. Very aptly, there seems to be a perfect miniature of the boundless lengths of human creativity contained within this little culture.

Mostly, gifs get passed around in networks fairly randomly, but if you're actively on the lookout, my advice would be to specifically refine your search. For example if you're specifically after gaming gifs, try punching in 'nintendo animated gifs' or 'super mario animated gifs'. Many sites with the best gifs don't even have domain names, so it pays to be patient. There are sites out there that endeavor to collect gifs together from around the net, but some are more organised than others and the quality varies from site to site.

A frequent problem is that they just won't be categorised, making your search difficult. If you find yourself falling in love with this kooky little world, then it doesn't even end here. Pixel art is not just animated gifs and emoticons - there are communities out there dedicated to making 'pixel art for pixel art's sake'. These people make incredibly high quality pictures and landscapes of such complexity that it takes your breath away. Pixel Joint is a great little community to get involved in if you find yourself going for this more advanced stuff, whether to appreciate or to create. Have fun!

Cutecore Gifs a GREAT resource for free animated gifs and emoticons.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Paul_Nizhinsky

Xbox 360 Accessories Are State Of The Art

By D Ellenwood

Microsoft has developed the Xbox 360 to be one of the premier gaming systems available today. Besides the quality of games, the gaming experience is truly enhanced by the quality of accessories available for the system. Xbox 360 accessories are some of the best currently on the market. The following is a brief look at some of them.

Controllers: Up to four controllers can be used at one time. Most systems come with wired controllers, but now wireless is the new trend.

Battery Packs: A rechargeable battery pack is available that provides twenty five hours of power for the wireless controllers. A play and charge kit is a popular way to recharge a controller while playing a game. This is accomplished by plugging the controller into one of the Xbox 360 USB ports. Also available is the quick charge kit which has two battery packs.

Chatpad: A small keyboard that is used for messaging. It usually includes a headset that is plugged directly into the chatpad.

Steering Wheel: Used mainly for racing games, most steering wheels have a force feedback so it feels like you are driving a real car. It also includes floor mounted brake pedals and accelerator.

Big Button Controller: These look like game show buzzers with one large buzzer button at the top and four smaller buttons for multiple choice answers.

Arcade Gamestick: Just like the arcade machines, this gamestick has a spinner control and a joystick.

Guitar Shaped Controller: This controller was released with the Guitar Hero game and is much like a regular controller except with less buttons.

Headset: Used for gamers to talk to each other.

Wireless Headset: Used for private chat, in-game voice recognition, and voice chat.

Live Vision Camera: Some arcade games have camera functionality. The camera also allows for the creation of an in-game representation of a player.

There are many other miscellaneous Xbox 360 accessories which are available through third party suppliers.

Microsoft has proved that they are serious about staying in the video gaming business by offering new accessories for the Xbox 360 from time to time. Some of the most recent were the Halo 3 special edition console and the Xbox 360 messenger kit.

To learn more details about Xbox 360 Accessories, please visit this Xbox 360 Accessories site.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=D_Ellenwood

The Dying Art Of Sales-Person-Ship!

By Steven P. Burke

Why is it dying as an art or communication and sales practice? This is really very simple. The bottom line is that few people have the guts to do whatever it takes to be the top salesman in their organization. But there is more to it than that.

Mentoring in sales has disappeared within the last generation. Up until WWII and even after it, sales skills were learned mostly through word of mouth, which is the most effective way to learn by far. Since then changes in technology have allowed information to be circulated in 'modern ways'. And, this is partly the cause of the decline of the sales training industry.

Please understand, there are still great trainers, though few of them. And there are still some sales mentors, though even fewer. What there are a lot more people we don't know as sales professionals, marketing their poorly researched information.

In an industry where it takes nearly a whole, career to truly master certain skills to the point where you can even consider calling yourself a trainer, there are people in mid career using a little bits of information gleamed from sources that are not even necessarily sales related trying to influence our profession. These so called experts are espousing general theories on sales that supposedly apply to all selling situations that simply are not all-encompassing and, worse, in most cases totally misleading.

The very thing that benefits us as a society - the information age - has and is in many respects damaging the sales training industry and the sales profession. And, one of the sales practices most affected is prospecting.

I had a conversation with a relatively inexperienced sales author who is a 2nd generation member of a family head hunting business after he wrote an article about sales. During this conversation, this so-called sales expert started referring to the "Google Society" and it has altered sales forever, that the industry would never be the same. After a very brief dialogue, he realized I was challenging his statement. Then he asked after I stated "Not all industries are affected by search engines";

"Okay, name one!" Now, I was not bothered by his cocky attitude, what bothers me is this individual is writing a newsletter on sales, meaning he is one of the people inadvertently involved distributing misleading information about selling.

It was all too easy for me to prove my point. But first you have to realize what those who are promoting "Sales 2.0" as a buzz-phrase really mean. In a nutshell they are saying that people are better informed today, that buyers know more about everything than they used to. And they support these hypotheses with studies like the percentage of Internet users who bought online within the last 60 days and other things that were learned from questioning consumers.

Does this apply to all consumer purchases? More importantly, does it apply to B2B buying? The answer comes from a clergy study. Since the ministers of the world could care less about commercial implications they have a more open minded approach to research. And the ones conducted by and for them show something very different in general and many things specifically;

- People are reading less; meaning they are less knowledgeable in general
- Attention spans are shorter.
- There is no more time in a day; meaning if they know about more how that actually is of interest is, "they know less about more subjects"

In fact, mundane purchases by both consumers and business buyers are not researched, no one has the time. People are expected to get more done than the generation before us and as a result of higher work loads we cannot spend more time researching purchases and, though some may be better researched, only those that excite us, not those hum-drum situations like buying a photocopier or a mailing machine.

Did you go online to check out your shampoo? No. You might have gone online to look at the sports car you have always wanted to buy and finally just about had the money to pull the trigger on but you sure did not research tile cleaners unless you were hypoallergenic.
"Buyers know more and therefore you better change the way you sell." Oh, no!

I guess the above statement means the tactic I have used extremely skillfully and taught with great effect, which is to call a company and explain that new copier technology means today's equipment can now do more for less so we can payout their existing lease, give them more features and reduce the lease payment now, improving profit today, rather than them continuing to use an old machine they do not like for another year and paying more is useless due to Google and other information age unknowns ... because, what? Umm, I dunno, I'm stumped! How does Sales 2.0 indicate this is not one of THE sharpest ways to do more business?
You know the old expression; bullshit baffles brains. Well, there are a great number of baffled sales people in the world today that do not even know they are being mislead.

As technology changes we adapt to these new environments. It is natural. What we do not need to adapt to is people. By this I mean the way people interact with us, as sales professionals, has not changed. And, though no two people are alike, each with unique values, this is the way people have always been. Sales training that indicates technology has changed selling is missing the key fundamental in our profession; People.

Technology is just a tool. It has no control over people's emotions, needs or desires. So that part of selling will always be the same.

Impulse buying has nothing to do with the information age. Nor does emotional buying experiences, they have everything to do with people and are not affected by micro chips or the Internet and World Wide Web.

If you wish to master this profession, you must master understanding people. Use technology, by all means, but spend more time focusing on relationships and what makes people tick.
Good luck, both today and in the future, with whatever it is you decide to do!

NOTE; I decided not to use the word salesmanship. And, though I am rarely politically correct, my feeling is women make better sales people than men, so this word choice is not politically motivated but, rather, sexist in nature.

My name is Steven Burke and I have been a professional sales trainer for 24 years. Together with MySalesDad©, who has been selling for 6 decades and training for 45 years, we have 69 years sales training expereince available as a sample at http://www.mysalestrainer.com
We formed Pro-formance Masters Inc in 1983 and have evolved for the Internet with MySalesTrainer©. Our references, dating from December 2007 when I typed in this BIO, date back 24 years. Prior to that my father trained for sales organizations where he was involved in Sales Management. All the way back to winning a National Sales Contest at APECO for the year in 1963.

I have appeared on the cover of a business magazine as recently as Feb. 2004, as well as featured inside another in April 2001.

Grab a sample of our sales newsletter at the website, http://www.mysalestrainer.com you will be be very glad you did!

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Steven_P._Burke

Marketing Illustration And Art Online

By Paul M Featherstone

There are literally thousands of people in the world who have a talent for art and illustration, unfortunately we will never get to enjoy the work produced by these people as they may not be marketing their skills successfully.

Many artists and illustrators I know have cupboards full of work of high quality which could be generating an income and raising their profile. As well as this it is surely the point of art to be enjoyed by people otherwise the motivation for production can only be to satisfy personal pleasures.

One of the most important and cost effective methods of marketing your work in by harnessing the power of the web, it offers large-scale reach for very limited cost.

Online marketing of illustration and art still required fundamentals of marketing to be considered - ask yourself the question "who is my target audience" and "how can I reach them with my message?". Next consider the marketing mix - Product, Price, Place and Promotion and how you will use the tools of Internet promotion to promote your work.

In this article I will concentrate on promotion via the web as even with a limited understanding of marketing getting this part of the marketing mix right can bring quick rewards.

The first point for consideration should be the creation of a website, whether it's a few pages created by a friend who has some technical knowledge or a fully functioning eCommerce site this element is crucial to your online success. You will need to choose a name for your website that is relevant, for example if you are an illustrator who produces illustration for children's books then consider names such as "childrens-illustrator". Thought put into the choice of website name will reap rewards later through high search engine rankings.

Secondly, start a blog, there are hundreds of free blog facilities available where illustrators and artists can discuss their work and also benefit from promoting what the do at the same time.
There is an added benefit with use of blogs as search engines also like to see other sites linking to your website.

Thirdly, list your website with as many free directory and listing sites as you can in order to keep the volume of exposure high. As well as attracting traffic (i.e. visitors) to your website it will also assist with your search engine rankings in the same manor as your blog.

Fourthly, don't forget about offline promotion - quote your website and blog addresses on your marketing literature, business cards etc so as to create maximum synergy between all of your promotional efforts.

Fifthly, harness the power of eZine sites such as this, by sharing knowledge on your specialist subject you are not only promoting what you are good at but are also building a reputation as a trusted source of information in your field on the web.

Step six, speak to other artists and illustrators about sharing links for each other sites, this practise is known as reciprocal linking and as well as being good for, you guessed it, the search engine rankings, it is also a great way to network and gain word of mouth promotion.

Finally, consider publicising your illustration or art through use e-mail communications. Simple e-mail-shots can be sent from software such as MS Outlook or Thunderbird mail. If you want to use a system that is a little more sophisticated (i.e. it offers more advanced tracking for response and opening statistics) then why not try a service like Constant Contact. This supplier offers free e-mail broadcast for small quantity mail outs, perfect if you are new to e-mail marketing and want to try your hand.

E-mail communications are a very effective way of staying in touch with your target audience and can be used to promote a wide range of subjects from a new exhibition to current art or illustration projects.

So what's stopping you, promote your illustration and art on the web today!

Paul Featherstone is a London based illustrator, artist and web designer with a love of all things online. Paul produces unique illustration and art as well as being a practicing marketer and e-marketing anorak.

http://www.paulfeatherstone.co.uk

http://paulfeatherstone.blogspot.com/

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Paul_M_Featherstone

Indian Pottery Craft - A Vibrant Handicraft Tradition

By Rajneesh Dubey

Making pots was the earliest vocation of Indians. Many civilizations are named after the type of pottery found. They were made in various colors and material. The primary colors used were red, black, ochre and white. Similarly the designs used were also different and significant. On the basis of clay found in the region of manufacturing they had their own variations.

Pottery was first made by man for utilitarian purpose but in later course when savage mankind transformed into civilized one, this became one of the most sought after vocation. Invention of potter's wheel was a revolutionary development which provided the much needed boost to pottery making.

When the utilitarian purpose of pottery was fully explored, the artistic creativity deviated towards the decorative aspect. Pottery has been used as decorative item for a very long time. The design of the pottery and the impressions made on it reflects the view and disposition of the society of the time. Shape and color of a piece of pottery gives a visual message. This art is most sensual and elegant of all arts. In has to be handled very carefully to make it long lasting.

The glory and chic of the Indian pottery is not diminished at all even today. Different regions of India boast of making different but yet unique pieces of pottery. The same flower pot can be found in an amazing variety of shapes, sizes and designs depending upon the place of its creation.
The diverse nature if Indian handicrafts can be evidently seen in its pottery traditions. Every Indian state is special in its own traditions of pottery be it Bengal and terra cotta, Rajasthan and blue pottery, Uttar Pradesh, Gujarat and other Indian states and their traditions.

Rajneesh Dubey is Content Coordinator for http://www.india-crafts.com This is a website covering all kinds of art and craft forms of India. Here, you will come to know about jewelry, dresses, sculptures, religions, paintings and various other topics on India. You can see here the lists of the manufacturers, exporters and suppliers of an array of handicrafts too.
To know more about Indian pottery, please visit Pottery tradition of India

Why People Love Painting

By Rajneesh Dubey

People are in love with painting since they came to life millions of years ago. Having fulfilled their essential requirements they looked up to some recreational activities. Beautiful cave paintings of prehistoric times like those of Lascaux, Le Marche and Chauvet Cave and Bhimbetka bear the testimony of the fact. It might have started from drawing something on the soil with their fingers because a good diagram on the soil helps you to become an accomplished artist.

A colorful object attracts everyone. Colors give the fancy of the person a new world. When someone holds a paint brush, he thinks that whole cosmos can be again drawn through his fingers. Seas, skies, mountains, valleys, gorges, people, animals etc, can all be drawn with immaculate details just on a sheet of paper. Moreover, to color the figure concerned the pigments could be sourced from various things like minerals, vegetables, synthetic materials and other naturally occurring objects.

A cherished memory could well be preserved through a painting. Thus paintings can be made out of imagination as well as of the real thing or the real incident. Painting world is so diverse that a budding artist can choose his style and affiliation to a particular style and then decide to go ahead with. He can specialize in the painting on the basis of medium like water color, oil color, pastel color, fusion etc. Similarly an apprentice can choose to make specifically landscapes, seascapes, skyscapes, waterscapes or the fusion of them.

The most interesting part of painting is its commercial aspect. If an artist can carve out for himself a niche, then finance will never be a constraint for him or her. If he works hard in innovation, creativity, consistency and patience, his work can give him everything. Thus, a hobby can be a stabling factor in life. All painting greats had started their journey by just drawing a diagram on surface through their finger. Come and join the league if your fingers are itching to do something.

Rajneesh Dubey is Content Coordinator for http://ethnicpaintings.com This website gives you comprehensive informations on painting history, development, trends, popular painting styles, great painters, famous paintings, painting galleries and museums, painting tips, painting classes. In other words, this website is a treat to painting freaks.

To learn tips on how to learn painting please visit Ethnic Paintings

Buying Australian Art For Sale

By Nate Thomas

If you were looking at buying Australian art for sale online a good place to buy original yet affordable art (or at least find it first) on the Internet would be to do a search for an online art galleries directory.

A lot of online art gallery directories quite often have links to other online galleries and art resources. As a result; they are a very effective method to track down what you are looking for in terms of what is on offer at an affordable price.

A lot of emerging artists promoting and selling their original paintings will quite often register their artwork with online art directory sites and pay a flat monthly fee to have their work promoted for sale. The artist then does not have the worry of having to build a web site in order to make a start at promoting their artwork online. In a lot of cases the better online art directory sites are optimised quite well for the visitor looking to buy original art online. The advantages to the artist in this regard are obvious…they get guaranteed eyes on their paintings.
The advantages for you in regards to buying original art from these online directories is that you can view the works of many different artists and a broad variety of original art for sale from one website.

A lot of these sites cater for serious collectors of art while they also of course cater for the casual buyer simply looking for some decorative art for the office.

One thing that is worth considering is the "overhead" costs are quite low in regards to the upkeep of these online art directory sites. Additionally, quite a lot of online art gallery sites don't charge the artist a commission on the sales of their paintings outside of the standard flat monthly rate. This is quite appealing for emerging artists because while they don’t have to pay expensive brick and mortar art gallery fees to have their artwork hosted, they are still getting the professionalism required to adequately promote and sell their work to art collectors and the general punter looking to freshen up the office block.

So if you are looking at buying Australian art that is for sale online perhaps consider visiting these online gallery directories as they quite often provide a great service and affordable art produced by up and coming artists.

Nate Thomas is a writer and advocate of original Australian art. If you are an art collector or simply an admirer of quality art then please feel free to visit http://www.cakuart.com

Why Framing Your Art Is Important

By Edwin Mah

Many people believe that when they choose a frame for an art print, they should pick one that is aesthetically pleasing to the eye. While aesthetics is important, many overlook the true reason for framing an art piece – protection. A well chosen frame will not only enhance the art work and make it look good; it will also protect the material and increase its lifespan for the years to come.

A beautiful art piece, when left unprotected, can sustain unsightly damage over time, and become an eyesore in your home.

Here are some of the more common damages to your art print:

A decorative art print, when simply stuck on the wall without any form of framing, could start to show damage in as little as a few weeks. The material could tear along the corners or edges. This is because the print has been in a rolled up state for most of its life - when it was in the merchant store before you bought it. When you try to spread the print open to stick on the wall, the paper is still trying to roll into itself. The adhesive tape that you’ll probably use will not be strong enough to prevent the print from creasing in on itself, thus causing the tears.

The other concern you should be worried about is fading or discoloring. If an unprotected art print is exposed to the elements like direct sunlight, the ultraviolet effects could cause the paper to discolor and become brittle, thus tearing easily. Over time, dust and moisture in the air will also cause a great deal of damage to the print.

Here are some things you should do to prevent damage to your art print.

Choose a professional framing service to frame your art print. Note that some framing materials contain acids that may cause damage to the art piece, so make sure the frame shop provides acid free backings, mats and mounting materials so that damage to your art print is avoided.
Choose a UV filtering glass to give the art work extra protection from ultraviolet light. Make sure to use proper hanging materials to mount your art on the wall. Never display your art piece in direct sunlight or near a heat source. UV light, as mentioned, will certainly cause fading and discoloring of your art print.

Maintain your art piece regularly by cleaning it with a soft and damp cloth. Never spray cleaning fluid directly on the glass. The fluid may seep in and cause damage. Get rid of the dust and clean the glass to remove any stains like grease or fingerprints. A simple decision in framing will certainly go a long way in preserving the life of your art print. It truly is a small investment for a lifelong return.

Happy framing!

Copyright 2007 Edwin Mah

Edwin owns www.abstract-prints.com, an online art gallery offering more than 20,000 contemporary art prints for home and office decorating. Visit Abstract Prints for your interior decorating needs today!

The Art and Science of Marketing Online

By Chris Robertson

With the hundreds of millions of websites populating the Internet, it's a challenge to carve out a niche and drive traffic to your site. You can certainly spend thousands or tens of thousands of dollars in pay-per-click advertising, but unless you the CEO of a huge company, you'll never get a return on your investment. In particular, homebased business owners rarely experience success with pay-per-click advertising, primarily because they don't have the money to purchase the number of hits they need to make their businesses profitable.

Luckily, there are many methods of marketing online that don't require a huge investment. In fact, experts generate leads and sales using a variety of tactics. Success lies either in learning how to use these methods yourself, or in networking with experienced marketers and having them implement a system for you.

Many people choose to pursue an opportunity that brings together a cadre of experts who understand both the art and science of marketing online. In this way, homebased website owners don't have to go through the nightmare of trial and error in order to find the best online marketing methods. Instead, they can concentrate on promoting their websites in other ways and, hopefully, create wealth in the process.

These multi-level marketing (or MLM) opportunities generally offer distributorships that are essentially replicating websites. The opportunity usually consists of a product and a suite of marketing efforts that are performed on your behalf. For example, six different companies may provide six different services. One company might design an advertising banner for you and place it on sites that are viewed by the people who are most likely to visit your website. Another company may write an email advertisement for you and distribute it to a hundred thousand people, half of whom will click on the hyperlink to your site. A third expert might implement a ezine advertising campaign on your behalf, while a fourth might endorse your website and send his endorsement to his own opt-in email list.

The theory behind this type of marketing online is that pooled resources produce greater results and more success. When every person in the networking system contributes to the pool, more leads are generated and each person receives more traffic to their website. In other words, the money is leveraged to everyone's best advantage.

Income generation - and in many cases, wealth - is also accomplished through an MLM-like compensation plan. For example, if you were to sign up for the program, the majority of the money you pay would go to your distributor, as would the money paid by your first referral.
After that, you would receive the money from your referrals, as well as the money generated from your downline's first referral. Given that the efforts spent marketing online generate leads, and some of those leads convert to sales, the system is set up to pay out quickly and efficiently. Best of all, you don't have to be a marketing expert to make it work, which exponentially increases the chances of your success.

Chris Robertson is an author of Majon International, one of the worlds MOST popular internet marketing companies on the web. Learn more about The Art of Marketing Online or Majon's Business and Entrepreneurs directory

Japanese Tattoo Art, History and Such

By Tim Amlong

The decorative and symbolically rich body modification of Japanese tattoos has been practiced in Japan for the last 10,000 years. Many Shogun rulers outlawed Japanese tattoo and were only used in marking and punishment of criminals. Polynesian locals have been getting intricate armband tattoos since the 17th century with a primitive and very painful process involving soot and a bone needles. Traditional Japanese tattoos may be a thing of the past, bu their appeal is timeless. Japanese tattoos are still very popular choice and are some of the coolest tattoos you can get. .

A great armband tattoo to get is of a dragon or a snake, encircling the entire arm. Chinese reflected that the Japanese men, young and old, all tattoo their faces and decorated their bodies with designs. Not so much the style of tattoo that differed from so many other cultures, but the subject of the design of Japanese tattoo, makes them some of the most sought after around the world. Masked people, warriors, ladies, young girls, geisha, samurai, and the ancient gods and goddesses make popular appearances in Japanese designs.

Chinese and Japanese writing tattoos that incorporate other symbols of Asian art are very tasteful and a great choice. Unlike Chinese tattoos who started practicing the art as early as 2000 BC, Japanese tattoo art did not reach its peak till sometime in the 1800's, so Japanese tattoo art came about quite a bit later, comparative speaking. Japanese written language much like Chinese has a very distinct visual style, that has the design elements of tai chi chuan into the look of every character. Japanese tattoo design has a very distinct style that has been very influential on Western tattooing since the 1960's. Regardless of the popularity in its native land of Japan, traditional art of Japanese tattoos is making leap and bounds of popularity in the US and other western countries and cultures. Translating you name into Japanese writing is very beautiful and is a very good starting point for obtaining a cool tattoo design.

A large commitment of time, money and energy is required of Japanese tattoos that cover the entire back and arms, but yet the long process is looked upon by many to be a trial worthy of the samurai's of the past. There is such a delicate beauty that makes it an inspiration for Japanese tattoo art. Making a particularly good visual reference found in modern books of Japanese tattoos appear in visual style and coloring to be older than many other images. It has been said,, Japanese tattoos have been considered to detain a special magical and or religious factor to their owners. Other terms for Japanese tattoos are Irezumi, and Horimono are considered to be very beautiful, the intricate detail can cause complication to understand because of no actual alphabet for the Japanese language. There are a lot of online tattoo galleries that have a wide selection of Chinese or Japanese tattoo to choose from, the biggest problem is finding someone you trust that can re-create the designs and the intricate work involved to getting a quality tattoo of this nature to be applied.

I have a blog that is about custom design tattoos that I have posted a few articles on. If you are interested on getting a new tattoo or your first tattoo go to my site and you might get some good ideas. Also there are a couple of Tattoo Gallery sites that I have links to that offer some very good information that would be very helpful in making an intelligent decision before getting your next or first tattoo. Also I have a link to a very good book that gives a lot of the history behind Japanese tattoos that you can check out on my site.

Website address is: http://www.customdesigntattoo.com
Thanks,
Tim Amlong

Miami for Art Lovers - Miami Offers More Than Sun and Sand

By Carlos Giraldo

It may be famous for sun and sand, but Miami also has a thriving arts community. Whether you prefer performing arts, fine arts, or historical treasures, you’ll find world-class arts just around the corner.

Film fans know that Miami is the place to see groundbreaking films. The most famous is the Miami International Film Festival, a star- studded showcase for Latin American, North American and world cinema. If you prefer live theater, Miami offers a range of venues, with the Coconut Grove Playhouse, Actor’s Playhouse, and the Jackie Gleason Theater as the most well- known. Music lovers will enjoy the incredible variety in Miami, including performances by the Florida Grand Opera, the Miami Symphony Orchestra, the Murray Dranoff International Two Piano Competition, and the Miami Bach Society, as well as contemporary performances by the biggest stars in the entertainment and music world. Dance lovers will enjoy the world-acclaimed Miami City Ballet and the contemporary Dance Now! Ensemble.

Fine art enthusiasts will find galleries, festivals, and studios throughout the city of Miami. The Coconut Grove Arts Festival is one of the largest and most prestigious outdoor fine arts and crafts festivals in the United States. Art Basel Miami Beach is a new type of cultural event, combining an international art show with an exciting program of special exhibitions, parties and crossover events that include music, film, architecture and design.

Historic treasures, from local to international, can be found at the cultural and art museums in Miami. The Miami Art Museum presents international art of the 20th and 21st centuries. Permanent exhibits at the Lowe Art Museum include Italian Renaissance and Baroque, Greco-Roman Antiquities, 17th-21st century Art of the Americas and Europe, and Asian, African and Native American art. The Vizcaya Museum and Gardens is an extraordinary European-inspired estate and National Historic Landmark, which includes a house filled with art and furnishings, and ten acres of gardens on Biscayne Bay.

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Vietnamese Art - Taking the World On Its Stride

By Suzanne Macguire

The art scene of Vietnam has taken a few giant leaps in recent years. The Doi Moi has constantly been a source of inspiration for the new generation of artists. Besides, the country has also done well in establishing a communication with the outside world thus allowing the artists to present their artworks to the world. Creation of newer opportunities has strengthened the confidence of the young artists who are constantly striving to introduce innovations in their art works. For long, Vietnam artists have drawn in from the traditions of China, France and Russia. There are instances of oil paintings on themes of village and women folk. A love for the city of Hanoi is particularly reflected in a number of these paintings; the image of the deceased painter, Bui Xuan Phai, serving as inspiration to the new breed of Vietnam artists.

Portrayal of emotions has been institutional in drawing the attention of art lovers, especially from the West. The modern Vietnam artists, Hong Viet Dung in particular, has done a great job by moving away from simple subjects to depicting human emotions. These emotions convey a wide range of feelings with an affinity towards loneliness, despair, sorrow, or other woeful experiences of life. On the other hand, artists such as Dao Hai Phong, Le Thanh Son and Pham Luan are drawn towards what might be called the 'romantic style'. Use of highly attractive colors in these paintings makes them appealing, especially to the foreigners who reside in the gray, urban monotonous environment. Portrayal of abstractions has been done excellently by Nguyen Trung, thus testifying to the spirit of Vietnam artists to take up fresh challenges. However, there is one area, which has not yet been chiefly touched by the modern artists. This is the area of socio-political criticism, which has been widely used by Western artists as their art themes.

Speaking of the more innovative art techniques, the Vietnamese lacquer paintings deserve a special mention. Lacquer paintings have turned out to be a great favorite with the art lovers.

Painters like Dinh Quan, Trinh Tuan and Cong Kim Hoa have contributed immensely to the lacquer tradition. The synthesis of traditional lacquer painting and modern painting is now being widely acclaimed. Production of lacquer paintings is time consuming but the result always turns out to be an exquisite masterpiece.

The art scenario of Vietnam has witnessed a sea change over the years. The Vietnamese art market has been successful in drawing art connoisseurs from all over the world on account of its excellent quality and innovation. Being a dynamic art scene in comparison to other countries, Vietnam has produced some of the greatest masterpieces of modern art. The future of Vietnamese art certainly seems bright. Hopefully, Vietnam artists will live up to the high standards set for themselves and let the world recognize the true worth of Vietnamese contemporary art.

Suzanne Macguire is an Internet marketing professional with expertise in content development and technical writing in a variety of industries. Vietnam Paintings