5) Tell us about the TOP Artists on DeviantART project


I am a member of DA since 3 ½ years and I always have been amazed by the variety and the talent of so many fellow deviants. But as I already mentioned, it is becoming more difficult to find all those great artists and it is even worse when you are new here. I observe the development of many artists since I am here and I discover more talented people almost everyday. I feature the unknown and underrated artists in my journals and news articles as much as my time allows it but this way you only can promote only a few artists at a time. So the idea to create a directory where all the talented and high-skilled artists are collected in categorized lists was born. I was sure this would make it much easier for new deviants and any other interested art appreciators to find their favourite artists. The concept was to add artists after certain quality standards and not after how much I like them personally to guarantee the highest possible degree of impartiality. After I introduced the directory to the communty a lot of people complained this list would be elitist and promote only already very popular artists. I can’t do anything about the elitist character, it’s natural, but I must point out that the directory is not an exclusive club! Anyone can join the list when they meet the criteria, not matter if they are totally popular or totally buried in the crowd. It is natural that there are many popular artists listed but popularity alone is by no means at all a criterion to be added to the directory. We also feature unknown artists in particular. Despite this difficult start the directory gained a wide acceptance and many people find it useful to browse the lists. The lists are updated regularly. Every month we release a fresh newsletter and nominate 10 lesser known artists of one category and let the people vote for the best. The winner is awarded with an interview and examples of their gallery in the “Monthly Top Artists Feature”. We have a team of four admins at the moment and still have to release some of the main categories. It is very time-consuming to compile these lists because we have to review hundreds of galleries at a time to find the best artists. We invite all interested people to come over and search our lists or make artist suggestions. For questions read our FAQs: [link]



6) Do you have a favourite artist on DA and why?

I never could tell who my one and only favourite artist on DA is because there so many outstanding people! But let me name you some of those who influenced me most. First and foremost I want to mention Javier Ontiveros *batoruco, the man who brought me here and whose wonderful fractal collages inspired me forever! You can find much of him in my own collages. My favourite abstract artist is Steve Ross Hatchett ~strohat. There is a wonderful flow in this traditional pictures and the use of colors is just mindblowing. But I not only like abstract forms but also clear and shiny designs. One of my preferred designers is Sascha Zemke *Ld-siGn. He makes very individual and colorful web interfaces with a 3D-like look. I am passionate about photography since my childhood and of course I love that as well. I am very impressed by the conceptual photo art of Dave Nitsche `Davenit His compositions are very creative, tasteful and unique, done with complex settings. Sheer beauty!



7) You have told me that very soon you will have your own business in Graphic Design. Are you excited about that and where do you see you art in 10 years time?

To start your own business is always excting because many things in your life will change and you don’t exactly know what will happen. I am really looking forward to it because I love new challenges and I believe I can that do a good job and that it will bring out the best in me. If I survive in the business I think I will do a lot of designing in the future. Of course that will influence my artwork. I hope in ten years I will have broadened the variety and maturity in my art. I want to learn more techniques and improve the ones I already use to refine my ways of expression. I consider art an essential part for my life. It is a reflection of my personality. Whatever happens I will never stop doing it in one way or the other.



8) Any advice for anyone starting out on DA. How do you maximize your DA experience?

To be an active member of DeviantART means to spend quite some time with writing and replying comments, viewing new art work, read the news and journals or submit some yourself, answering questions and supporting your friends. I try to stay in kind contact with my close friends, answer all comments and questions and introduce all talented artists that I find in my journal and add them if qualified to the Top Artists Directory. Meanwhile I watch some hundreds of deviants and I can’t read all journals and news articles and view all new deviations anymore. But I try my best. DA is a huge and ever growing community and any new deviant who joins needs some time to orient themselves within it. When I came here I started with viewing art and viewing more art before I found my first friends and started to contribute to the community.

The first thing new deviants have to find out is, how is this machine called DA working? How works the gallery system, the submitting system, the comment system, the message center, the forums, the search machine? There is a decent help desk where all of your questions will be answered. But also other deviants will glady help. So after you learned how to browse and use DA features you can start to make friends. Friends are important for feedback and exchanging experiences. Yeah, and never stop to view art. If you really like something give a comment and say what you think about it and collect it in your favourites. The rest is coming with time.