"Long ago, there were tales of a monster, who lurked the meadows of the scared inhabitants of the Pixel Joint Village. Unfortunately, it only came out during the nighttime. And at that time, the mist and fog tend to flood the air, so a sharp eye was never cast upon it. However, though many lives it's claimed, some have survived to live and tell of the ghastly sight.
   A soldier who tried (and failed) to exterminate the beast, said it had 4 legs, and a hairy tuft upon its back, shoulders and head. Almost like a lion's mane!
   A disgruntled farmer whose cows and sheep had fallen victim to the beast, claimed its eyes were dormant and bright blue when hazing, but as soon as he raised his shot gun to fire at it, it's eyes turned a bright red, and its mouth frothed with madness. He also said it had THREE horns protruding from its head, where as smoke emptied from its nostrils.
  Finally, the crazy old woman of the west said the beast is a calm beast if not disturbed, and enjoys the smells of her potted plants, which he visits some nights. She claims it does have giant, hairy arms, but only has 3 fingers for each hand, with one finger carrying a giant, sharp claw on each hand as well. Not to mention, it tends to sometimes knock over her plants with it's tentacle-like tail, making her believe it to be slightly clumsy.
   Nonetheless, this beast has never been fully captured or seen. Maybe a brave soul can one day find and show us just what exactly haunts our meadows this time of year!!"

   Alright, so your mission is capture this beast with your trusty camera, and bring it back to us, so we can see just what exactly this thing is! The challenge is to pixel a piece of what this monster looks like, by using the above story and anecdotes as the monster traits, while at the same time making it look as if it's a photo, that was taken. As long as it doesn't conflict too much with the description above, its look is totally up to you!
Rules:
size: 200x200 max
colors: 32 max
animation: no
transparency: no

Your entry has to be a scene since it's supposed to look like a photo, capturing the monster. Bonus for making your entry look like a photograph :)

The challenge thread will have all the challenge updates. The thread is also a great place to post your WIPs.

It's time to head on over to the forum and vote for the latest pixel art challenge: Isometric Item.

VOTE NOW!

The Zombeh, Zombeh, Zombeh! pixel art challenge is complete and we have three new champions. This week's challenge awards go to the following pieces:



Thanks so much to all who took the time to vote and participate in the challenge! Check out the Zombeh, Zombeh, Zombeh! forum thread for more information.

The following pixel artists produced Pixel Joint's top rated pixel art for September 2008. Many thanks go out to this month's top pixel artists and all the members who took time to rate.

The Show Yo Emoness pixel art challenge is complete and we have three new champions. This week's challenge awards go to the following pieces:



Thanks so much to all who took the time to vote and participate in the challenge! Check out the Show Yo Emoness forum thread for more information.

It's time to head on over to the forum and vote for the latest pixel art challenge: Zombeh, Zombeh, Zombeh!.

VOTE NOW!

ceddo challenges you to pixel a single isometric household item of your choice, drawn using fantasy/steampunk/sci-fi theme. Can be a lamp, phone, anything (no specific scale). Can be anything as long as it could have a household use.

Rules:
Canvas Size - Any
Colors - Use what you need
Transparency - Allowed
Animation - Allowed

The challenge thread will have all the challenge updates. The thread is also a great place to post your WIPs.

It's time to head on over to the forum and vote for the latest pixel art challenge: Show Yo Emoness.

VOTE NOW!

Its that time of the year...
This week you are challenged to pixel a Zombeh scene.

Rules:
Canvas Size: Your choice
Colors : 16 colors max
Transparency : allowed
Animation : allowed

The challenge thread will have all the challenge updates. The thread is also a great place to post your WIPs.

The Proportion Play pixel art challenge is complete and we have three new champions. This week's challenge awards go to the following pieces:



Thanks so much to all who took the time to vote and participate in the challenge! Check out the Proportion Play forum thread for more information.

FrostPumpkin challenges you to pixel an abstract feeling or emotion.
It can be anything, an abstract work, an allegory, just show your emotional nature by pixeling an abstract feeling or emotion.

Rules:
Canvas Size: Minimum 100x100
Colors : 16 colors max but you can't use any grey or neutralizers
Transparency : none
Animation : allowed

The challenge thread will have all the challenge updates. The thread is also a great place to post your WIPs.

The Haiku Pixels pixel art challenge is complete and we have three new champions. This week's challenge awards go to the following pieces:



Thanks so much to all who took the time to vote and participate in the challenge! Check out the Haiku Pixels forum thread for more information.

It's time to head on over to the forum and vote for the latest pixel art challenge: Proportion Play.

VOTE NOW!

The first of October finally came out the 2.6 version of the GNU Image Manipulation Program (GIMP).
This version offers several new features, user interface improvements and finally includes GEGL, a new generic graphic library that will provide support for 32bpc over the old 8bpc and future enhancement. This library is a milestone for the GIMP that makes it closer to the professional counterpart represented by Photoshop.
The interface, that has been harshly criticized by some users, has several enhancement: the application menu has been removed from the toolbox, a document windows will always be visible even with no image opened, and the floating tools windows will always be on top of the image window and cannot be obscured. Maybe these enhancement are still minimal but all this redesign is based on inputs from users and experts.
There are more improvements even on tools and options, but you can discover them downloading the latest version or even reading the official release notes.
Have fun!