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deviantART Marketing Intern
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Help Us Save The World

Sat May 4, 2013, 10:40 AM


Perpetuality is a game I help create where your ultimate goal as a player is to make the entire world run on renewable energy resources. In a fun game-like setting, we want to educate people about the many factors involved in this issue and help the world find crowdsourced solutions.

It was founded during the NASA Space Apps Challenge where we won the first national place. But it's early stage yet! We want to keep developing it and work towards our goals of making the world better. So please support us in the international competition! I'd like to ask you to vote for us for the People's Choice Award which is very easy, it only takes a tweet :)

Vote For Us On Twitter


Also see all contestants or watch our trailer to find out more :eager:



If you like this please vote :meow:

Thank you! :dalove:


Skin by Dan Leveille
34 Comments
Help Us Save The World May 4 34 Comments 15 Favourites

Interning at deviantART

Fri May 3, 2013, 12:38 PM

Highlights after 6 months


:iconnamenotrequired:
Today, it's exactly 6 months since Heidi and Toby invited me to work with them! I'd like to look back at some of the highlights of this time :) The tl;dr is that it's been fantastic. ;P ~ $namenotrequired

The best parts


  • I never had to ask for it or apply. I was personally invited the first time, and I was asked to keep it up each time my contract ran out.
  • It's a paid position, and I can work from home (i.e. wherever and whenever suits me), both pretty rare traits of internships.
  • Okay, just kidding. Those are pretty nice, but they weren't really the best parts. The best part is what I get to do and for whom!

My role


So what do I do exactly? Well... Do you have a minute? :D I'm blessed with a position that is too diverse to be summarised in a few words.
I'm a Marketing Intern. Some recurring themes and tasks I work on are our social media accounts, data mining, general internet research and promoting £deviantARTGear products. For a lot of our many cool projects and contests, I've helped by answering questions and distributing prizes, but also sometimes picking winners or checking if entries qualified. Sometimes I am asked questions about the community, and a couple of times I've had to ring the alarm bell when things went wrong. 
But unsurprisingly for those who know me well, some of my very favourite projects are related to testing new features, doing some research around the site, and thinking of new ideas; helping to make the website itself better.:eager:

In other words...


In case anything in that description confused you, here's the best bits. :eager:
  • Browse and find awesome art. (Yes, they pay me for this!)
  • Help organise those awesome contests, projects and giveaways.
  • Help make the website better.
That may sound very exciting, and believe me, it is :dummy: however I'm still just an intern - a word with rather unflattering urbandictionary definitions. (Sorry Hunter, I'm a little too far from Los Angeles to bring around coffee! ;P)
And once in a blue moon, I do find myself spending an hour or two copying and pasting info into spreadsheets or clicking hundreds of links to find a specific name. This never bores me however, because everything I do is meaningful and I'm doing it all for the community I love. :fluffy:

(Yet, Heidi and Toby always apologise when they ask me to do less glamorous jobs, which is sweet. :aww:)

Some good memories


  • The enthusiasm from many other staff members when they first heard that I was joining them.
  • April 1st; the day of deviantHEART. I did quite some work for this and Ellen and I also chose a picture of us to be used for it together. We did not write the testimonial ourselves (we also didn't meet through a dating service=P) but it's pretty crazy when your face is on a site with so many visitors and that generates significant press too. :giggle: People around the site still recognise me from this sometimes.
  • Quote from Toby: "Hey Bart. I have a weird project for you. It requires having multiple personality disorder."
  • Those times I could pick winners for contests.
    • A few days after I had started, my symbol was flipped and I got my privileges that I'd be needing for the job. I first noticed this because I was suddenly seeing ads again! :lol: Despite our eternal Premium Memberships, we all browse with ads enabled to help catch bad ones - with the result that I spent that precious first moment with a dollar sign wondering how I was suddenly logged out. :dead:
    • That one time when I met many of my current 'colleagues', before I knew I'd one day be working with them.
    • The sweet words I often get from people I've helped.
    But perhaps my favourite thing I want to remember when I'm grey and old (=P) is that I was chosen to be invited for this position out of over 20 million members to be the one to help make my favourite website and community better.

    I love deviantART!


    PREVIOUS





    116 Comments
    Interning at deviantART May 3 116 Comments 26 Favourites

    These Days

    Wed May 1, 2013, 2:53 PM
    :iconnamenotrequired:
    I promised I'd be blogging today and so I am! It seems I'm talkative today. :giggle: Don't worry, they won't all be this long.


    I dislike the phrase "these days".

    It's almost always used in negative context, implying "as opposed to back in the day, when everything was better". Whether the one who speaks the words was there to see 'back in the day' first hand or not doesn't matter; neither does whether there's any other reason to believe it was ever different. 

    We're so used to hearing about things that are really getting worse, that we assume that everything we hear or realise is wrong now, must have been better in the utopian past. This is often simply not true and based on nothing but gut feeling, and the years listening to the media report only (or mostly) the worst of things.

    I wonder if all of this was true a century ago... ;P

    The Internet These Days
    In particular I hear it frequently in connection to new technologies and the effect they supposedly have on people. Everyone has become antisocial. No one cares about those around them anymore. We've all heard them. Some paint doom scenarios where we'll have to adapt our society to a new type of population, one that is lonely, violent, impatient, without privacy. People will be fundamentally different from our parents and grandparents.

    I don't believe it.

    I believe that the computer, with all its underlying microtechnologies that few of us can fully comprehend, with its decades, centuries of history of evolutions and revolutions that were needed to create it, is really just a new way to do old things. The internet, with its viral memes and disrupting startups and legions of porn sites, is just an easier and faster way to communicate. Smartphones, tablets, dare I name Google Glass, are really just another interface for the same internet and computer.

    But fundamentally, everything that can be done on the internet could be done without it. Technologies only make things easier.

    Of course it makes things easier on different scales. If you can't remember how cabbage is prepared, googling is convenient. If you have a relative in a distant country, Skype is extremely helpful. And if you're gathering support for a political act against the oppressive regime, social media are a godsend.

    But ultimately these are just tools that makes communicating and finding information easier. We already had cook books. We already had letters and posters and newsletters and notes. Information technology just makes the same tasks quicker, cheaper, safer, easier to scale. It fixes some problems we had over the past millennia trying to keep fulfilling our human needs in an increasingly complex world. We can stay in touch with friends again, like we could when everyone you knew was part of your tribe or settlement.
    Yes, a more complex world, that's one change I won't deny=P but it's by no means a recent thing.

    Coincidentally, today, Paul Miller returned to the internet after a year of not using it at all. That post is a long one, and I recommend reading it, but I'll summarise it here (or my interpretation of it anyway). The first few months were full of "this is great, I'm not using the internet for this," but as soon as that wore off, things were as before, just more tedious. All the bad habits that technologies supposedly force us into, were simply replaced by new ones.

    The internet hadn't rewired his human nature. It simply took part in it.


    I think we need to stop seeing the Internet, and information technology in general, as a bad thing, or as something that will change human nature. The technology may be too complex for most people - certainly for me - and it may offer unprecedented opportunities (which is exciting!). But so did all technological revolutions mankind has undergone. We adapt the technology to our human needs, not the other way around.

    So let's look at the future in that light. :eager:
    "These are the days of miracle and wonder"
    - Paul Simon

    Previous







    62 Comments
    These Days May 1 62 Comments 7 Favourites

    Warning: I'll be blogging

    Mon Apr 29, 2013, 2:53 AM
    Remember when you guys all asked me to blog about my experience as Marketing Intern?

    Well, that's coming! :eager: I need to start writing again. So starting on the first of May, I will be writing here often, possibly daily. If a new journal about every day is a bit much for you, feel free to unwatch my journals. It's perfectly fine if you're not interested in me personally and my thoughts and opinions. The really important stuff will still be in news articles; guides, announcements, perhaps even some of the blogs that I consider of vital importance.

    I'll likely be using this journal skin by `miontre for all blogs so that you can recognise my blogs from tutorials, important updates and such.

    One of the first blogs will be about the first 6 months of wearing my $ :)

    What else I should blog about? Suggestions are welcome :eager:


    43 Comments
    Warning: I'll be blogging April 29 43 Comments 1 Favourite

    Live Help with deviantART in the #help Chatroom

    Sat Apr 13, 2013, 4:14 PM



    Chats & Forums :iconnamenotrequired:


    Do you have a question, or need help with deviantART? In the #help chatroom on the deviantART Message Network, Community Volunteers and other appointed voluntary helpers can answer your questions.

    Join the #help chatroom >>


    •We help with:

    • General questions about deviantART, such as how a certain feature works.
    • Bug troubleshooting. Is something on the site broken? We can help you figure out where the problem is.
    • Chat & Forum policy. Are chatrooms being spammed, or used for sexual roleplay? Have you found a forum thread that needs to be moved or closed? We can help.

    • We cannot help with:


    • Policy violations outside the chats and forums - porn submissions, harassing comments and the like.
    • Questions about money, like premium membership purchases or shop orders.
    • Questions that are not about deviantART. This includes unofficial extensions like superdAmn.
      • (why?)

    Not sure if these apply? Simply join and try :dummy: If a volunteer can't answer your question, they will help you contact the right people.

    • A few simple rules apply:


    • Of course the general policies of deviantART and the chats apply (no illegal activities, no spam, et cetera.)
    • No idling or general chat. Only stay in the room when you’re being helped.
    • Do not talk to other Guests, only to the volunteer who is helping you.
      • (why?)

    Join the #help chatroom >>


    In the room, to the right hand side you can see if there’s any helpers present by looking at the member classes above your username, as shown in these examples:
    Untitled Drawing by $namenotrequired
    There is one volunteer to help you.
    Untitled Drawing by $namenotrequired
    No helper present (what now?)


    •A pink bullet is the permanent link to the question.

    • Am I being helped by a human being or by a robot?


    Always by human beings :)
    There may be an official bot in the room, but it won't talk to you. It will always be in a privclass under yours (as shown above, @MNBot in "Clerk" under "Guests"). It's simply there for administrative purposes. The help you receive is always from people.


    • Can I get help in another language?


    Yes! We will try to assign you to a helper who speaks your language, if there are none we will need to use an online translator.


    • Can I trust you with a sensitive question?


    Yes. If necessary, we can help you in a separate room that is only accessible to you and deviantART staff. All information is confidential between deviantART and you.


    • Why is the room not always listed on the chat page?


    The +chat page lists only rooms with at least 2 people in it. Even if it’s not shown here, it’s possible that there is a helper present. You can find a direct link to the room in this article, or join another room and then type /join help in that room.


    • Why can you not answer all questions?


    As mentioned, some questions need to be asked elsewhere, to ensure you're getting qualified help from the right people. It can also happen that a volunteer simply doesn’t know the answer - in this case they will direct you to the right place.
    Community Volunteers and other helpers always help you on a voluntarily basis. We are experienced and trusted community members, but not specalised full time employees.


    • What can I do if I cannot join the room, or if no helpers are present?


    If the chatroom is not working, see FAQ #293: Why am I having technical issues using the Chat Network?
    If no helpers are in the room, do not worry - this is normal as all helpers are volunteers and have their own lives. If you want you can come back occasionally to see if someone has joined yet.

    However, all of the questions that volunteers are able to help with can also be answered by the Help Desk, which can be contacted at any time. If the chatroom is still not working, or there's no one to help you, we recommend you contact them. For more about this see the Contacting the deviantART Help Desk Tutorial.


    • Why do you have rules that other rooms don't have?

    Why can I not idle, or chat about general topics? Why can I not talk to other Guests?


    The purpose of the #help chatroom is different to that of many other rooms: to provide you with reliable help with deviantART from our volunteers. To do this it needs some more order than rooms that are just for fun. Simply stated, allowing chatter or presence unrelated to the purpose would cause confusion, distract from the purpose and disrupt the room.

    Also keep in mind that:
    • Even if questions don't require confidentiality, many guests like to be helped in some privacy.
    • Only chosen members are allowed to provide help, so we can ensure you are always getting reliable help.

    If you’d like to have a general chat there's always #devart and a lot of other chatrooms :happybounce:


    • :eager: Sounds good! Can I become a helper?


    Perhaps! :eyes: 
    Currently, only Community Volunteers can become a helper in #help. If you are 18 or over and think you have the knowledge and experience, you can apply to become a Community Volunteer :)
    For details see FAQ #85: Can I be a volunteer on deviantART?


    :heart: I'd like to thank ^Beccalicious, ^Athos-of-Light, ^neurotype, ^kingmancheng and everyone else that helped me proof read, for their contributions by suggesting important improvements to earlier versions of this article!




    25 Comments
    Live Help with deviantART in the #help Chatroom April 13 25 Comments 32 Favourites

    Away this weekend

    Journal Entry: Thu Mar 28, 2013, 8:38 AM
    First the good news: my internship has been extended :party:
    For the past 5 months I've much enjoyed the fun, craziness and work that working with the passionate and hard working deviantART team brings. (Craziness, you say? Who expected that, the week before 1 April?) So of course I'm happy that I've been asked to continue working with the marketing team for another 3 months; until the end of June :squee:

    I'll write a journal about my experiences so far soon :eager: but first...

    This weekend, I'll be away

    with the family. We're celebrating the 25th anniversary of my parents wedding :party: I'm leaving in a few minutes and won't be back until monday.
    Whether the house we're staying has internet that we can use, we don't know. But I've decided to not bring my laptop. As I mentioned in my last journal, between work and university and most of my hobbies I spend too much time online already, and this is a nice opportunity to get away for a bit :D

    Sorry to those who have outstanding messages to me, I'll get to you in April :)

    I'll see you all next week :ahoy:

    Much love :love:



    91 Comments
    Away this weekend March 28 91 Comments 2 Favourites

    Blast from the Past: =thelasth0pe (now ^ladygagz)

    Thu Mar 21, 2013, 10:12 AM



    dA Related :iconnamenotrequired:


    :la: This previously unreleased interview with ^ladygagz (then =thelasth0pe) was conducted in May 2012. It was part of a series I ran back then named The Stars of dAr. It was never published then because shortly after that, the series would be discontinued as Bradley himself took over from me as the new CV of deviantART Related! Here's the full, unedited, interview that took place in complete ignorance of what the near future would bring :giggle: Enjoy!

    - Please tell us something about yourself!

    My name is Bradley, I'm 18 and live in Australia. I don't really consider myself an artist, so I suppose I'm on this site for the community. :love:

    Oh yeah, I love Lady Gaga. :iconmegustaplz: That's the main thing you need to know about me.

    - Some people may be reading this article and going ":omg: hey, I recognise them! But what from?:confused:". Can you refresh their mind - how have they most likely seen you before? :D

    Many places actually. I hang in the chatrooms regularly. In particular #seniors, #devart, #CommunityRelations and #dARelated.

    On top of that, you might have seen a few of my suggestions in deviantART's Site Updates and some of my news in the footer (which I do a lot of). :)

    - How did you get into dA related?

    I think Stamps was what first got me into dA Related. And it's easy to say that my inspiration for them was from ~SparkLum (or !Commander-Luminaire as he was known back then).

    I don't really make many stamps these days. I tend to stick to suggestions and dA Related news articles now. :D

    - What is your favourite part of dA? And how do you think it could be improved?

    This is a tough one. Well, I do love dAmn. It's not my favourite part of dA, but it's definitely up high on my list. It really needs a facelift, it looks so old compared to what dA looks like now.

    I think if they existed, Muro chatrooms would be popular. The chatroom could be a canvas, with a smaller text-based chat at the bottom! :eager:

    - Do you have any specific goals on dA?

    Yes, I'd love to become a CV one day - particularly in dA Related, because that's where I believe I'd be strongest as a volunteer. The next goal is more of a dream, and that would be working at dA HQ - that would be hard though, considering I live so far away.

    - Is there any group, chatroom, event etc. that you'd like to promote and make the readers aware of?

    Of course!

    #deviantART-Related: is the most fabulous group in existance. And yes, that is bias. :giggle: When your a member of the group, you'll never fall behind in the dA Related community. Pretty much anything gets reported on, whether it's by you ($namenotrequired), or myself - in the form of A Week in dA Related, which is a weekly recap of dAr.

    On the topic of dA Related, I might as well talk about the #dARelated chatroom. We host monthly chat events in there (on the first friday of each month)! You should add us to your autojoin for dAmn. :dalove:

    #Community-Projects: is the unofficial Community Projects group! We are a bit quiet at the moment. Now that $namenotrequired is the Community Projects CV as well, we might get things kickstarted again.

    #LittleMonstersUnited: is a group run by my brother and I. It's only new so we don't have many members. I report on the latest Lady Gaga news here. :love:

    #stamp-kingdom: is another group I'm in, which is dA Related as well. :dummy: I post Monthly Stamp Features here. We care about quality submissions when accepting things into our gallery, which sets us apart from all the other stamp groups. :nod:

    - What is your favourite part of the dA related category, that you haven't tried creating yourself yet? And what are your favourite deviations in this category?

    Well really, the only thing I haven't tried creating are Zines and Scripts. They are so very different though! I admire them both very much. Zines are very unique because they are very rarely submitted. I love reading them too. :) I can't really say I have a favourite Zine though. I don't want to single anyone out.

    Scripts are awesome. I love how they can instantly change how we view things on the web. Here are a few of my favourites:



    You guys should go and install these now. :flirty:

    - What is your favourite deviation from your own gallery, and how about your favourites?



    That was hard to decide, so I chose my favourite suggestion. I like this one because it's something I'd like to see happen the most out of all of my suggestions. :aww:



    So I couldn't choose a favourite out of my favourites. So I chose this fabulous tutorial from `BrokenTutorials.

    This is very informative, especially to new deviants. It pretty much goes through the different types of deviants on deviantART (symbol-wise). It's quite funny as well. You should also check out the rest of his deviantART tutorials they are equally fabulous! :dummy:

    - What can you say to help or inspire people who may feel motivated reading this?

    One piece of advice that I think everyone on deviantART should take is, when you want to start a project or news article series or something like that. Ask yourself, "Why am I doing this?"

    If doing it feels like a chore DO NOT do it. When you do things like those, you need to enjoy doing it. :nod: Otherwise, you'll probably get sick of doing it after a while and possibly end up trying to stay away from deviantART.

    TL;DR: Do things for fun! :D

    I'd also like to leave a quote here, which I find inspiring:

    "You have to be unique, and different, and shine in your own way."
    - `LadyGaga




    29 Comments
    Blast from the Past: =thelasth0pe (now ^ladygagz) March 21 29 Comments 7 Favourites

    Music and Dance

    :iconnamenotrequired:

    I wish CD players would come with a built-in option to easily adjust the pitch. It can be really frustrating when I'm listening to awesome music but the key doesn't suit my voice at all. Singing along is one of the very best ways of enjoying it, for me.

    I have too much energy. I'm not a particularly energetic person -- those who know me well would laugh at the thought. But my study, internship and hobbies (I love all of those, by the way, and wouldn't trade them for Darwin-knows-what) require a lot of my time to be spent with my laptop and that is not without consequences. I like playing the drums and headbanging. I've always sort of liked dancing, but no formal dances -- I simply feel rhythm and music deep inside me and it moves me, figuratively, literally. I've had a few different people teach me playing the drums and while they were (and are) better at it than me, I always felt I had much better understanding and feel for rhythm than them. I often had to point out things to them that were so obvious to me, even in songs they'd been playing for ages.
    I like to headbang and take the entire room for it... at least all room I have. I jump around. Especially when the song lends itself to it. Yes, I do this at concerts as well. A band like Delain is awesome for that, going to their concerts you won't find many people NOT headbanging. And at a festival like Pinkpop people are drunk enough to just jump at whatever has a beat. But I don't need alcohol to be myself. I'll jump and headbang and air guitar at amateurish rock cover bands if I feel like it. I get weird looks but eh :B I can't just stand there being someone else than myself for a bit.

    Where is this going you ask? Nowhere. Just speaking my mind for a bit.

    I like my dancing. It's not just headbanging, it's not just airdrumming and air guitar. It's moving with the mood and rhythm of music. Sure, you could say all dancing is that. But a lot of it doesn't truly feel like it to me. Dancing isn't a taught sequence of steps. It's whatever movement I, you, whomever the creator is, feels belongs to the music.

    After typing that, I googled: "define dance". This is how the definition starts:
    dance  
    /dans/
    Verb
    Move rhythmically to music, typically following a set sequence of steps.
    I'm actually surprised how closely and accurately the definition contradicts what I just said :O_o: This definition feels backwards to me... almost like defining "poetry" as "typically involving common rhymes". I do realise the comparison is skewed because culturally the two arts are very different in nature (for example, dances tend to be choreographed, then performed by others, to be watched by yet others, while poetry is usually created by one person to be read by other people individually without middle man). Perhaps it's my lack of knowledge of dance as an element of my culture, but I think it shows well why I don't feel the definition fits my own. I don't think you can define an art by the bits that are learnt, or common, or conventional, because ultimately the point is to turn them into something unconventional and expressive.

    :shrug:

    Bart's mind over and out.
    No Comments
    Music and Dance March 19 No Comments No Favourites

    A few features

    :iconnamenotrequired:

    =KiaraJoy writes,
    The Inspirations artbook is a collaborative project between 76 deviantART members, put together by =KiaraJoy. Each of the artists is allowed two entries into the book, so it will have between 76-150 pieces of artwork! The proceeds of this book will go towards purchasing and putting together packs of Crayola art supplies for children that will be signed up for it. All images in the book are made with Crayola products - crayons, markers, colored pencils, paints, oil pastels or chalk. We have some really amazing submissions in already, and I can't wait until the last one is in!

    The book can be preordered now and also needs funding! Please have a look if this is something you want to and can help out :hug:


    The winners of =Eitvys200's Month of PLZ fun are *dully101, ~NyanQueen and `Mirz123  :clap:


    Lastly `TimberClipse's Visual Narrative project is fundraising (and you can win 1000 points :points: by helping out!)
    13 Comments
    A few features March 10 13 Comments 4 Favourites

    Ask me Anything

    Journal Entry: Sat Mar 9, 2013, 6:20 AM
    To get you started - hi, I'm Bart, currently an intern and volunteer at deviantART, I'm 21 and I study informatics in Amsterdam. :dummy:

    Now ask me a question:eager:

    Spotlight

    Some of my favourite topics will be featured in this spot :dummy:

    :bulletblue: Oxygen: my own candle scent
    :bulletblue: The purpose of my material existence
    The average flight speed of an unladen swallow
    My favourite part of dA


    The 6-Question Resolution


    The most popular questions of the 6 that =Eitvys200 asked were:
    :bulletblue: What do you do as a staff member here?
    :bulletblue: Share your secret with us?


    233 Comments
    Ask me Anything March 9 233 Comments 5 Favourites

    PE Getting the Most out of dA: Summary

    Sun Feb 10, 2013, 7:06 PM



    dA Related :iconnamenotrequired:


    Getting the Most out of dA - Summary

    This week we set out to find the answer to the question; How to contribute to the community? 
    Here's what we learnt about:







    We also learnt yet again that the community is wonderful and you guys were luckily eager 
    to learn from our articles and to participate in all the events we set up for you :love: 
    Thank you once more! :happybounce:

    The "Getting the Most out of dA" Project Educate team:




    41 Comments
    PE Getting the Most out of dA: Summary February 10 41 Comments 41 Favourites

    PE: Getting the Most out of dA: Chat and Forums

    Sun Feb 10, 2013, 9:55 AM



    dA Related :iconnamenotrequired:


    The Forums and the Chatrooms, collectively known as the dAmn (deviantART Message Network), are home to many kinds of discussion. In this article we'll briefly go over the different forums and chatrooms there are, with some specific attention to those that are helpful for you as deviant who wants to contribute to the community. :dummy:

    First, the forum are not the place to go ask for help or report a problem with deviantART - but they do have the handy Need HELP? thread which tells you exactly where to go with your question.
    So if not that, then what are the forums for? Let's break it down down down :sing: to the subcategories!

    :idea: Tip: before making a thread, always have a look not only at the Forum Posting Guidelines to the top, but also at other recent threads to see what the forum is for and what response you can expect.
    • Devart. In particular the Welcome forum is a great place to meet other people and help them, many of these people are new either to the entire site or to the forum. In the Suggestions forum propose your ideas for deviantART and discuss those of others.
    • Senior Members & Premium Members forum are not accessible to everyone so I won't discuss them here.
    • The Community forums are a particularly varied bunch! Of particular interest:
    • Art Related is where people ask for critique (often in dedicated sticky threads), help and advice, but also general questions about their art form.
    • Showcase for promoting your groups, chatrooms and events, but also your art. It's also a good place to look for art when you're putting together a feature or want to comment or critique some art.
    • Entertainment and Technology are subcategories for specific themes of discussion.
    • And lastly Employment Opportunities is for freelancers and other artists-for-hire, and employers of artists to find each other.

    Forum Challenge


    Post a comment on this blog to claim a certain forum - for example, the Welcome forum. Then go to it and post as many friendly helpful comments as you can :dummy: The winner will be announced during the chat event later today!
    No more than 3 people can claim a certain forum.

    The +chat Rooms


    The Chat rooms are a little different in their structure from the forums. There are a few official chatrooms, but the majority of the rooms are made by users just like you! There is a large variety of chatrooms out there. When you explore the chatrooms it is important to realise that rooms may have very different rules, as it is up to the creator and the mods he or she appoints how they want to run the room.

    The featured rooms at this time are:
    • #devart - the general discussion chatroom.
    • #help is mentioned in the Need HELP? thread - here you can get immediate help from Community Volunteers and other appointed helpers if present. If you're wondering if a specific feature exists, how to use it or what you can do if it stops working - stop by and check if someone's present before going to the Help Desk.
    • #seniors is the room run by senior members. You don't need to be a senior member to enter, everyone is welcome!
    • #CommunityRelations is the official room for the official Community Relations team. Many chat events take place here - as will ours! - but it's also open during

    Some examples of types of unofficial chatrooms you can find on the +chat page:
    • Many rooms are aimed at artists of a specific theme or medium, such as #CRLiterature or #IamAnthro.
    • Others focus on other themes, such as #GayBiWorlds and #ShareZone. Most of these rooms allow a lot of general discussion too.
    • Many +Groups also have their own chatrooms where the mods and active members hang out, where the group holds (open or closed) meetings and/or where other events for the group take place.
    • Role play is another popular use of the chatrooms.


    Chat Event

    Is over! Thanks for everyone that stopped by :party: We had an awesome night!




    36 Comments
    PE: Getting the Most out of dA: Chat and Forums February 10 36 Comments 31 Favourites

    PE: Stock, Resources and dA Related: Features

    Sat Feb 9, 2013, 2:05 PM



    dA Related :iconnamenotrequired:


    Also see the main article:



    Now let's get on with the features :squee: Hopefully these will help inspire you to help you discover what you could create to help the community :)

    Stock & Resources


    Stock Images


    Tutorials

    How to get more from your commenters!If like me you crave critique and feedback, but only ever get "nice work" comments, here are some tips to get what you want!
    First of all, allow me to briefly elaborate on what I mean by critique and feedback.
    Critique - Noun, A detailed analysis and assessment of something.
    Someone who offers you a critique gifts you with a full evaluation of the good and bad parts of your piece, as well as offering ideas for its improvement.


    Feedback - Noun, Information about reactions to a product.
    They let you know which parts they like / don't like, and possibly how the piece made them feel.
    Comments such as "Great work!" "Awesome" don't fall into either of these categories.
    Reply to them with a question.
    Asking a question prompts a response. Not only that, but it forces them to take a look at your work again! Below are two screenshots where I have used this technique.
    Common questions you could ask in

    Textures


    Application Resources


    Line Art & Character Sheets


    Video Resources & Tutorials



    deviantART Related


    Deviant Stamps



    Journal & Gallery CSS



    Browser Scripts & User Styles



    Visual Suggestions



    Written Suggestions

    Suggestion: Groups and NewsSince groups was released, the way that deviants interact with each other has changed a lot, and mostly for the better. We can efficiently communicate through blogs, and everything is much better organized.

    However, there is one thing that I have noticed. Since I am a deviant that runs news article features through groups, there are only a couple of ways to let the deviants know about the feature. One option is to write a blog informing them of the news article that was posted, and hope that the deviants open the blog and then click on the link. If you are informing the deviant that they have been featured in an article, then you can send th     Paid Name ChangesDear deviantArt Staff,
    I've been virgino0owhore for nine years. While I understand I can just create a new account if I want a new name, I feel that this is a waste. I would have to move every piece of work over to this new account, re-favorite over 3,000 favorites and rewatch my current watch list. It's simply not worth it all because of 14 letters. 
    Not to mention, I lead a club against name wasting, making getting a new account hypocritical. It seems more practical to allow members to pay to change their name. This prevents the wasting of names that can't be removed because they have history on them. It also gives deviantArt a new revenue source. 
    Naturally you couldn't choose a taken name but, the act of paying for a name change is common in internet society and amongst gaming communities as well. The price varies but is usually around 15 U.S. dollars, and whatever that may translate into. 
    How would a user change his/her name?
    :bulletgreen: They could access     note centerI get a lot of notes every day, as I'm sure a fair number of deviants do. I try to sort them, keep track of which ones I've read and which ones I haven't, but it's not always possible. Sometimes I manage to delete something I didn't mean to or open something that I didn't mean to.

    Mark as unread
    In hotmail (I've never used any other e-mail system) there is a button you can click to mark something as unread, just in case you accidentally opened something you didn't mean to, or you want to remind yourself it's something you need to get back to. I think a button like this would be incredibly effective for the note center.

    Edit folders
    I have





    30 Comments
    PE: Stock, Resources and dA Related: Features February 9 30 Comments 21 Favourites

    PE: Stock, Resources and deviantART Related

    Sat Feb 9, 2013, 1:00 PM



    dA Related :iconnamenotrequired:


    Stock & Resources



    I see Stock & Resources as a category of art on deviantART where the entire focus is on helping others and providing them with what they need. This helps artists of any medium! Photomanipulators for example rely heavily on the stock photos they find here. If you draw or paint, digitally or traditionally, many stock photos can be hugely helpful as reference, as can line art and textures. There's literature templates, fonts, fractal and vector resources, designs & patterns for artisans and crafters.. and then there's tutorials for any kind of art, and about deviantART itself.
    So one great way to contribute something to the community and your fellow artists is to provide such resources!

    We will not go into this in depth as it has its own Community Volunteers and Project Educate weeks that should help you get started! :)

    Informative articles:

    deviantART Related


    The deviantART Related category is like Stock & Resources in that it's a varied category with a common theme - but in this case, deviantART. While perhaps best known for deviantIDs, it also contains Journal and Gallery Skins, stamps, user scripts and styles et cetera. For you, as deviant with the wish to contribute to the community, some of those are of particular interest, some not so much - so let's have a look into some of them shall we?

    Again these have had their own Project Educate (and other) articles about them, that we will link for each category!

    • Deviant Stamps - many deviants love to include stamps in their journals or on their pages or artist's comments, sometimes silly, sometimes to communicate important messages.
    • Journal & Gallery CSS - know some HTML & CSS? Use these skills to decorate your own gallery folders and journal, and publish your skin for others to use while you're at it.
    • Browser Scripts & User Styles enhance the way deviantART looks, and works! Styles can change the appearance while scripts can change - normally, add - a wide range of functionality to deviantART. These are normally done in CSS or Javascript. For some great examples of scripts see Did You Know? Browser Scripts.
    • deviantART Suggestions, visual or written, help you communicate your ideas for deviantART. They can not only spark discussion with other deviants about improvement of the site, they will also be seen by the deviantART staff and a good number of these have been implemented in the past.

    Other handy links:

    :#1: Try your hand at some of these and have fun!

    The "Getting the most out of dA" PE Team: ^3wyl | ^Astralseed | $namenotrequired





    31 Comments
    PE: Stock, Resources and deviantART Related February 9 31 Comments 39 Favourites

    Introducing PE week: Getting the Most out of dA

    Mon Feb 4, 2013, 1:37 PM



    dA Related :iconnamenotrequired:


    This week marks the first ever Project Educate week on the topic of "Getting the most out of dA"! For this week I collected a small group of experts on the deviantART community and positive contribution. Together we will present you with articles and happenings, to inspire you and give you an overview of how you can contribute to the deviantART community.

    From Monday to Saturday, each day will focus on a different topic. Topics will be introduced in an informative article. Then we'll go into it more in depth with you through interviews with gurus on the subject or through events where you get to experience the fun of contributing.
    Then on Sunday we'll recap the entire week not only in a summary of articles but also in a chat event! :party:

    Please make sure you're watching #projecteducate to see all our articles and events :eager:

    Topics to be covered


    Commenting

    Monday 4th

    Running Groups

    Tuesday 5th

    Art Features & Daily Deviations

    Wednesday 6th

    Organising Projects & Contests

    Thursday 7th

    Stock, Resources & deviantART Related

    Friday 8th

    Chatrooms & Forums

    Saturday 9th

    Big Chat Event in #CommunityRelations

    Sunday 10th
    By all of us!

    Yes - a big chat event!

    :bulletblue: 9pm GMT (check your time) on Sunday 10th in #CommunityRelations :bulletblue:
    On Sunday, we conclude the week with a fun chat event. There'll be games focussed on all topics discussed during the week. And of course a lot of general fun and chatter and silliness :D Don't worry if you can't be online at 9pm GMT exactly - it'll last for a few hours :)

    Thank you and don't forget to watch #projecteducate! Added to my devWatch!


    The "Getting the most out of dA" PE Team;




    63 Comments
    Introducing PE week: Getting the Most out of dA February 4 63 Comments 30 Favourites

    Of Awesome Things

    Journal Entry: Wed Jan 30, 2013, 4:11 PM
    To start with the most exciting news! :party:

    Internship
    Tomorrow will NOT be the last day of my internship at deviantART. I have been offered an extension of two months so I'll keep working for $Heidi, $Ayame-Kenoshi and other lovely people to serve this community :#1: My end date has been moved to the end of March, when we'll be evaluating again. I am thrilled to stay around on the team and to keep working in this fashion for the community that's dear to my heart :dalove:

    Holiday 
    I'd also like to thank everyone that sent me cards or even gifts over the holiday period! I received around 30 Christmas/New Years cards (about as many as I sent myself), along with two deviantART Keychains, a Llama Keychain and even a lovely print that was on my wishlist :love: I felt seriously spammed by dA for a few days but don't worry, I loved it :giggle: If you sent me one of these items I'd appreciate if you'd let me know as I'd love to know who to be thankful to :hug: but if you prefer to be anonymous that's OK too.

    Some links you should seriously consider clicking and the reason why:


    128 Comments
    Of Awesome Things January 30 128 Comments 14 Favourites

    PE: dA help - in English or Other Languages

    Thu Jan 17, 2013, 2:17 AM



    Community Week :iconnamenotrequired:


    On a big site like deviantART you're no doubt going to come across something you have a question about or just don't quite understand. There are many channels you can use to find the answers to various types of questions - such as the +faq, the *welcome tour, the deviantART Tutorials category and the #help chatroom. How do you know which to use?

    The best point to start with any question or problem related to dA is the official Need Help? thread. It lists all official help channels and what they can be used for. In this article we focus on the +faq - as well as places to find dA information in many other languages! Let's start with English.


    English - The FAQ



    The FAQ (a common abbreviation for Frequently Asked Questions) contains hundreds of questions you may be wondering about deviantART, with the official answer. You can find it on help.deviantart.com and there are links on several parts of dA, most notably the main menu and the footer of any page, as these screenshots show (click for full view):

     

    There are basically two ways to look for information on a certain topic: the search box and the categories. The categories to the left are mainly helpful when your keywords don't give the answer you're looking for. Let's show this with an example from when I was new myself (true story!), and wondered what the signs (~, *, = etc) in front of everyone's name meant. I went to the FAQ, typed 'sign' into the search bar and got no relevant results (because I didn't think of searching with 'symbol' or one of the symbols itself at the time^^;). Later I realised I could choose category "deviantART", then "About deviantART" and under subcategory "About deviantART" I found FAQ #106: What are the symbols in front of each deviants nickname? which answered my question. The category path is in the following screenshot: 


    If you're missing something from the FAQ, you can ask the Help Desk your question instead, or to suggest it to be added to the FAQ (see FAQ #158: I think something is missing from the FAQ.)

    However the FAQ are available in English only, which in a global community can be limiting for those who don't speak English well.


    International Help from the Community




    And that's where the wonderful deviantART community comes in! Many members like you have come up with different initiatives that help fellow deviants get the help they need in foreign languages. Let's go over some, shall we? :eager:

    :iconinternationalfaq: :iconinternationalfaq: :iconinternationalfaq:

    We believe that all deviants are entitled to receive help in their own language wherever possible. We exist to help non-English-speaking deviants understand deviantART's faq by translating it into multiple languages. 

    I've personally been involved with #InternationalFAQ for about a year now. We have a large team of contributors who work to translate the FAQ to many other languages. We help in other ways too: there is a list of people per language that you can contact with questions not covered in the translated FAQ (yet), and a public #internationalfaq chatroom. You can contact the translators in the chatroom or by sending them a note. And if your language is not covered yet, perhaps you can volunteer?


    :iconnoticias: :iconnoticias: :iconnoticias:

    #noticias is a web, with no commercial or profitable purpose, that publishes news in Spanish related to deviantART and art in general. The main objective is to allow the Hispanic Community inside and outside deviantART to have a reference in Spanish of the most important facts in this portal and of art, to be able to participate in all that is published. Also, to open spaces of entertainment, opinion and discussion.

    I've come across this group many times and they have a vast collection of deviantART Tutorials and resources in Spanish. They also regularly translate official deviantART announcements. It also functions as a general art community for Spanish speaking deviants.



    Vous êtes nouveau sur DeviantArt, ou vous comptez vous y inscrire, et vous n'y comprenez rien à rien ?
    Mon blog est fait pour vous aider. Si vous avez une question, n'hésitez pas à la poser ! Mais merci de regarder si la réponse n'est pas déjà sur le blog avant...

    Aide-deviantART is an off-site blog run by ~Himsaico with many deviantART tutorials and guides in French.


    I hope that's helpful to fellow deviants whose native language isn't English! If you know of a cool project that should be added let me know :salute:

    - $namenotrequired, *pwassonne, =Daghrgenzeen & =Eitvys200




    63 Comments
    PE: dA help - in English or Other Languages January 17 63 Comments 35 Favourites

    Happy New Year

    Journal Entry: Sun Dec 30, 2012, 6:11 PM
    tl;dr: I've had an awesome year that's shaped my life and future in many ways. I wish you all a happy 2013.

    2012 in review
    Short summary
    2012 in numbers:
    • Visited `Gwendolyn12 2x and spent ~7 weeks with her
    • Boarded 20 aeroplanes as I visited 6 countries on 3 continents (almost all trips to visit deviants)
    • Met at least 6 foreign deviants that visited my country
    • Changed roles on deviantART 3 times
    • Had 3 paying jobs and volunteered for 2 places
    • Visited about 10 universities and considered 3 majors (and after the summer I started at the University of Amsterdam majoring in Informatics)
    This year, month by month, with the deviations I posted in those months:

    January consisted of working. I'd been working in a supermarket full time for about half a year without break, and after a couple of months as CV for dA Related I felt at home in this role and ran Project Educate. Aside that I spent a lot of time preparing for...

    ...February which consisted entirely of my first trip to meet Ellen and had the time of my life. :love: This was followed by...


    ...March which started with a weekend with `fritsvandersloot to Manchester to meet a lovely bunch of fellow Community Volunteers and $taff members. The rest of the month was much like....

    ...April which consisted of more working for two jobs and deviantART. My days off were all spent on visits to universities while trying to decide what to do next. 


    May and June were much the same. Aside all the working, they did include a few significant events. First, two great volunteers, $haldron and $wreckling, took full time jobs to the knee and I took over Community Projects. $Moonbeam13 and I decided I'd focus on this and hand over dA Related to ^ladygagz. Then I made a one-day-trip to Paris where I met hundreds of deviants including many staff members (who are now colleagues, but I couldn't have known that at the time!)
    I also I also decided on my university and major; more on that is to come.

    For July and August I was off. I had just quit both of my jobs, and I used the free time to prepare for going back to university in September, for two unrelated trips to Scotland, and for another visit to Ellen. I told you all about this in early...

     

    ...September, when I started university and wrote lots about the Life of a Bart. Later that month my second role change happened; I was asked and accepted to become a Community Volunteer Mentor.
    For the rest of September and...


    ...October I obviously spent a lot of time at university. So far I'm very much enjoying it!

    November started with a big surprise. I was invited for an internship with dA! I was and am still incredibly happy and grateful for this and I'll tell more about it in a bit. I spent most of this month and...

    ...December combining my internship, university and some volunteering tasks that I can't resist doing still. The month ended with a wonderful Christmas with my family and grandma in a lovely place.

    Tell me about something you are proud of that you did this year :eager:


    On to 2013
    And soon, 2013 will start! I don't really tend to do resolutions, but there's a few things I'm hoping to achieve;
    • Pass all my subjects at the first year at university
    • Doing more to contribute to the world at large and its future.
    • Get a new job after my internship (I almost wanted to write 'an equally fun job' but that'd be raising the bar way too high :crying: 'pretty cool' will be good enough, I'll still be a volunteer here after all!)

    How about you? :)


    96 Comments
    Happy New Year December 30, 2012 96 Comments 8 Favourites

    A new era is about to start

    Journal Entry: Thu Dec 20, 2012, 5:16 PM
    Or that's what the Maya said. According to most scientists, the 21st would be the first day of their new calendar cycle.

    Does this inherently mean a new era? Perhaps not. But our future is in our own hands. Why not try?

    Why not use this as an opportunity to start working towards a new time - towards a better world? Sure, none of us have the power to change the entire world as they please, and I have no illusions that those who do, will be reading this journal (if anyone has such power at all). But why not choose to do something within your and anyone's power, to make the world a little better for at least some of us? Or to make the future a little bit brighter for us all?

    Some suggestions

    Meditate. Small, simple. Meditating is known to have great positive effects on you personally. This will also reflect on others around you.

    Donate. Even if you're not rich, there's a way to donate for almost anyone. Find a charity you believe in and donate in a way that works for you. Donate money directly, donate a small amount of money on a monthly basis, or add the charity to your will. There are also small and new charities around that need material donations such as office supplies and other things you may just happen to have lying around or stored away somewhere.

    Charity suggestion: The Black Fish. What they do: By investigating, educating and taking non-violent direct action, we campaign to end illegal and destructive fishing practices, and safeguard a future for the plentiful species in our seas.source

    Volunteer. For a charity, or a hospital - but there are endless other places in need of help. Some sites that help you find a place to volunteer, by location: UK, USA, Australia, anywhere.

    Raise awareness. You don't need money for this; you can do this online, or at a popular public spot with a bit of creativity. Here's some lists of ideas (that I believe could be applied to many other fields than just those mentioned): [link] [link] [link] [link]

    Change your life or rather, some minor detail in it. Look at your life and habits critically and I'm sure you'll find things you could be doing in a more eco- or human-friendly way.

    Thank you so much for reading :thanks: I'm not asking you to change your life overnight - but I'd love you to at least think about this question and maybe do something with it:

    What is your contribution to the rest of the world?

    Answer this for yourself - it's important that you think about it, not that you tell me. That said I'd also love to hear your ideas to add to the list above :aww:

    94 Comments
    A new era is about to start December 20, 2012 94 Comments 38 Favourites

    Dictionary Entry: 33

    Journal Entry: Tue Dec 18, 2012, 3:34 PM



    We're halfway December and the holidays are coming... and #dA-Dictionary has a special article for Holiday Happenings! We'll be updating anything holiday-specific there instead of here. The rest of dA's recent happenings, announcements and features can be found in here!
    To stay in touch and be updated weekly, watch #dA-Dictionary. I'm not the only one writing these articles.

    Happy holidays and please enjoy!

    $namenotrequired


    Concerns










    Beta Testing

    All Beta Testing bugs should be reported to #devBUG through their "Report a Beta Bug" tab. If a feature has gone site-wide and you find a bug, submit the bug report to the +help desk. Groups are not a Beta feature.
    • No new beta features this week.

    Site Changes and Information



    Gallery Changes and Information


    From the CVs

    For a complete list of current Community Volunteers and which Gallery they are responsible for, please check this out.


    Site Features


    devGEAR

    $draweverywhere explains the artistic process behind his T-shirt designs in the 2012 Apparel Collection:

    Art Tips and Features


    Project Educate

    The #communityrelations project to educate
    users about different galleries, what goes in them and how to better
    create for them. Learn more at #projecteducate.

    Events


    Contests

    Contests are only listed in the week they open, they do not carry over to following entries. This is the list of Official dA Contests





    16 Comments
    Dictionary Entry: 33 December 18, 2012 16 Comments 12 Favourites

    Journal History