The Steampunk style, which was born in the 80s, comes back stronger than never, albeit for its fans, it had never disappeared. Steampunk is a fantasy genre that mixes retro style (Victorian times, steam machines...) with technology. It comprises from artworks to literature. The word Steampunk was an idea of the writer K. W. Jeter, in 1987, to define the style of his novel "Morlock Night", in a magazine called Locus. Steampunk is a style surrounded with mystery, romanticism, with what could have been but stayed in fiction, as something trapped in the stories that emerged from the mind of Jules Verne, H. G. Wells, or Mary Shelley. Steampunk artworks are immersed in an English foggy style, of enormous libraries filled with complex gadgets. It's a very warm esthetics, very distant from the coldness of the impersonal and modernist design, which is so lacking of feelings and emotions. It's a bet on the creative, the original and craft-made. In the Steampunk art, it's usual to find depictions of warm living rooms in front of fireplaces, with robots, time machines... There are also depictions of ancient submarines, lunar space rockets, old aircrafts... The materials that are present in Steampunk are woods, bronze, iron, and copper. The spirit of the genre is optimist, even idealist, with a great trust in the discoveries, science, and the freedom to use it. Between the accessories and clothes that can be found in the Steampunk esthetics there are: eye patches, aviation hats, monocles, frock coats, aviation glasses, ancient motorbikes, corsets, scarves, leather clothes, strap boots... It's not strange that in opposition to the cold modernity of nowadays, many people are approaching to this artistic style, and you can see laptops, artworks, gadgets, and even architectures that decorate the streets, far from the absurd cold jumble of concrete and iron. Images (in order): Steampunk Gentleman, by Taepanda; Steampunk Penguin Professor, by Einen; Steampunk, by Pashasha; London Telectroscope, by S J Pinkney.

There are 4 magical animals in the Chinese mythology: dragon, phoenix, turtle, and unicorn. The dragon was for centuries an imperial symbol. When the Emperor died, it was said that he had raised to the Heaven over a dragon. Chinese legends tell that when a dragon is in the water, is covered with five colors. In China, the dragon has the power of changing its shape. They can turn into water, fire... even become invisible. The dragon is depicted like a snake with claws, sometimes with whale tail, deer horns, face of camel, ears of bull, tiger feet, eyes of lobster, and bat wings. Sometimes the dragon also has a pearl in its chin. This pearl has the power of granting wishes. In addition, it has influence over the moon's phases, the tides of the sea, the rain, the thunder, the lightning, birth, death and reincarnation. These pearls are sometimes spit by some dragons. Then, the pearl fills with light everything around it. For this reason, it is said that Chinese dragons glow in the dark. The dragon has a male nature (yang) and brings rain to the earth. There was a king in China called Wuyue, that was known as the Dragon King, because he did many projects of hydraulic engineering. There are some dragons without horns called Jiao, that are female dragons. There are 4 major Dragon Kings. Each one represents one of the seas: the north, south, east and west sea. Many temples were consecrated to dragons, and in times of drought or flooding, they celebrated ceremonies to ask the dragons for water or the end of the rains. Number 9 is associated with dragons. Number 9 is like number 7 in the Western, a symbol of good luck. The name of the dragon reflects its nature and how it is depicted in art and literature. Here there are some examples: Tianlong, the dragon of the Heaven. Shenlong, the spiritual dragon. Fucanglong, the dragon of the hidden treasures. Dilong, the subterranean dragon. Yinglong, the winged dragon. Jialong, the horned dragon. Panlong, the dragon that inhabits the waters. Huanglong, the yellow dragon that emerged from the waters of River Luo to teach the writing to humanity. Feilong, the dragon that walks over the clouds and the mist. As a curiosity, it is said that the biggest enemy of Chinese dragons are the tigers. So it's not strange to see Chinese artworks in which fights between dragons and tigers are depicted. In martial arts, the so called dragon style is used to describe the power of mind and concentration on movements, while the tiger style describes the brute force. Images (in order): Chinese Dragon, by Pascargo; Chinese Dragon, by Zamkowa; Chinese Dragon, by J-C ; Tiger And Dragon, by Bungies.

I've done this wallpaper. Its size is 1600x1200 pixels. It's free, and you can download it from here: Free Xubuntu Wallpaper As I know that some of you are Linux users, I wanted to tell you. The wallpaper is of Xubuntu as it uses its logo, but if you just like it, go and download it. As a curiosity, the dirt at the wall, grunge effect, are done using the Nebulae brushes I did, altered with some Photoshop effects. The Nebulae brushes can be downloaded here. This is another way of using the Nebulae brushes.

When I decided to share the Photoshop brushes that I use to make, I never thought that the works of the users may surprise me so much. And this has been very satisfying for me. I have chosen these images where my brushes were used because of the so different styles and the great amount of imagination employed in their works. If some of you has missed some of the brushes articles, here are the links: Floral, Insects, And Leaves Sparkle Stars, Nebulae And Planets Butterflies Pop Geometries Congratulations to the winners, and don't forget to visit their galleries to know more about their art. MelodramaticsSOUL101 decorated this guitar with the butterfy brushes. Social-Psycho used the insect brushes for this awesome image. AnimeChick4DDR used the sparkle brushes to give more brightness to these Japanese comic style composition. Aslix used the insect brushes to make a fun composition with a comic strip style. For doing this hip-hop medallion, Miro79 employed the sparkle brushes, creating a jewelry catalog effect. Wezenbeesje used the leaves brushes to cast shadows and give depth to this comic image. Nicsmom used the sparkle brushes for her IMVU page background. Sarroora made use of the leaves brushes to make a to-do list card. It's really original. Modelmeg2003 used the butterfly brushes to make this fantasy photo-montage. For doing this fantasy image, GatoMiguel used the sparkle brushes.

I've done these Photoshop brushes. They are pop geometries. And I want to share them with you. Download them for free, but before please read and understand the terms of use. Terms of use These brushes are free to use in commercial and non-commercial designs, as long as you follow these conditions: - The brushes can't be sold. You can sell the designs you make with the brushes, but not the brushes themselves. - They must be downloaded clicking the links from this article in www.emmaalvarez.com. If you like the brushes and want your visitors to download them, place a link to this post, so they come and download them from here. Don't directly link them. - You can't redistribute the brushes without my explicit consent. If you want to pack them in a clipart library, cd or dvd, or anything else, ask me first. - If you modify the brushes, or create some others starting from these, that are radically different from their original shape, you can redistribute them, but link back to www.emmaalvarez.com, and credit me in your website or design. If the modifications are trivial, I may consider it just a copy, and thus not allowed. - You can't claim these brushes as yours. - Don't use these brushes in racist, sexist, hateful or blaspheme works. - You can link back and name www.emmaalvarez.com in your website or designs, but it's not required, although I will appreciate it. Pop Geometries I Click here to download Pop Geometries II Click here to download

Comic strips, so popular in newspapers and magazines, are each day more widespread in Internet. New artists with new and fresh ideas win the support of the public. And that's because a smile is always a good thing. The comic strips that you can see in this article are an example of the style of each author. As you will see, there's a lot of topics: cats, couples, geeks, cinema... You'll surely find several ones that you like. Click on the images or titles to visit the web comic site FunkySmell Comics George Hallmarks Of Felinity Wulffmorgenthaler Hijinksensu Penny Arcade Least I Could Do The Warehouse Comic XKCD Dinosaur Comics Pie Comics We The Robots PvPonline Calamities Of Nature A Side Of Cartoons

In this moment, China is welcoming numerous media, journalists, sportsmen/women and public that attend to the Olympic Games. So during these days, China gets closer to the rest of the world. The purpose of this article is to show what China has to offer as a tourist destination. Green fields of China, by V2 Water of Lake Huohuahai, by George Lu Reed Flute Cave, by Rpoll Pearl Shoal Waterfalls, by George Lu Huangshan, by Tela88 Pavonine (Xinjiang), by George Lu Kuerdening Valley, by George Lu Yuyuan Garden, by Bfick Larima, Xinlong, by George Lu Houseboat in Yangso, by PhotoFusion The Banks Of the Bei Jiang, by Mooney47 Yily Xinjiang, by George Lu Sichuan Beautiful Clouds, by George Lu Jiaohe The Old City, by Kiwi Mikex Five Flower Lake of Jiuzhaigou China, by Kangotraveler

The Korean actress and singer Jang Nara has done this song "Our Dreams" in honor of the Olympic Games that will take place in Beijing. The Olympic Games of China 2008 will begin this August 8 in the city of Beijing (also called Peking), capital of China. With this song, Jang Nara is having a great success worldwide, in addition to the big support that she is getting from the Chinese public. For making this video, Jang Nara wore a typical Chinese dress. This song, "Our Dreams", is performed by an orchestra of 70 musicians, including 10 Chinese singers and a chorus of 20 Chinese children. There is only 4 days left until the Olympiads begin in China. Good luck for everyone, and let the best athletes win.