Thursday, July 31, 2014

Computer Issues

Hey animals! I'm afraid to say that because of computer issues, blogging will now be harder for me and posting will be irregularly late and sometimes missing. Hopefully, this will be temporary.

Luckily, that isn't the only news I have for today! I will soon be getting the new AJ Insiders guide today and will post photos and a basic outline of what it contains later, probably not today.

With the start of a new month coming up... tomorrow, you should expect a new Berry the Koala entry and a new featured Buddy of the Month.

Just so you all know, berry the koala is a side-AJ blog of mine. It's one of those plushie journals that were really popular with AJ blogs around 2012. A notable (and perhaps the first one ever) plushie blog is/was "Breadstick the Croc" run by LoveLost, now known as Meloetta385.

Also, many of my files were lost and will stay lost until further notice, so I won't be using a signature for a bit or making any fancy photoshop item edits.

I hope you can understand,
see you in Jamaa!

~Doomy

Tuesday, July 29, 2014

Butterfly Balloon Hat :)

Hey jammers! Not much news for today, but something's come up for AJ Stream thanks to your votes on the poll! 

But before we get to that, here's the new item.


I can expect you already know where this item is, and that it isn't going to be very popular. It's in the summer carnival and in my opinion WAY too expensive. :\

––––

Now, I would use the next section of this post to talk about the new leaked screenshots of the otter, but to be honest I'm really sick of all of the new animals coming out one by one week by week. I really wish I could ignore it but with all of these rapid changed theres really no time to enjoy any of them while they're still special.

It kind of seems I'm the only one on the Animal Jam Blogosphere that has really voiced this opinion, but when asked a lot of people seem to agree. I think I should send an email to AJ, and maybe throw something in there asking why they keep putting out Rare Items and hoping to "make new ones" with new items or RIMs.

––––

On a slightly lighter note, I think every time I feel like it (once or twice a week) I'll fish through my Animal Jam screenshot folder and try to find something old-ish that you might like.


This is from a while back, when I was still a member. It was when my news crew article won! I remember being so happy. :)

––––

Your votes on the poll so far look like 10 to 1, with the majority being in for a virtual AJ party and/or gathering. I'll wait until the poll has been closed to make any finalizations about the date and location.

Pretty much every single party I've had on AJ was almost empty, aside from my first one way back when penguins were announced to be for everyone.

Until then, you can change your vote, comment about maybe what you'd like to do at this online blog gathering.

See you in Jamaa, everyone!

Monday, July 28, 2014

Rare Eyepatch

Hey animals! Every week– or every monday to be precise –a so called "rare" item is released into one of the shops for 24 hours, and it is your mission (if you choose to accept it) to find it, and see if it was worth the trouble.

This, my friend, is one of those days.



Someone asked in the comments how I make little transparent item posts like this. I'd say "It's a secret" and be one of the few blogs that use transparency regularly, but I'm just going to lay out the basics for you right here:

1. Download the font TIKI ISLAND.

2. Use the magic eraser tool in photoshop. Literally that's all.

For more blogger resources I typed up a post a while back that is a compilation of helpful tips and easy instruction. Click here to read it!


I was digging through my AJ folder when I found a screenshot of an old Jamaa Journal. 


Ok, this isn't old, but it's not exactly from 2014 is it? And Animal Jam is progressing so quickly that any day that isn't today is just old. Kind of weird, and much different from the good ol' days *leans back in rocking chair and smokes a pipe.* Yyyyep.

The first time I made an account on AJ was, according to my login history, February 17th 2012.

The most recent update after my walking into the unknown cyberspace of Animal Jam was the "pets in dens" update. The Jamaa Journal certainly looks different.


Ummm... VERY different.


Well, thats about it for now. See you all in Jamaa!

Sunday, July 27, 2014

Beta Party Screenshots + More!

Hey animals! I was just at the Beta Party with my friend and before I tell you anything else, I didn't really expect it to not have music. I know, realistically the beta den had no music, but it's supposed to be a party, right?


Regardless, it is pretty cute. It's just like the beta den! There are lots of photographs on the wall as well...


Strange... who was that wolf up there? Hmm... I'd enjoy to see what you came up with in the comments.



Everything has that beloved dusty, natural look to it that was so common in the beta period. Lots of almost-items, too! Maybe a few of the framed pictures will be released in stores.

Ooh, speaking of which, I have an idea for a new item: a camera that you can take screenshots with, and a frame where you can put them up in your den! I wouldn't put it past AJ to think of something like that.


Jam on!

Star Pillow

Hey animals! Luckily, I didn't have to be away from this blog any longer so know that I will be back to my steady daily posting schedule. 


The new item is sold in Jam Mart Furniture

It's thankfully nonmember, cheap (ish), and it comes in a lot of colors to fit every de–

Oh right. Nonmembers can't change colors.

But maybe you can get a trusted friend with some time and some gems on their paws to get you the right one without hassle. 

Convince them if you have to, but remember not to overpay them back. 
A lot of my old AJ friends demanded beta items for the colored (unrare) mats they gave us, and when I asked why they said it was "for the effort."


Thats all for now,
seeya!

Thursday, July 24, 2014

Thanks for 60 Thousand Pageviews!

Hey jammers! In all of the delightful chaos of yesterday's update, I finally reached 60,000 page views on Animal Jam Stream!


I just wanted to use this post to say thank you for all of your ongoing support throughout my time blogging! :)

Should I have a party commemorating this? Answer in the poll on the sidebar!

Jam on, everyone!

Wednesday, July 23, 2014

A Blast to the Past – It's ALL About the Animals Now!

Hey Jammers! Even though today isn't the update, AJHQ snuck it right past us today and let me just say I think it's literally the best update EVER.

I swear. I came online not really willing to post and I was NOT prepared for this. AT. ALL.

I was seriously considering quitting AJ because posting was a bore and even though I liked the game, I had to force myself to play it for more than half an hour.

But now I want to keep posting and playing 24/7, like I used to!

But who really cares about all of this meaningless introduction? Lets get to the important matters, such as THE NEW BETA PARTY.

- ❀ ❀ ❀ -


This is in no way a joke. I wish my friends who quit because AJ was getting too "modern" were here to see this because already my day was FANTASTIC and learning about this made it even better.

They have some cool nonmember banners, too!


These are the BEST. Their style is a reminiscent of old AJ, just like it's supposed to be. :)

And who knows, with this beta party, the beta den may just come to stores!

- ❀ ❀ ❀ -

Now the second best news of the day...


Ok, first of all that graphic is CUTE and I will probably make a transparent of it for my blog. Second of all, THE INSIDERS GUIDE is OUT! Who knows what cool stuff (and cute graphics!) we'll find in this exciting volume?

As the page says, go to the Daily Explorer to find out where to buy these guides!

- ❀ ❀ ❀ -

A new feature and a couple of great nonmember items have been added!


Use this to remove all items from your den. Great for laggy computers. ;)



I don't know about you, but I'm loving that ribbon scarf.



Ok, and while this may seem small to you, this is one of the best news today and I will explain why.


The reason this is one of the best bits of news all day is simple. Do you see any alphas in there? Nope. And why should that matter?

The alphas were used as a way to popularize the game through advertising. Mentioned everywhere, they no longer became the wise and reclusive characters they used to be – they became marketing tools.

Remember the update where the home page was permanently changed to the alphas? And remember when each Daily Explorer post started to be signed by an alpha? Remember when all of the green loading screens with US– our animals –vanished and were replaced by purple ones with alphas with the main focus?

These new loading screens show that with the ever increasing millions who play AJ that advertisement with alphas isn't needed as much, and the focus is slowly being shifted back to the ones who have kept this game the great game that it was:

US.

I'm not saying we did any work. But really, what's a game without players? What's a product without consumers? What is the community that is Jamaa without the community?

Jamaa means family in Swahili, and thats exactly what we are. 

- ❀ ❀ ❀ -

Monday, July 21, 2014

Nautilus Necklace

Hey Jammers! I know I'm beginning to sound like a broken record, but I'm sorry for not posting for the last few days. To be 100% honest it was all in laziness. :\

Anyway, today brings the new Rare Item Monday to shops – but only for a day! Grab them all while you still can!

-❀-

I present to you the Nautilus Shell Necklace!


FUN FACT The Nautilus is a group of different creatures, and while it's a group dating back to when dinosaurs existed, some Nautilus have survived up to today!

Nautilus can retract their entire bodies into their shells and cover the opening with a leathery flap.

Nautilus are currently being overfished for the shape of their shells, as well as their inner shell layer which acts as a pearl substitute.

-❀-

Nothing much else of note, aside from a detail spotted in the new Oceanic Adventure, "In Too Deep"!


I haven't played the Whale Adventure yet, mostly because I'm a nonmember, but judging from this snippet it seems there IS a dolphin alpha and her name is Tavie! Tavie is a form of "Octavia" which means "eight." There are currently eleven adventures, and I'm sure there are far more Alphas than eight, so I'm not sure what her name could possibly in reference to.

Have you noticed that the Fox Alpha and Giraffe Alpha have never ever been shown near other Alphas? They've remained more an idea and a statue in Epic Wonders than an actual Alpha like Peck or Cosmo.

Maybe there's a sort of hierarchy in the Alphas...

-❀-

Well, that's all for now. See you in Jamaa!

Friday, July 18, 2014

Blog Template Renovation

Hey animals!

This is just a quick little notice that I will be editing the blog's layout. This edit will include a new header.

Thanks!


Skullies are Coming Back... or are they?

Hey Jammers! There is certainly a boat load of news today; the maximum adventure level (which is level 30), some added helpful/annoying features, and rumors of the possible return of a legendary item from beta, unheard of in Jamaa until today...

But first, the new item!
The feather boa is currently now being sold in Jam Mart Furniture for members only. This look like an interesting item? Go get it!

–❀❀–

If you make an account, you may feel a little confused, even after Liza's instruction. No need to fear, even after you're done with the tutorial, Liza is still here! 

Image credit to Snowyclaw, author of Animal Jam Spirit.
Much like all "helpful" features in AJ, this one gets a little annoying to the newbies who are very clear in the instruction.

It seems like Liza is becoming less of a "legendary animal" and more of a guide. But that IS her job, anyway, so why complain?

–❀❀–

Throughout Jamaa history, there have always been players who are obsessed with items. But it was only after the trading system was invented that items really did start becoming a type of currency in Jamaa. This for that, that for this...


But what do you trade for an item so rare that it doesn't even exist?

Of course you know I'm talking about skullies, and yes, skullies did exist, but were banned shortly after their release in the beta period and ALL were deleted...





Except perhaps a few. Several Jammers were spotted showing off a few skullies on their trade lists. Now how could have some Jammers gotten ahold of an item that was said to be eradicated long before either of them started playing?
Think about it. What is one way to get a rare item that hasn't been released yet?

Hacking, or more commonly, through the adventures.

And normally, what happens with an item once it's first seen through the adventures? It's released in the shop.

That being said, it may be hacking as well. All of those usernames look pretty similar. Two are ten characters and one is nine characters, all consisting of a word and a series of random numbers. These may as well all be the same people.

To summarize, skullies have a chance of coming back, but at the same time they don't.

So let's cross our fingers (or paws, claws, etc.) and wait until next rare item monday!

❀–

That's all for now,
see you in Jamaa Township!

Thursday, July 17, 2014

Animal Jam Blogger Resources!

Do you run a blog about Animal Jam? Do you want to, but don't really know how to start?

Yes, yes you do.

I've been blogging since the beginning of Summer 2012 and while I had a rough start, I got to know Blogger a little more along the way, to turn my blog from a default Watermark theme to where I am now.

Here are some useful and easy tips for customizing your blog in an Animal Jam-ish way and getting people to actually read it!

Part 1: Tips

1. The WATERMARK theme from blogger is easiest to customize if you want a really good AJ template. 

2. Use complementary colors, but none that upset the eyes. Pastels and non-neon greens are good, but while complementary, red and green hurt the eyes!
Try to get that nature-y animal jam feel to your blog. 

3. Post interesting content and keep your promises. Post frequently, is what I'm saying, but overall, quality trumps quantity!

4. White borders around images prevent you from posting transparent images, which are prettier to look at. If your blogger template (like watermark) has white borders around the images at default, get rid of them by copying this code into the CSS box:

 .post-body img, .post-body .tr-caption-container, .Profile img, .Image img,
.BlogList .item-thumbnail img {
  padding: none !important;
  border: none !important;
  background: none !important;
  -moz-box-shadow: 0px 0px 0px transparent !important;
  -webkit-box-shadow: 0px 0px 0px transparent !important;
  box-shadow: 0px 0px 0px transparent !important;
}

Part 2: Template

Template customization is easy, but most of the things that are clear in the instructions can lead to the most basic looking blogs. The key to a steady stream of page views and comments is an aesthetically pleasing (nice to look at) blog, which means centered headers, nice fonts, pretty backgrounds, and gentle colors!

Downloading the Animal Jam font


Step 2. If it isn't already there, drag the downloaded file onto your desktop for easy access in a later step. 



Step 3. (Note: I'm using a MAC right now. These steps may be slightly different for you if you don't.) Go to "Applications" and I suggest you have FontBook, unless it comes with the device which I'm really unsure of. Double click your font app.

Single click.
Double click.
Step 4. Drag the font file into your font collection and BAM! You got it. 

Remember, the AJ font is called TIKIISLAND or TIKI ISLAND!

Creating a Header Image With the AJ Font

This is what I do to create a header image. It may be kind of unprofessional, but it's quick and yields better than mediocre results. For this, you need photoshop. I use Photoshop CS5.1 for this.

Step 1. Take a screenshot of a blank white space or a completely solid color. The size of the space determines the size of your image.

TIP: You can also download, say, an AJ downloadable from here. There are so many and some make very good banner templates!

Step 2. Open the image in photoshop and use the "TEXT" tool. Scroll down the font menu and select the font TIKI ISLAND or TIKIISLAND.

Step 3. Click where you want to type and type whatever you want. 

TIP: Rotate the text easily by clicking EDIT and clicking FREE TRANSFORM.

Step 4. If your header is on a solid color background screenshot, go to 
online-image-editor.com and make it transparent. It's kind of a low quality site, but with one click you can make a flawless (almost) transparent image.

TIP: Sometimes blogger or other image editing sites wont allow photoshopped images. Run them through a site that allows them, like the one linked above, and then put them on your blog.

Step 5. Go to LAYOUT on your blog's dashboard. At the top, click the HEADER widget and upload your image. Click the bubble next to INSTEAD OF TITLE AND DESCRIPTION. You're done!

Centering Your Header

Step 1. Go to your blog's dashboard and click on TEMPLATE


Step 2. A bit under the "Live on Blog" picture, click the CUSTOMIZE button.

Step 3. At the bottom of the menu below "Blogger Template Designer," click ADVANCED.

Step 4. Scroll down the "Advanced" menu and click the button that says ADD CSS. 


Step 5. Copy and paste this code into the CSS box:

#header-inner img {margin: 0 auto !important;} #header-inner {text-align:center !important;}

Step 6. Save. You're done! 

Getting a Good Background (TIP)

1. Find a nicely tiled background, like this or this. Basically, anything that either overlaps seamlessly into one another when tiled that can make it look like one big background. Totallylayouts has some pretty good ones. The Tumblr backgrounds are all meant to be tiled, so check those out in the link. 
2. To have a full-screen background, the image needs to be pretty big, but not too big. It's kind of confusing, and since this post only consists of what I know, I suggest tiling your background or using one from the Backgrounds in the template designer.

Part 3: Getting Some Viewers

1. Add SEARCH DESCRIPTIONS to each of your posts. This will increase your viewers!

2. Sometimes other AJ blogs have "More Blogs" sections. Try to get into one of those! 

3. Post ON TOPIC and relevant information that you know people want to read. They came to your AJ blog to read about AJ, not any other game. Think to yourself, what would you yourself want to read?

4. Create a Blog search description and include lots of keywords, but not too densely packed with them. You can easily create it from your blog's settings, no fancy coding needed!

5. Guest-post on popular blogs, and make them good posts. Let people get a good impression of you!

6. Variety is key. While daily item posts are interesting, mix it up a bit with some videos or drawings, and throw in some contests, too.

Jam on and good luck!