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7Shadows - Top Posts feature
Addressing the home page situation for logged users, I wanted to create something lively that quickly shows the latest top activities from your following and featured artists.

This feature can definitely grow and I'm still working on the scrolling issue that bugs some of you.

Your feedback is welcome!

7Shadows - Badges
The badge feature is another one that I feel that is original to S8. They are customizable and will be even more. The small text is determined by "What you do" -- I'm thinking of putting your website link in there to help you promote your own website.

Let me know your thoughts on this!

7Shadows - Shadowness 8 Wallpaper
Shadowness 8 Wallpaper - 1920 x 1600 Resolution

7Shadows - Launch Party 2
Chris Dang, Adam, and me failing for 20 mins!

7Shadows - Launch Party
Chat / Cam is still going on.

7Shadows - Awespire Layout
Awespire Layout. http://awespire.com

7Shadows - Solar Cells Wallpaper
1920x1200 Wallpaper. Audience: LAN party in NYC. (lan.ajg.net) Comments welcome.

7Shadows - Shadowness 8 Wallpaper
1920x1200 available. Launching version 8 soon.

Follow on Twitter: http://twitter.com/Shadowness8

Download Wallpaper Here
Widescreen 1920x1200

7Shadows - Music Is Inspiration.
I must say I'm really impressed with how useful this site is since day one. Playlist.com lets you find, add and play ANY music, for free -- FULL version, not commercial demo crap.
Plus, you get to listen to the same music that chicks from the front page listen to.

http://www.playlist.com

Here's my Playlist:


Feel free to recommend songs.

7Shadows - Facebook Pic / Shadowness-Style
Click here to view the Video Tutorial

Dimension of the Facebook profile picture is 200x300. Add cool effects to your photos!!

Didn't have the chance to show the very end result, but here it is:


All the stocks are on my profile. Download here

7Shadows - S7 Widget Tutorial
Click here to view the Video Tutorial

My first video tutorial. Using this new software called Jing. http://www.jingproject.com/

7Shadows - One Day with Leopard!
After 3 hours of installation, Leopard finally runs on my Macbook Pro. It has been very smooth so far. For those wondering, it doesn't change a thing in your previous Tiger setup.

Before going into details about this page-turning upgrade, I will say that it takes time to truly appreciate all the work put into the smallest features of Leopard. For some, it might even be disappointing because of all the hype behind this product. But I can assure you that Leopard is indeed quite an evolution to its already fantastic predecessor.
As a designer, I know the importance of having a great setup. It affects your productivity in a big way. It affects your influences, your vision of simplicity and it inspires you to do greater things. Leopard is one of those.

As I started with Leopard, I noticed that my setup was almost completely the same -- same background, same desktop items etc. Among the few noticeable things were the dock or the top bar. Most importantly, it felt really smooth. It was much faster and that's a huge deal.

I was instantly prompted to explore the stacks feature because for good reasons, my desktop was cluttered with icons and organization flaws. I also bought a 500 Gigs hard drive so I could use Time Machine. These reasons were enough for me to re-organize my whole collection of files.

Time Machine is one of those applications that a lot will think that it's cool, but not for them. I used to think that way. It took a good 7 hours to setup it up for backing up the first 170 Gigs. I also thought it was a simple backup system. I was wrong. Time Machine offers much more to just anyone. You have works, movies or music that you move all the time, back up to CDs or on different hard drives. With Time Machine, you don't need to do that anymore -- it does everything for you and in the background. You can start deleting all your junks without a worry that something important might have slipped in.
There are 300 features on Leopard, but I haven't tested them all. But so far, here are the top features I've been really enjoying:

Spaces is amazing. I'm using it to separate my email/calendar from music, video viewing and of course work. It's fast and you can use expose to make it even more usable.

RSS feeds right on Mail, how convenient!

Downloads + stacks. Unclutter your Desktop 101.

They reorganized the left menu on Finder. That menu is dragable and custumizable!!

Cover flow + Quick-look movies! Play on the spot.

Previews of movies, pdf etc finally viewable from the thumbnails!

Front Row is really cool. I was especially impressed with the movie trailers updated right to your screen.
A lot of Leopard's features can be truly enjoyed as you really get used to it. Because it's about usability and usefulness. It makes my life so much easier. You will upgrade to leopard because it's cooler, faster, more stable and it will make your life easier and clutter-free.
300+ features listed here: http://www.apple.com/macosx/features

- Meng

7Shadows - S7.1 Wallpaper
I present you the upcoming Shadowness 7.1.

Download the Wallpaper Here 1920x1200

7Shadows - Amazing Creations Contest!
nVidia has created a pretty exciting contest!

Amazing Creations ~ 25 October 2007 - 7 January 2008
Artists through the ages have been dreamers and creators of fantastic images but have always been constrained by the medium they work in. Liquid sculptures, fractal growths and knotted freeways, are all examples of amazing things that only exist in virtual reality.

This competition celebrates the very essence of the creativity that defines digital art – the ability to create artistically and technically excellent images of things that are impossible in the real world. Digital artists don’t have any barriers to realizing their wildest ideas. They can build whole virtual worlds and render them in a way that makes them almost tangible and embodied with life.

Prizes:
Over $21,000 (USD) of prizes in total.
1st Prize: 2 x NVIDIA Quadro FX 5500 cards and 1 week ‘all inclusive' holiday valued at $10,000 (USD).
2nd Prize: NVIDIA Quadro FX 5500 and a $500 (USD) American Express Gift Card.
3rd Prize: NVIDIA Quadro FX 3500 and a $500 (USD) American Express Gift Card.


Contest details here

--
I will be entering this contest, so watch out!
-Meng

7Shadows - S7 Photo -- PSD
Many of you may not be aware the importance of having a good-looking portfolio picture.

It's the first image that visitors will see when landed on your Portfolio. Make sure it's worth it.

I decided to share my little PSD with a few layers and a 240x700 size. A photo should have:

1) Incredible picture of you, or your Best Work, or your Most Recent work.
2) Your username.shadowness.com
3) Your signature.



Download PSD

7Shadows - New Portfolio Options. -- PSD
I spent a great deal of time organizing these options both on the site and on the PSD to help you understand how easy it is to customize your page.

In fact, if you're a graphics artist, you should just create a background layout and upload as "Layout Background" or "Portfolio Background". Just grab an artwork and make it blend to your desired background and set a color. It is infinitely more interesting than just having a header.

If you want to adventure more into the colors, the PSD and the site's javascript color picker will help you do so. If you're lazy, just begin hiding a bunch of unwanted colors and elements such as the menu. If you know a little about CSS, you have no limits! The (CSS) links will show you the CSS codes for the modifications you apply.

Download the .PSD here

Start Playing Now!

7Shadows - WIP - We Are 2
I'm really taking my time on this one and dragging it over several days, which is very unusual for me.

But time fixes many things and give you a more objective overview.

I spent a lot of time cleaning up the face, and the hair, but it's really not done yet.

Also, you can see what I'm trying to do with the hand being connected to her body in a very mechanical way. Haven't cleaned much the whole thing yet, it's still a mess.

This artwork is really 50% painting... and with a mouse!

~ 10 hours. 3 days.

Previous version:

7Shadows - WIP - We Are
Another WIP I'm working on.
A more painting style on this one
as you can see traces of brushes.
Again, 50%, 1/7 portion of the original work. ~3 hours.

We are... not alive. She, the world, is crumbling little by little and war continues to rage within people's heart.

Really enjoyed working on this one. I need to get a Wacom.

7Shadows - WIP.
A WIP I'm working on right now. More fantasy this time.
Will have a pretty intense background!
Using a lot of brushes for this one..
~10 Hours. 50% zoom. Cut portion 1/7 of full.

Suggestions/comments?

7Shadows - Choose Your Guild's Design!
Combine:

1) light/dark on black or black on white/light.
2) logo 1, 2, 3, 4 or 5
3) border design 1-2-4, 3 or 5.