HOME | DD | Gallery | Favourites | RSS
| Skyleap
Skyleap
♀️
[13254344]
[2010-03-12 01:11:50 +0000 UTC]
(United States)
# Statistics
Favourites: 133; Deviations: 140; Watchers: 19
Watching: 68; Pageviews: 11322; Comments Made: 791; Friends: 68
# Interests
Favorite TV shows: Forever, The UntamedFavorite bands / musical artists: Sigur Ros/Jonsi, Florence + the Machine, Blind Guardian, Lord Huron
Favorite books: Lots.
Favorite writers: Lots.
Favorite games: Okami, Sly Cooper
Favorite gaming platform: PS3, Nintendo DS
# Comments
Comments: 163
Hello, thanks for watching my work! It really means alot to me 
👍: 0 ⏩: 1
Your work is really cute! How could I not?
👍: 0 ⏩: 0
Thanks so much for the fave! Feel free to check out the rest of my gallery, if you like. And here, have a llama. 
👍: 0 ⏩: 1
Hey Skyleap!
I just wanted to come over and thank you personally for your watch!
I am very very happy to see that you like my art so much and I hope I will not disspoint you and come up with tons of more interesting stuff for you in the future. 
I hope to see you soon again walking over my gallery but until that I wish you a very nice and peacefull weekend and hope you are okay so far
Greetings, Alkasay~
👍: 0 ⏩: 1
You are very much welcome! I will.
👍: 0 ⏩: 0
XD Thanks so much for watching me! For some reason I hadn't scoured the internet for your DA profile, but thank you for reminding me to watch you as well! (Because I'm a stalker like that XD)
AHHH your black & white dragon line-arts are AMAZING
👍: 0 ⏩: 1
Hahaha I pulled your dA out of VisionCrow's connections, because I had also not scoured the internet.
And thank you! They amaze me as well, because nothing else I do comes anywhere close.
👍: 0 ⏩: 0
Yesterday I was hopelessly tired, today I'm feeling surprisingly fine. I'm guessing the spring is making me crazy.
👍: 0 ⏩: 1
It's supposed to snow for us on Monday (again), soooooooooo......
I really hope spring gets under way sometime soon.
👍: 0 ⏩: 1
...everyone around here is terrified of a big snow storm which is on today. It was just warm here and now there will be centimeters of snow! (Not sure if you use "inches")
I myself would like the spring to come soon and more permanently. x)
Hope you are doing well. I read that you are busy... we are all always busy... o.o But nevertheless hope you'll manage.
👍: 0 ⏩: 1
Yeah we use the "standard" system of measurement, which means we deal with 12 inches to a foot, 3 feet to a yard, and 5,280 feet to a mile. It's truly awful when you're trying to do a science experiment which means converting everything to metric because we're too inconsiderate to display both measurements on everything.
Hope you guys get through the snowstorm okay. And once March is done everything will be much easier XD
👍: 0 ⏩: 1
...you are going to eat me after this late reply. o.o
Interesting, I didn't know it was called as "standard" over there. Around here the "standard" would probably be the metric system. Only very few around here are familiar with the US standard system. I myself, unfortunately, have some troubles in predicting inches and feet.
The only cases I've needed to use the US system have been online, e.g. researching product information and then converting sizes to metric. For all local things, I've never seen inches, except possibly printed on some rulers.
We got through the snowstorm ok. It was like this: I went to sleep, and it was grassy and plain outside, when I woke up, it was like a stereotypical Christmas, with poofy snowflake rain and white everywhere. Then one day and it disappeared completely...
And now it's spring. Things are easier, I've even noticed that people seem to be happier.
👍: 0 ⏩: 1
Hmm that's interesting.
Ah yes, it's finally spring. The snow had really been interrupting our school time, to the point where it wasn't funny anymore.
👍: 0 ⏩: 1
Yes, surely it is interesting to eat me. x)
Around here, there are no "snow days" when it comes to schools. Even during the hardest of snowfalls people are expected to attend, although I'd imagine it to be more flexible.
👍: 0 ⏩: 1
Heh here we were once all sent home way early in a panic because of a forecast that never happened. Also this year it snowed 2 inches and we were out of school for a week.
👍: 0 ⏩: 1
Perhaps it can be good. Some of the forecasts don't happen, but some do, and some of those can be devastating. And really, who'd complain the free days.
2 inches of snow is very normal around here during winters, it's not much of special. When it gets to like 5-6 inches then it could perhaps be noteworthy.
👍: 0 ⏩: 1
This year our missed days were at a very bad time. There were several deadlines for the IB program, and they don't care about snow days and will have no mercy.
👍: 0 ⏩: 1
IB was always my priority when getting into a high school. I never got in because my grades sucked.
But then I got into a visual arts-based one (I was super lucky), and I had extremely good time in there.
Well do you want to hear something about mercy, or the lack of it? I tried to apply to a very competitive visual arts school. I was preparing the portfolio and trying my best shot to get in, but just because I missed the application deadline by two weeks, I was immediately disqualified, and absolutely no exceptions were made despite of me asking from several people. I missed the deadline because this year they had made it earlier.
👍: 0 ⏩: 1
If I may ask, what country are you from? Here in the US we don't have to apply to high school, which I suppose is good in some ways and somewhat bad in others.
We do have these things called governor schools, you apply to those. The one in my area has a more international focus, so they offer more languages. I have two friends that go there, and they're both learning Chinese. Then there's one a little ways farther to the south which offers more artsy programs.
Oooh that's awful. If they hadn't changed the deadline you would probably have made it no problem!
👍: 0 ⏩: 1
From the Nordic countries. There's no requirement to apply to a high school here either (may change in a year though), but virtually everyone goes either there or into a vocational school. Employment chances are slim because everyone expects people to have some kind of an education, knowing it's free and thinking everyone is going to have it.
Ah, you know, I do have applied to international schools. I've just been denied. They never tell me what exactly made them to not to accept it. I've just refused to believe I wouldn't be good. There's so much of hype that "people around here need to be more international", and when I try to go and do that, I get denied. I don't get it.
But yes, perhaps you think of the same, but I seriously believe in the benefits of having international experience and contacts. In this modern world it doesn't make much sense to be locked into just one country. There can be awesome people from all around the globe.
...well, the reason why I'm not that mad is because the acceptance rate for that school is just about 1.5%. And you already know how horribly I draw. There would have been no chance for me at all. x)
👍: 0 ⏩: 1
Oooh cool my uncle is from Finland! I agree, an international experience is really useful, as well as amazing. I'm going to be studying abroad in Scotland thanks to the program I got into at my college.
👍: 0 ⏩: 1
I know. You told me both about the uncle and the dual-college program at Artist Bestiary. x)
Except you didn't tell me whether you got into the college. o.o Did you?!
👍: 0 ⏩: 1
Yes! Yes I did!
(Heh, sorry, I thought I told that to someone else.))
👍: 0 ⏩: 1
That's simply amazing. So much of congratulations to you! I'm not sure how hard it was for you via that program, but at least around here, getting to St. Andrews is one of the most competitive universities in Europe, on par with Cambridge and Oxford.
I'm actually myself trying to apply to St. Andrews when it's possible next time. Well, I know I have the worst grades possible, but I thought I'd still send an application, and explain my situation. No idea would it help, but there's no reason to not to try.
Tell me, what was your major?
👍: 0 ⏩: 1
I'm honestly not sure how hard it was either. They haven't been doing the program long enough to have any stats on how many people apply, but I know their target accepted is 5 per major. And wow, really? It might have been slightly easier from this side, although William and Mary is still one of the competitive schools. It's often referred to as "the Ivy League of the South", but it's not actually Ivy League and I don't think it's as difficult to get into as Princeton or MIT.
I don't know what St. Andrew's takes into consideration, but they're sister school/partners with W&M, so I would say really try your hardest to write a literary, outstanding essay. Don't be as worried about your grades, because they might care ultimately about the personality and strength of your writing.
I'm going to be an English major. W&M also has a creative writing in Spanish class, so I think I'm going to take that
👍: 0 ⏩: 1
I think I had heard of W&M only from St.Andrews, but then, the American Colleges don't typically advertise themselves here, with very few exceptions.
I've heard of "Ivy League of X" claims before. I suppose that's quite a complimentary statement, though I would still imagine getting into such schools would be easier than into actual Ivy League colleges. Well, when it comes to St.Andrews, after a certain royal member went into college there, it soon became insanely competitive. One British expert even told me that "all the wannabe boys and girls" now want to go there... I myself originally intended to go there because the place was charming and it somehow felt great in overall.
The application process is a bit different here. There are far less essays to any universities here than in the USA, most don't require an essay at all. I'm not sure how it's for St. Andrews, but I think you do have write some explanations about you and your motivation.
I wish I wouldn't care about the grades, but the website states quite punctually that the "minimum requirement for a GPA" would be about "A+". :/ And I have... well, almost a fail, so this will be more of an experimental (but a sincere and serious) attempt.
Ah yes! I think you told me that as well. x) You know, I think English is useful as a major, because it's really versatile. And you can supplement creative writing with it. What could be better for you than it!
👍: 0 ⏩: 1
Ah, of course. Everybody's hoping that their childhood dream of actually becoming a princess is actually going to happen.
Hm. I would say definitely write whatever they ask and show your sincereness and seriousness about applying.
👍: 0 ⏩: 1
See, you get my point, and it's actually true. St. Andrews does get thousands or more applications, many attributed just because of the princess potential.
That's the best I can do. Thanks for your support. I have really no idea what would happen. x)
👍: 0 ⏩: 1
So, there's one thing I've been thinking...
First I just realized what I had written in the comment below. I swear that if I would have seen your best works before, I would have never even imagined initially refusing you. The whole thing seems like a bad joke, and that even though I did say the Gallery seems empty, I should probably pay more attention in looking through the Galleries completely so that I won't make any poor decision.
But I was thinking, that since you have really helped me at Artist Bestiary , could you possibly help me out with dA-Fantasy-Animals as well? The activity was at its highest when I operated the old group fantasyart-fi , but my life got wrecked soon after we moved to dA-Fantasy-Animals , so the whole group transfer got stuck in the middle. I returned, but as the months have passed, none of the old Contributors are that active anymore. They are all busy - but I have talked with them, and understand that life steals our time so often.
Right now I got one more Contributor to help me out (you can see this in the Valentine's Exchange of the group), so I'm more optimistic, and there probably could be another Contributor, although he more expressed his desire to help at judging contest entries etc.
Still, my original big plans from 19-20 months ago still stand - I wanted the group originally to become a really good group, the kind of where it would be fun to be and to do something more than just sending arts and attending contest. Part of the reason why Artist Bestiary was found in the first place was when some of the members realized that a lot of the things we'd like to do can't be done exclusively on dA - including serious discussion about artistic careers or even projects and collaborations. Or actually, most importantly, a sense of a community. I'd like to try to found a place where people could form social relationships.
Yeh, that's about this. I'd like to hear your thoughts about this and what would you like to do. Thanks again for everything you have done to help me. :3
👍: 0 ⏩: 1
I'd basically forgotten what the original catalyst for this conversation was XD
That's awesome that you've set up a valentine's exchange! This will be the first one I've participated in!
I would love to help out woth dA-Fantasy-Animals as well! Do you have anything specific in mind?
👍: 0 ⏩: 1
About something else, you don't believe how much I have though on trying to figure out something you could do! A problem the group has often had has been lack of ideas... but I'm starting to think that perhaps the problem is more that there isn't a proper method to get ideas.
I've been thinking that the group management could happen at Artist Bestiary, in a separate subforum. Rather than via dA Notes, any comments and thoughts would be visible to everyone who are managing the dA group.
In short, we are in dire need of ideas.
👍: 0 ⏩: 1
Hmm...well, a lot of what people post is related to fantasy animals, so perhaps not. It's tough to think of an original title among all the groups, but I like that the fantasy element is in the title. Adding "and more" would seem a bit tacky, so I don't really know.
Having the ideas thread on Artist's Bestiary seems like a very good idea. The messaging system on dA can be a bit confusing at times, and having all the ideas easily accessible will be really good.
As another idea, perhaps there could be a "theme of the month" kind of thing on the group. Like a writing prompt. People could draw things related to the theme, and then submit them to a special folder. From that folder, we could vote on our favorite (if polls aren't available, then we could do an unofficial poll via journal).
👍: 0 ⏩: 2
Good news, I have a friend who is interested in Artist Bestiary! She took a look around, and she told me she thought it could prompt her to get all her OC ideas down on paper. The ones she's shown me are humans, but she has done awesome monster creatures as well. So since you're doing the accounts, she requested her username as Charmander.
👍: 0 ⏩: 0
Yes, I know what you mean. I've spent... enough time in trying to devise out the name for the group.
I had a thought of renaming it to "ArtistBestiary", but then again, it may not be that necessary. At least "dA-Fantasy-Animals" makes it immediately clear what the group is about. The former is an unique group name though. I'm a bit unsure what to do, actually.
A bigger trick would be to get members into the forums. I know from experience that getting a member to contribute is hard. Registering is easy, but people don't typically like using external sites they may not be familiar with.
I think that at the very early stages of the group we had prompts. We actually had it in the very way you specified it. It could be resurrected.
It's... strange to think that the group did have a lot of ideas at one point, and now there's a challenge to get those.
Hm, I suppose I should try to gather a team of interested members who would help managing dA-Fantasy-Animals . It may seem like so that at the beginning the only people there would be me and you, possibly if she wants to get into Artist Bestiary , and if lucky, some old Contributors as well.
I was also thinking that we could have a mission to grow the group. But first we probably need to make sure that the existing members feel at home. I don't see much point in trying to have a huge group but with of nothing worthy.
👍: 0 ⏩: 1
ArtistBestiary would be neat as a group name, and bestiary does sort of imply what it is about. Yet I like dA-Fantasy-Animals as well...hmmm...
Yes we should make sure of that. Perhaps there could be more frequent, sort of personal journals? Beyond the announcements and such. I dunno what they would involve, but that's what popped into my head when I thought about making the group more of a home to current members.
👍: 0 ⏩: 1
Perhaps we could leave it as-is for now. It's always a bit of a hassle to move.
We had interviews of our members. The members who were interviewed liked those, but they weren't that popular outside. Possibly because the interviews were a bit... long, and too much about a specific member. We'd need to create the kind of personal journals which get read. But I agree something like this is better than just news or contest announcements.
👍: 0 ⏩: 1
So if you did interviews again, they might be shorter and on different topics?
👍: 0 ⏩: 1
Most likely.
For the both interviews we thought of 10 individually tailored questions, and let the interviewees answer at their pleasure. But it gets easy to talk about yourself... thus those got a bit long.
👍: 0 ⏩: 1
Hm maybe the interviews could be on different themes, or various mythical creatures?
👍: 0 ⏩: 1
| Next =>