The Advance-Trading System!

Hey-a there jammers, Arctic here with my first official post for the AJAC!

Now, editing is one of the things I feel I do best AJ-wise. I work really hard to make sure my edits are as believable and consistent as possible. Today, I want to show you the first edit I ever made for AJ!

I posted this on the AJ Amino a long time ago, but I'm pretty sure most of you have never seen it before. So, I've decided that it would be cool if my first post here showcased the project that made me discover my love of editing!

Introducing, the Advance-Trading System!

Have you ever wanted to trade with someone who was offline? Maybe you commissioned them and agreed to trade for their completed art but you're never online at the same time. Perhaps you're non-member and your friend wants to give you a birthday present but you can't receive gifts through jam-a-grams! Never fear, for the Advance-Trading System is here!

With this feature, you'd be able to make trades in advance - even when your buddies aren't online! Just by clicking the new trade button on the account of a jammer that's offline, you can place your trade!

Jammers can choose to put the same items on their advance trade list as their regular trade list, or put something different! It's totally up to you!

When you click an item you want to trade for, it will remind you that your trade request won't go through until the other jammer logs on.

If you are on the other end, where you are receiving a trade, there will be a new tab at the top of your screen that shows all your pending trade requests.

When you click it, all the trades you've missed pop up! You can have a total of 3 days to make up your mind before the items will be automatically refunded and the trade will be nullified. And, to make things fair, any items that you offer in an advance-trade will be locked (you can't use them at all) to ensure that you aren't scamming people!

Now, looking back I see this is a pretty sloppy looking edit. Of course, it was only my first time, but I see now that the shading on some of the buttons are very off and that the font is totally wrong. For my first time, though, I'd say I did pretty well!

What did you think of my edit? Would you like this idea to be in Animal Jam? Tell me what you think in the comments below!

That's all for this week folks. See you soon!

Send me a lemon at arcticstarjamaa@gmail.com !

Masterpiece giveaway info

  This is just a short post to inform those of you who have entered my Masterpiece Giveaway that the hashtag #FlamingoArtGiveaway doesn't seem to be working, because I know there are more than 4 entries but those are all I can find from searching Google + for them.  Please make sure that your entry isn't private, and please edit your post and tag me in it by writing +Crazcatlover AJ so that I can find your entry despite the issues with the hashtag.  Sorry for any inconvenience!

  Anyways, now you can go ahead and read Purplestarclub's post =)  Have a great day!

About Me - Purplestarclub

Hello there! I'm Purplestarclub, one of the chosen authors for this blog. :D I'm really happy that I got accepted as an author here. I look forward to posting here. :) I know this post is kinda late and all the authors (except for Canine) are done with their introduction posts already but my posting day is every other Sunday so that's why I couldn't post earlier. I hope you guys don't mind it! :P

Without further ado, here's my introduction post!

Who exactly am I? Well, I'm a teenager girl who's totally obsessed with Animal Jam and art! XD I've loved drawing ever since I learned how to hold a pencil. Art is a really important part of my life. It's one of the things that I'm really passionate about. I try my hardest to improve my art as I want to become an artist in the future. :D

I'm a huge Otaku (Anime fan) and anime does influence my art a lot. Although, I've been told many times that anime art isn't going to get me anywhere, I want to keep doing what I'm happy with. I won't be able to get anywhere if I'm not happy with what I'm doing.

I started making Animal Jam art in late 2013, which is when I started playing AJ as well. I think drawing animals from the game is really fun.

There is one thing, though. I'm EXTREMELY self conscious of my art. I get jealous of other people's art really quickly and I feel like I'm just not good enough. Luckily, I'm slowly getting rid of this habit. If you're struggling with the same problem as I am, go ahead and note down the things you actually like about your art piece and instead of saying ''I hate this.'', say, ''I want to improve my ____.'' Thanks to Cat for this tip. ;) It helped me a lot! :D

----------------------------------------------------

Enough about my art, now I'll tell you all a bit about myself. 

-I'm really shy. I'm also an introvert but when it comes to making friends on the internet, I'm in! XD

- I have a younger brother. 

- I've been playing AJ for over 3 years.

- I have my own AJ blog, My Little Jammers. 

-My English isn't the best as it is my 3rd language. :P

- My parents really don't care about what I do on the internet but I still ask for permission every time I visit a new social media website or something. 

- I mostly only get good grades in school but when I don't, I get really sad. D:

- I have anxiety. I start worrying about little things all the time. 

- I'm a real foodie. XD

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Well, those were all the facts that I could think of! 

I look forward to posting more and sharing more of my art. I hope you all like my posts. ^.^ 

I'll see you all in my next post! Bye! 

Nature Art From Across Jamaa!

Hello everyone! It's me, Swirlshine, and I'm back once again! For those of you that don't know, I'll be your Saturday AJAC author from this point on! 

Now, in this post, I'll be doing what this blog is for: showcasing AJ art! I have a BUNCH (you have no idea how many) of pictures of art that I've been meaning to share for a while, and I was even thinking of making a side blog to post them on. But now, since I'm an author on this blog, there's no need for that!

Anyways, today, I'll be showing you all some landscape drawings that different jammers have made!

You Guys: Swirlll, just GET ON WITH THE POST!!!

Okay, okay, if you insist! :P

 First off, we have this beautiful piece by Treefrogs! As you can see, this person is an amazing artist! The flowers and vines are beautiful, and I love how she added the designs on the branches to make them look more wood-y. XD!

 This piece has always been one of my favorites! It's by Fruitsbasket11223, one of the more well-known artists in Jamaa. Honestly, everything about this art is amazing to me! I love the colors of the sky, and how the clouds were made, and the girl holding the violin is done very nicely as well! I wonder how long this took! :o

 This one, as you can see, is by Wolfs96173! This whole scene just looks so peaceful! I especially love the reflection of the sun on the water! The colors all fade into each other so nicely, making this art look almost like a picture! Great job, Wolfs!

 Ah, and here's some art of a cloudy sky over an ocean, made by none other than Artymis herself! My favorite part of this picture is how the shadows of the clouds show on the water. This whole picture really shows that Artymis really pays attention to detail!

 Floofyart did an amazing job on this rainforest landscape! The shadows, the leaves, the feathers on the birds- it's all so detailed! Floofy is another great AJ artist, and you should definitely check out his/her (yikes, sorry, I can't remember if they're a boy or a girl!) den if you want to see some epic Masterpieces!

 This whole Masterpiece, made by Bandswow3, was made with the airbrush tool! It must have taken a very long time, but I gotta say, the finished product was worth it, in my opinion! Once again, I love the reflection of the setting (or rising, hehe) sun on the water's surface!

 Woah! Just look at this forest! Makes me wanna go there myself! Honestly, I could never make art as detailed as this, so great job, Flamedragonx!

 Here we have a piece by Uhari, of some roses and a beautiful piece of land in the background! The dewdrops on the roses look almost real to me, and I love how the lines were smeared on the stream to give it a flow-y look!

 This one makes me feel like I'm in this place myself! The colors of the sunset are absolutely stunning, and the palm trees' leaves are very well done and detailed as well! Amazing work, Iciblue!

 This has got to be one of my favorite Masterpieces in the entire game! It's a scene from the Disney movie Moana; you can tell from the boat and the girl riding on it. Honestly, I wish I could ask Wolfs how long these Masterpieces take! This one... oh man, I couldn't finish something like that, even if I had a year to do it! XD!

And lastly, a beautiful rose by Flowolf! Once again, I love the dewdrops on the plants, and the petals of the rose are also incredibly detailed, in my opinion!

Well everyone, that's all I have for now! I hope you all enjoyed my first-ever real post on this blog! Until next Saturday, please remember to party hard, be creative, and jam on, and I'll see you around Jamaa! ;D

Masterpiece giveaway!!

Me: Psssst!  You!  Yeah, you!  Do you want a free masterpiece?
You:  HECK YEAH, I DO!  I love free stuff!
Me:  Everyone does.  Keep reading the post and you can find out how you can win a free masterpiece!
You:  Oh...  you're not just giving it to me?
Me:  Hey, dude, this blog doesn't have many readers; you have a very high chance of winning.  So be quiet and read.
You:  Ok...

  What would the AJ blogging community be without Swirlshine?  There'd be no Swirl-style introductions!  Posts would begin very boringly, with just a regular, 'Hey, folks!  ____ here, back with another blog post!'  Or someone else would invent the intro.  Who knows?  I don't!  Anyways, crazy introductions aside, let's get into today's post!

  So, I decided to draw a masterpiece yesterday while waiting for the new update to arrive, so I drew this flamingo masterpiece!  And since I had about 70 diamonds, I decided to buy a ton of copies and give them away!  I actually recorded the drawing process, but the footage isn't edited yet, so I haven't posted the speedart video.  I plan to soon, though!

  Anyways, I'll be giving away 10 copies of this flamingo masterpiece, and if you want to enter the giveaway to win one, simply share this post on Google + by clicking the G+ button at the bottom of this post.  Make sure to add the hashtag #FlamingoArtGiveaway and your AJ username to your post!

EDIT: The hashtag #FlamingoArtGiveaway doesn't seem to be working, because I know there are more than 4 entries but those are all I can find from searching Google + for them.  Please make sure that your entry isn't private, and please edit your post and tag me in it by writing +Crazcatlover AJ so that I can find your entry despite the issues with the hashtag.  Sorry for any inconvenience!

 If you've entered, please comment below and let me know!

  If you don't have Google + and/or have an AJ blog instead, you can include the following image of the masterpiece which I'll be giving away, and a link to this blog post in a post on your blog.  Then, leave a link to your post, along with your AJ username, in the comments!

  You can enter until noon (EST), August 11th, and the winners will be announced that day as well, so be on the lookout for that!  Anywhom, in other news, I'm finally opening Masterpiece commissions again.  I've been drawing some bases for Your-Character-Here style commissions; here are the bases I have so far! 

  These YCH-style commissions are available for just one rare long spiked wristband, so if you're interested in ordering one, check out my Jammer Wall!  If you want an animal, character, or pose that isn't currently available in the YCH bases, I can draw that, but it does cost more- a Masterpiece commission done without one of the available bases costs a rare short spiked collar.  Keep in mind that these prices are for sketches, and for a fully-colored commission it costs more.  But all those details are on my Jammer Wall, as I said before.

  Comment call: Will you be entering the giveaway?  And what animal base should I draw next for the YCH Masterpiece commissions?

  Anyways, that's all for today!  I hope you have a fabulous day full of jellybeans and functional air-conditioners! (because in the summertime, functional air-conditioners are really nice)  (except if you're in the southern hemisphere I guess it's winter for you right now...  I hope your day is full of functional temperature-controlling devices.  Yep.)

 

Karalee -- The Crash Course

*CRASH!!*



...What? I warned you in the title. 😊

Heyoooooo, Jammers, it's Karalee here!

I am extremely honored to be an author here, and as requested by our (amazing 😉) founder Crazcatlover, the first post I make here will be an introduction to moi. (Strapped in tight? Good.)



The first thing about who I am is, I'm a Christian.

Yeah, I know that sounds like it could be some kinda' snooty, "I'm-so-religious" bragging.

It's not.

Being a Christian is the biggest part of my identity. I say it because it matters the most to me out of anything in the whole world, not because it "looks good". Jesus has given me life, grace, and most importantly, a reason for living. Love is the purpose of life, and showing it through everything I do is my mission.

Now does this mean I am perfect? *snort* Yeah no. No, I will definitely mess up, and probably publicly, on this blog. I'll say something rude without thinking about the effects, or not be as accepting, generous, or clear-headed as I should. Apologies in advance, and here's my sincere intentions to avoid goofing up for as long as possible.



Next thing: ...Welp, I should probably warn ya' I'm a nut.

A nut for art, because I can't seem to go a single day without drawing.
A nut for Sherlock Holmes, and mysteries in general.
A nut for COFFEE, and anything with coffee in it.
And of course, a nut for Animal Jam!



Third thing....

Oh, right! I should probably say that I'm a girl. (Oops. 😋)

This is me.

Selfie time! *click*

I'm a Hyena on AJ, which I feel suits my personality. Hyenas are canine, but don't have the mainstream look of the Arctic Wolf, and without the "roleplaying" connotations that the Wolf sometimes carries. (Nothing against either of those animals, they're just not who I am.) Hyenas love to laugh, and they have a long mane down their backs, just like me! 😄



Fourth thing: I'm synesthetic.

This means I've got a condition. *dun-dun-DUN* 😨

😆 Just kidding. ...Sort of.

Synesthesia is a real condition. According to the dictionary, it's "the production of a sense impression relating to one sense or part of the body by stimulation of another sense or part of the body". This means that when someone has synesthesia, their senses are mixed up and connected together in some way. For one person, it could mean that they see numbers in their head as points closer or father away in space, and for another, that hearing the name Derek tastes like earwax!

I've got the two most common forms, grapheme-color synesthesia, and chromesthesia.

Grapheme-color synesthesia means that letters are sort of "overlayed" with colors. I associate each letter with a specific color, which means a sentence looks like this!

(No, seriously, it looks just like that, color-wise. Except the k is more of a rosy-pink-peach... text coloring didn't have the right shade. *shrug*)

Chromesthesia means sounds can trigger colors in the brain. Before I realized that I had this, I did think it was odd that I automatically told bright lights that I wanted to turn off to "Shhh!" (I guess the sight triggered a sound reaction, in that case.)

It also means listening to music is a blast, especially at night! Then I can just close my eyes and let the show play. 😊 Sometimes people with chromesthesia related to music will have perfect pitch because their ability to both see and hear colors helps them find notes/keys.

Unfortunately for my family's ears, I did NOT get that part of it.

The reason I'm mentioning this is because (and this is from Wikipedia), "Synesthetes are very likely to participate in creative activities. It has been suggested that individual development of perceptual and cognitive skills, in addition to one's cultural environment, produces the variety in awareness and practical use of synesthetic phenomena."

It's also true that "Synesthesia may also give a memory advantage. In one study conducted by Julia Simner of the University of Edinburgh it was found that spatial sequence synesthetes have a built-in and automatic mnemonic reference. So the nonsynesthete will need to create a mnemonic device to remember a sequence (like dates in a diary), but the synesthete can simply reference their spatial visualizations."

Didn't get that part either. Numbers are just colors, not places in space to me, and so doing/learning math is really confusing and frustrating. Math doesn't relate to colors at all.

But drawing does! Color and form are very important to me. They're in SO MUCH of what I do and think and remember and sense. Sometimes I can visualize and feel my thoughts physically going through me, like the yellowish-beige haze of a thought I don't like looping around my head and towards my mouth (which is weird because I have no intention of speaking that thought or idea aloud), or a blue-green, kind of cold feeling moving in my lungs and to the left of my stomach (or maybe it's where my liver is -- I need to learn more anatomy). Goldenrod threads running through my shoulders, light magenta flowing up my spine.

This isn't any type of synesthesia I've ever heard about. ...Maybe I'm just weird...? *sheepish laugh, shrug*

Nevertheless, color and form are in everything. And I think that's a big, big part of why I draw.

Animal Jam's color schemes and graphics are what originally attracted me to the game, and they're a lot of what keeps me obsessed. My favorite things to draw right now are Animal Jam avatars as humans! 😊 Here are some samples of my work. (Placed from oldest to latest.)





(Top to bottom, left to right) Coolcat89252, Lostfairy, Crazcatlover, Sarahkey8, Gfox0, Ja983, me, Graciepopstar91, and Swirlshine!



Ja983, and me again! Ever the adventurer, Ja is going to face off with a large creature (probably an Orc), and I, the Mom Friend, am warning her not to!



Swirlshine -- er, Squirrelshine! Cute chibi in a hoodie w/ears and tail.



Human version of my Hyena in an alternate outfit, sitting on what appears to be an invisible bench.



(Clockwise) AJkraft, Purplestarclub, and Nafaria9.



A buddy of mine on AJ, not a blogger as far as I know. This isn't a commission... I was itching to draw and needed a subject. 😝 Hope she doesn't mind!



Uh-oh, the post's coming to a close! TIME FOR THE LIGHTNING ROUND! 🗲🗱🗲

The last few things you need to know about Karalee:

• Often a late-in-the-day blog-poster (oops)
• A fan of Voltron: Legendary Defender, various Transformers shows, MacGyver, and much more
• The self-proclaimed Queen Of Tpyos
• **Typos
• Intrigued by the Victorian era and steampunk
• I wish I could live in a past time (but preferably one when flush toilets were common)
• Practically subsisting off cheese, apples, and coffee
• Constantly losing styluses
• Herbal Zap tea tastes like seventy fire ants in your mouth
• I know because I just tried some
• Those last two facts were not actually relevant

Well, that's about it! I hope you enjoyed Karalee -- The Crash Course!

*CRASH!!*

I still warned you.... 😋

(DXplorergirl)

Canine Claw can't post today...

... so I will instead!  It seems that Canine Claw, our Tuesday author, is unable to post today, but hopefully she will be able to post soon.  Canine Claw is an incredible artist and I hope that she will be able to post soon and be an author here on the AJAC!

In the meanwhile, here's one of Canine's recent drawings- I love it so much!

  It's of our good friend, Ja983!  I look forward to working with Canine in the future on this blog. 

  By the way, I know the posts lately haven't exactly been about art and art tips as promised.  Every author has been writing introduction posts, so that you readers can get to know us better.  These introductions are just for each authors' first post, so in a week the posts will be the Animal Jam art you're looking for (although most authors are sharing their art in their introduction posts). 

  I was also thinking that perhaps us authors of the AJAC could do some kind of art raffle thing here, so tell me what you think (this goes to my fellow authors as well).  The idea is, every week, a blog commenter would be randomly chosen and their Animal Jam avatar drawn by one or more artists here (if an author doesn't want to participate in the raffle any given week, they won't need to).  I feel like it'd be a lot of fun, and there could be fashion contests as well, and the winners from those contests would be drawn!

   Comment call- let me know what you think of this idea! 

  Anywhom, that's all for today.  Have a fabulous day full of rainbows and lollipops and hopefully Canine will be able to post next Tuesday!