A news series featuring art selected by me. There will be a wide range of themes and genres covered. In addition, there will be periodic interviews and artist spotlights.

If you like this article, please add it to your favorites to help spread the love for the art and artists within.

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Daily Features

_{On my profile page, I feature a new deviation every day (or two or three). The piece is usually something that caught my eye. Could be an amazing digital painting, a fun stamp, a quick photograph that made me smile, perhaps a piece for a weekly theme, whatever.  However, it moved me enough to share it with my visitors. Below is a list of the artists which I featured during October 2012. I am showcasing different pieces from their gallery in the hope of showing them a bit more love. If you would like to see the original piece I featured of each of these artists, please visit this folder.}

*Sprits




`Arichy




*xxida




~BadLuckKitty




*GabeRose

:thumb308338731:


*im-Rem




~EternalxRequiem




~KikiMJ




=SamusFairchild




`justMANGO

Here, and everywhere"And when you leave us," you ask me, "where will we go to find you?"

When I'm gone, I will come back to you in a myriad of things. From my flesh there will be grass, from my bones there will be trees. I will be there in the earth, in the sunshine, in the sea. Countless grains of me will tango with the snowflakes in the wind, mingling with your hair, caressing your skin. The butterfly that grazed your fingertip, that is where I will be. The deer that escaped from the corner of your vision, that too was me. I will be at the edge of the sky and at the corners of the earth. Look, and you will find me here, there, and everywhere.

"But we call ou


~cakejar




~Lolanova




*cantieuhy




*Karen-Toon




`admx




*PaperCutIllustration




=DJCoulz




*AEmiliusResurrection




*mandiemanzano




=alais-photography




*EVentrue




~johnnyism




*Chuchy5




`daekazu

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Spotlight Interview

_{In this series, I hope to introduce the community to some artists who have been around dA for a while, but are still relativity unknown. The interviews are meant to be short and sweet. I encourage you to check out the artist's full gallery and add them to your devWatch.}

-- This issue, we talk to digital artist, *Niraven

Could you introduce yourself and tell us a little about yourself and your dA life? (You can use this question to plug any groups or off-dA projects you may have.)

I'm *Niraven, aka Tawny to some. I'm a self-taught artist and joined dA 5 years ago. I'm not actively involved in any major clubs or so, but over the years I've built up a nice little network here and visit almost everyday.


What would you say your main artform is? Secondary?

I'd say my main artform is actually traditional, and my second is digital coloring/painting. I'd call traditional my first because, unknown to many, I actually draw out all my linework by hand and scan it before I color an artwork digitally. As vibrant as the digital artwork is, and even though it's the main featured art form in my gallery, you will find 400x more traditional artwork around my actual workplace.


When did you start pursuing your art? What prompted you to?

Art's been a part of my life ever since I was born, and it was something that was recognized, encouraged, and thus pursued from a young age in one form or another. I actually come from a line of traditional painters on both sides of my family. Though there was no pressure to actually pursue art, it's always been a passion of mine. I started working with digital art around 8 years ago and started taking commissions regularly about 4 years ago. Telling me to live a life without creating artwork is like telling me not to breathe.


What is your favorite piece in your gallery at the moment?


This is actually also one of my newest artworks, too. I spent more time on this than any artwork to date and really wanted to bring it to life.


In general, what is your favorite thing to create (i.e. fan-art, poetry, etc) ?

Fan art is fun, but my favorite is depicting darker characters and concepts-- whether they're original, fan-made, etc. I like the edginess and it reflects my personality and many of my passions as well.


Just for fun question: What is your favorite movie?

Now that's a tough question. If I had to pick one, I'd actually have to pick a handful. My favorites include Wall-E, The Lord of the Rings trilogy, James Cameron's Avatar, Shaun of the Dead, The Addams Family, and The World's Fastest Indian.


Time to spread the love. Who are 3 artists you feel could use more love? Tell us why you love them. (please select one piece from each of the artist's gallery and send me the thumb)


~Ikaruga-Riku (alt. account ~Purgatory-Maren) is an incredibly talented traditional artist I met years ago on a games forum, who became one of my best friends. He mainly does ATC- Artist Trading Card commissions (the originals of which are sent to commissionees), and could use a lot more love. Seeing how fine his detail work is and how much he brings characters to life in person is amazing.


~Ideya-Freak is another close friend I met via a games forum originally. I've watched her grow and her art improve so much over the years we've known each other. She's also predominantly a traditional artist who uses colored pencils. Her blending is absolutely incredible.


Another deviant who has become a dear friend of mine. I've watched =EsaKris go from basic traditional work to very clean and professional digital work in just a couple years. She could always use more recognition.


Final words?
Yes. Go give my friends' pages a look and give them some love and commissions.


Some of my picks from :devniraven's gallery:

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Themed Feature

_{A friend and I were talking about designing original characters and the fact that there are only so many hair colors, eye colors, and general appearance traits, that most characters are going to resemble another character somewhere. The character we were specifically discussing has black wavy hair. So, with that on my mind, that's the theme of this weeks search feature.}

:thumb305053177:

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Special Feature

_{We're just past the half-way point of NaNoEmo, the emoticon community's November make-a-lot-of-emotes event. You can find out more information through the group gallery at #NaNoEmo. Here is a collection of some of the emotes which have been created since the start of the event:}

:thumb335712119:

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Spam

_{This section will be used to promote special events and such around dA that are close to my heart, as well as requested pimpage.}

*Maygirl96 is hosting a contest. Draw her OC, along with a DC hero, plus your OC. It's a fun challenge and you can win some neat prizes. See this journal for more details ---> [link]

This week on my `mirz-alt I launched a new series called "Literary Compass".  It showcases novels and fiction serials with a dA base. Be sure to check it out. Also, I am currently looking for works to feature, so if you have a work of your own, or would like to recommend someone, please drop me a line. [link]

Ninaste is having a holiday portrait sale. Normally $25, you can now get one for $15.  For more information and to order, check out this journal ---> [link]

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Credits

<sub>A nod to the following people and resources which make this article possible:
Logo graphic by `admx
Section bullets courtesy of Fatcow Hosting
CSS Skin by =Drake1
Custom journal coding and layout by `Ravenswd

Disclaimer: These features are done in the spirit of promoting the art of fellow deviants. Due to time restraints and the volume of art I feature, I cannot specifically ask permission of each artist before featuring. If I have showcased you or one of your pieces and you would prefer I not, please note me and I will be happy to remove it.</sub>