*digimatte

DeviantArt has changed since I first joined five years ago. It used to be a collection of art, some good, a lot bad....but it was art. Now it's just art mixed in with anime drawings and porn. I use to direct my anger to the anime but recently I've noticed that I can't browse the Photography category's most popular submission without sifting through shots of girls spread wide open.

I like girls. I like naked girls. I like shooting naked girls. But it seems like there's more shots by GWC's (guys-with-cameras who shoot to get laid) than truly artistic shots of human beauty. If I want to see a shot of a girl bending over with her legs spread lit with frontal on-camera flash and no artistic thought... I'd pull down my "Bookmarks" menu and navigate to my favorite porn sites

Wait, nevermind...I prefer my porn to be creatively lit....

But when I'm surfing DA I want to see beautiful shots of beautiful things done in beautiful and creative ways. Maybe the "Artistic Nude" section should be divided into sub-categories such as "Artistic, Self-Shot Wannabe Porn, GWC Wannabe Art, and Close-Up Vag"

What gets me is that there is amazing art out there but to find it, you first must search through all of the porn. When I say porn, I mean specifically that which was taken by someone who's dick was out further than the lens (unless it's a long telephoto, then it's just voyeurism...and that's just wrong). Can the admins just make a whole new section for this crap.

I've always been an advocate to make this a pay-only site. The rates are low enough for anyone serious about art to handle and it would weed out the persons ruining this community.

Moving on.....

I took a trip up to San Francisco this weekend. Some friends of mine are working at LucasArts, Industrial Light & Magic, and Pixar and so a bunch of us decided to drive up and check out the places as well as the city.

Our first stop was Lucasfilm where both LucasArts (the game company) and ILM (the effects facility) are housed. Set inside the beautiful Presidio area near the Golden Gate Bridge, the campus was incredible. Inside is like a museum of visual effects. The halls are lined with classic full-sized matte paintings and everywhere you look are actual artifacts and artwork from past ILM films. I can't really talk about most of what I saw (we signed non-disclosure agreements). The general feel I got as a place to work is that it's a bit too corporate for my tastes. Another "cog in the wheel" feeling. But the place is impressive still, and if I could get a good enough offer to afford to live in that area, I'd take a freelance position (I'll be waiting for the call, George...you've got my number).

This is the campus.





A lot of us have already seen these R2D2 mailboxes set up by the USPS. This one is just outside the campus.





Our next stop was to visit my good friend and former college roommate Sean who works at Pixar.



(This image was taken while leaving, and flopped so it read forwards. I didn't have my camera out when we entered