Emoticonists on dA (7)

I usually get really excited, it's a bit like finding a new street that leads to a place you've never been before - something new that has the potential to be amazing in the end. 

Ooh this is a tricky one, I'm always worried that I'll end up leaving someone out.
_{I'd say everyone if I could.}
This is in no particular order, but here goes:

Mirz123 - I think this one is for pretty obvious. I find Mirz to be a huge inspiration both community and emote wise. The 'don't give up' spirit that she has constantly poured out to newer emoticonists in particular is something that I've always wanted to be able to do, and the rate that she creates and uploads emoticons for all occasions is something I find to be really amazing, especially considering how easy it can be to get an art block in a lot of areas.

Indae - I just love how far Indie has come and how much she has improved in the time she has been an emoticonist. I remember when I first met her and she was fairly new to the community, yet now her Emoticons are extremely popular and she is a well noted name.

Twoohten - I really admire how much variety this guy has in his gallery Emote-wise. He has gone from large emotes to small emotes, stamps, pixelled backgrounds, static, animated - a mix of everything! It really shows how willing he is to experiment, and I think that's an example a lot of people would benefit from if they followed it.

LedMaiden - I can't even put into words how much I love LedMaiden's emotes. His shading style is perfect, the animation is smooth and the amount of character he squeezes into each emote just makes me crave to create more and more every time I look at his gallery. I seriously recommend looking at his gallery if you haven't done so already!

ROBlNHOOD - Though he isn't really active any more, his gallery has to be one of my favourites out there emote-wise. All of his Emotes are very nicely animated and inspiring. I remember when I first came across his gallery, all I could think was 'wow' , and that reaction only really grew with every deviation that was submitted afterwards - I just wish he would make more! 

Keep creating, keep being there for each other, keep active. It's going to be okay.

More events that have bonding and friendship as the rewards other than points and gifts. Fun trivial things, things to get people thinking and working together! Points and devWEAR are great, they're perfect for getting crowds, but what's the point in getting those crowds when the end result is mostly materialistic? A smaller crowd is okay if their heart is in it for the reasons you're doing these things in the first place - the community.

Keep the things churning out, we don't need a rota but if everyone stepped up every few weeks or ever month to do SOMETHING to help get people together and have a good time, maybe we can strengthen that connection. We just need to keep motivated and keep looking out for each other.

My first answer for this would have been parody emotes, but that seems to have died down quite a bit.  

Don't worry if not everything goes right. Sometimes you plan things and they don't work out, but don't let that discourage you. Keep stuck in with the community, see what's liked and what isn't and try and keep bonds going by working with that and seeing how you can get people involved. If there's a trend going on see if you can build that trend into something to get people inspired, if you've got some time take time out to welcome new Emoticonists and leave feedback on some work. It's something to get feedback from anyone, but when people (especially less confident Emoticonists) see that they've gotten feedback from something with a ^? It's amazing.

I liked how much you looked out for everyone, how you ran a lot of features and how you kept going even when things were difficult. I didn't like when you felt down about yourself, and doubted yourself as a volunteer.

In all complete honesty? Answering these questions. Something about it has sparked the love I have for the community off again. I'm feeling inspired, determined and excited. Thank you so much. 

I'm not new to the Emoticon community, so I'll just answer the second part.
I think a fair bit is being done to welcome new Emoticonists, from what I've seen people are welcoming each other, and a fair amount of new Emoticonists are taking notice of the Emote groups that are around. I think once again just trying to get everyone involved and encouraging people to communicated with people they don't really know is one of the ways forward. You'll make links with people who then in turn will show you those who you may not have found on your own, both new and old. 

The main reason I stopped creating Emotes I think was lack of ideas. One day I just hit a block and I've really struggled to get past that recently. I am trying my best to try and get round it, doodling ideas down and trying to put everyday events into them but it's difficult. I'll get there, though!

I get interested when I see a new emoticonist. I check out their gallery and such, but I'm always hesitant to watch them in case they are just
experimenting and end up not making any emotes past their first few. 

SparklyDest is one of my favorite emoticonists because I adore her OCs and the EMTC.,
Banjelerp is one of my favorites because she was super welcoming and I love her emotes as well as her digital paintings,
Mirz123 is my favorite because her emotes and scenes are so awesome and she's such a sweetheart,
 Web5teR is another favorite because his emotes and pixel work are just amazing. He's such an inspiration,
xxghost250xx is last but not least. I love her pixel work as well and her characters she pixels. She is another inspiration.

To remember this place was meant for creative artists to show off their work, glean lessons in emoting, and build each other up.

I think we could strengthen the connection within the community by remembering to support each other and that we're here for the art.

I want to see peoples individual works as well as project entries and the like. I'm not sure what I'd like to see less of other than miscats. XD

Have faith in your art and be kind to others. Don't be offended when someone offers you advice on how to improve and Always stand up for you artistic views in the emote community.

I have a look at his/her deviations and the profile to see what kind of person he/she is and if I like the style.

Keep the emoticonist community the warm-hearted and funny crowd of people I got to know, it's special and different from other genres of art. Develop your own emote style and create many happy emotes!

Not sure, I think it is pretty good already, way different from other types of art.

It was mainly the lack of time I had for art for a long time and after that I was interested in other types of art. I always create what I feel like creating so I might well be back in the emote business pretty soon, I never know before xD

It depends on the emoticonist. I’ll often check out their gallery and possibly watch them. If something catches my eye then I may comment or if they look like they may need some help then I’ll often point them over to #Emotication

(in no particular order)
CookiemagiK - I’m in awe of how Joel constantly pushes the boundaries of the art form and opens up the emote gallery to such a wide audience

darkmoon3636 - I love the way she packs in so much detail and emotion into so many fabulous chat emoticons

arrioch - There’s something about his style and amazingly smooth animations which never ceases to amaze me

LedMaiden - His fluency in emotions and animations impress me no end

blunaowl - Again I love how Sarah can sum up an emotion so well in so few pixels

I’d probably just offer some words of encouragement and promote the idea of supporting each other and taking time to think before jumping to conclusions and sparking off dArama that could be prevented. 

I think simply showing more support to our fellow emoticonists. This could be through writing comments to help them improve their work, offering features, suggesting DDs, entering projects, promoting contests or simply taking the time to talk to others. Simple actions such as these don’t take much to do, but can be such a boost to the community.

It would be nice to simply see more art in the gallery. We seemed to hit a slump at the end of last year where hardly any emotes (of any skill level) were being submitted. Without a steady stream of art, the comments and the features and the general communication between members seemed to die down which I feel didn’t help the community. It has since picked up a little especially with a number of awesome projects and calendar emotes, but I’d like to see the number of submissions increase further.

I can’t really say there is any style of emote I would like to see less of

I think I’m better with words of advice than words of encouragement. I know firsthand that being a GM/CV can be stressful, but it’s important for them to know that if they ever need help or advice to just reach out to the community. There are so many fantastic members out there that are able to support a GM so they shouldn’t ever think they are alone in the position. The weight of the community falling on one person’s shoulders is never a good thing.

I think the next GM needs to have good communication. The community likes to know what is going on and what can be expected so regular updates can help the whole community run smoother. Also the community is very forgiving if a GM needs time off if they know about it. But randomly disappearing without any warning can lead to dArama and negativity. Equally they must know that the emote community is a little fractured right now after a bad few months. But it’s on the mend now and with the right support and nurturing could grow back into something more amazing than it started as.

I have to say emoticon appreciation day was certainly one of the highlights of your term. It offered a chance for emoticonists from all over the site to come together and get involved as a community. It certainly boosted morale of the community and on a personal level, increased the number of emoticonists I interact with. I also know it helped spawn several close knit groups of emoticonists which are still active 8 months later.

I think it would have been nice to have a little more communication whilst you were GM. As a representative for the gallery it’s common for people inside and outside of the emote community to watch your account which makes it an ideal platform to publicise events and contests on a regular schedule. Whilst you did this well in the first few months it wavered a little at the end of 2011. Equally I would have liked to see a comment written with every DD. I know it’s not easy because I’ve been there and done that. But I think the artist not only appreciate it, but it’s also a good way to show off what our gallery is about and what you see in each piece which makes you want to feature it.

I think better promotion of contests, projects and events would help. It’s better that people hear about events 8 times than not at all

A mixture between lack of ideas, lack of support and lack of enthusiasm. On occasions I’ve been stuck in a rut where I feel I am not moving forwards or simply struggle to come up with ideas or work through problems. I think simply having someone with emote knowledge to talk to really helps. They can help bounce ideas around, outline places where you need to improve and provide you with advice when working through a problem. Equally joining one of the regular theme groups/contests can really help with both ideas and motivation. So I guess looking at this from an outside point of view, having a range of established emoticonists offering to provide comments would be handy, and better promotion and support of the groups and contests would also be a plus.

I immediately fly to their gallery and try to look at all the juicy shtuffs. Though I am guilty of the fave and run thing tough, and forgetting to watch. I am working on that though(*still has a huge list of emoticonists to watch*)!

Synfull: Because of all the things she's done for the community all these years! Features, groups, projects, etc, she's awesome!

Mirz123: She has probably been one of the most helpful emoticonists these past 2 years, making a huge impact with numerous news series, helpfulness, and much much more.

Quolia: She has brought me and a few other emoticonists together, or closer together, through her chat room. If she didn't make it, I wouldn't have met all the awesome people that I did! She is also a petty good artist too.

Indae: I have always looked up to her as an emoticonist from when I first started. I think she was one of my biggest emoticonist role models.

Krissi001 You've done so much this past year as a CV/GM! All of your events, contests etc. are always great.

Hi mom! Well my mom doesn't even know what an emote means. So, stay awesome!

Not completely sure on something specific that could happen, but maybe just things that could keep a lot of us more in touch and get to know eachother better. Because I have noticed that some emoticonist have a really hard time getting noticed in the community(kinda like me when I first joined it) while some get noticed in no time.

More of contests, projects, etc, but less of dArama!

Don't be afraid to to try/add something new to the community! Just try to keep it interesting to encourage creativity.