Welcome to Unknown Amazing Emoticonists...and More. This is the 36th installment of the mostly-weekly feature dedicated to showcasing the emoticon creations of up-and-coming and veteran emoticonists. Be sure to check out the rest of their galleries for other amazing works. This article also features projects, contests, groups, and more, in the hopes of exposing them to new deviants and those not familiar with the emoticon community.

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Lesser-Known Emoticonists


=I-is-smart


A sweet way to show the connection between friends. Cute expression.





~l-rM


The whole scene and the faces on the emotes make me LOL. Funny.





~SmilingMuffin


A prime example of an effective static emote. The scene is well pixelled and the action very clear.  Love it.





More Well-Known Emoticonists

`CookiemagiK


Seemingly simple, but amazing animation.  I just love the lion's tail and how he seems so unamused.





=iiKaptain


This is one of those simple emotes that just makes me smile. Lovely design and adorable expression.





Community Spotlight

_{Periodically in this section, we will spotlight an area of the emoticon community. Be it a project that needs more love, an emoticon group you may not know about, a  special member of the community, or another emoticon news article, we hope it will expose more deviants to the things that make the emoticon community and emoticonists special.}

  Emoticon Community Endeavors

Emoticon Teams - Emoticon teams were inspired by similar groups, particularly in the digital dolling community.  One of the problems artists complain about is the lack of detailed and meaningful comments and critiques.  However, with a sizable community, it is difficult for individuals to comment on every piece and provide consistent support to a large number of artists.  The idea of emoticon groups is that small teams are formed and members commit to supporting their fellow team-mates.  Each team is comprised of seasoned artists as well as newcomer emoticonists, to provide a range of talent and encourage mentoring.  The team leader of each group is an emoticonist with at least 2 years participating in the emoticon community.  Team pair-ups are conducted 1-2 times a month.  Membership is open to all levels of emoticonists, from artists who want to start emoting, to veterans who want to experience the team environment. The groups are currently in the process of establishing their identities and getting to know each other, but future plan include inter-team projects and competitions.  The Emoticon Teams base of operations is the group ~EmoteZ.  If you are interested in learning more about the Emoticon Teams or signing up for a team yourself, visit ~EmoteZ and this journal ---> [link]

Some emoticon team related art:

:thumb253034245:  


The Emoticon Community Project #theECP is a new group formed in the hopes of helping the emoticon community become closer and more connected.  It's goal is to encourage emoticonists to devwatch each other, as well as provide each other with support in the way of comments and critique.  While similar to the emoticon teams endeavor, it is different in that it does not require a certain level of participation.  Members can do as much or as little as time allows. In the near future, the group hopes to expand to include non-emoticonists, allowing those who do not make emotes but love them to help support emote artists.  Still a fledgling group, #theECP is open for new members and would appreciate the support.  

Some art featured in the group:





Three 2-Minute Interview

<sub>The Unknown Emoticonists feature was created to showcase the works of lesser-known artists in the community. The hope was to give these up-and-coming emoticonists some additional exposure.  In that spirit, each issue will present a mini-interview with an active emoticonist who has been previously featured in this series. Short and sweet, we hope these Q&As will help you learn more about this artist.

Each interview consists of 4 standard questions and 1 random question that varies from article to article.</sub>

*Brigitte-Fredensborg

How long have you been emoting and how did you get into it?

My first emote I made about 10 months ago! I saw all the wonderful emotes on dA and I was wondering how can I make one myself. So I read some very helpful tutorials, opened my Photoshop, ... fit size to screen ... and started! And I found out that it's really fun. A lot of work and it needs concentration, but fun work!


What programs do you use to create emotes and why?

An old version of Photoshop and Jasc Animation Shop! I'm not so happy with the animation results sometimes, but I didn't find a better program!


Describe your emoting style in five words.

Five words?... Hmmm... colourful, friendly, happy, funny and ... useful


Pick your top 3 favorite emote from your gallery and tell us why.


... it fit's for a celebration


... because it's cool


... I liked skiing a lot when I was younger!


Special Question: Which emote, legend or PLZ, do you find yourself using most and why?

I love it! This shows so much happiness and woohoo celebration!



Emoticon News

A plug of my own.  `Ravenswd and I are hosting a contest over at our #bitmapworld fan group.  While one element of the contest is for fans of the strip, the second part of the contest is a general 1-panel emoticomic contest.  If you have an idea for a 1-off gag strip, consider checking it out and joining.  Details here ---> [link]

Next week is our week off.  See you in two weeks!



--- > so that others can discover these awesome emoticonists.

_{Past Installments}

Volume 28 [link] - Volume 29 [link]
Volume 30 [link] - Volume 31 [link]
Volume 32 [link] - Volume 33 [link]
Volume 34 [link] - Volume 35 [link]

For a full listing of past articles, see this journal ---> [link]