In case you plan on skimming this article, and unless you blow the boys at Behance away and they decide to give you one, the only way into this heavenly creative network is by asking us for an invite or leaving your portfolio link in the comments here. Yes, we are the gatekeepers.

These days, it takes a lot to floor me, but sitting with Scott Belsky of Behance last week as he walked me through the Behance Network — launching today — I found myself mouth agape, shaking my head at the utter flawlessness of what is destined to be one of the most useful and powerful sites on the web for both creatives types and the companies that hire them. While none of the features (gig lists; portfolio management; circles; messaging) could really be classed as unique, the application, ease of use and pure aesthetic value go above and beyond any other site I’ve ever seen in this realm…and it’s glaringly obvious this is a platform built for creative professionals, by creative professionals, who have promised to keep it, always free.

I could get into every last nook and cranny of the site’s features, which include crazy-awesome live search, sortable galleries, the use of projects within portfolios, dead-basic profile management tools (fully customizable with a movable toolbar) and a simple structure for “circles” (groups created by any user and classed as private, limited or public), but I’ll be here for years if I start right now. The good news for you is that even though Behance is making a miniscule amount of invitations available on their site, the only sure-fire way to get in over the next seven days is to leave a link to your work here in the comments, or to email us at feedback[at]joshspear[dot]com. You could stay tuned for an in-depth walk through of the site on Friday, or you could just trust me on this, share your best work, and try it out for yourself. You can also bet it’ll be at the top of our go-to list for fresh content from here on out. We’re so excited to watch this develop into what is sure to be a vital resource for anyone in the creative industry — and for those people to embrace it with open arms. Check out the screencaps after the jump, and leave your info in the comments.