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To read the introduction to this series, please re-direct yourself to this article.

This issue’s letter is:

C

The deviant that is being featured and interviewed today is:


ClefairyKid

Firstly, could you give us a brief introduction of yourself?

Well, I am an Australian deviant who's been around the site for a few years now, but this is my first active account, you know posting art and spreading rainbows and such, before I was just an art appreciator really I'm a bit of a gamer, dancer and artist all at once I give pretty much all art types a go, photography, digital, traditional, pixel, emoticon, manipulation, the lot

I've actually spent many years here without a single point, sub or DD, so take this as an example that if you make a choice to work super hard, you can make a change for yourself, I've earned all my subs and points so far, no money sent in at all, so it is possible with a lot of hard work.

That is me, with the colourful hair

What gave you the idea to register with your username?

I decided to use it because I wanted something short and easy to write, since I had decided this new account was going to be the one which I really worked hard on. I picked this name because I came up with it for the back of my year 12 school jumper, it's a mix of my real name, crossed with fairy, crossed with Pokemon, crossed with what most people think I am, even though I've grown up now

How has deviantART changed your life?

Well, it's actually kept me really motivated to improve on my art, and to just keep making it regularly. And I guess also to really give a heap of different art types a go and to be inspired by some really amazing people that I've gotten to know, like Mirz123 who inspired me to get into emotes with her own amazing dedication to the art form and her supportive comments of my work Also there is 3lda and Loonaki who are currently inspiring me to try and post more traditional artworks, since those are the kind I feel weakest with at the moment.

Aside from all that, it's something constant in my life, no matter what else is going on, drama, stress, sickness, it's always there with beautiful artworks to look at and great people to talk too

lightpurge asks: If you had the opportunity, would you work for deviantART?

Very much so, it's a dream of mine, to give back to the site in such a way and be involved in such a project and be exposed to so much art every day But I'd have to move a long way to do that, and I've never been overseas yet, so that'd be very much in the future, once I've gotten somewhere with my current career It's already so much fun to work as an art teacher, so anything art related would be brilliant.

Which gallery (or sub-gallery) holds a special place in your heart?

That would have to be the Deviant Stamps category, since anyone who's seen my gallery would note that there are an awful lot of stamps In fact, apart from manipulations, they were one of the first things I tried when I started out on this account here, and I was determined to improve and improve, and still want to Then there was that business about not allowing them to get DDs anymore, which is not currently the case, so for those reading, don't panic, but it actually inspired me though. So many people say they don't mean as much, don't have as much artistic value or just aren't of a high enough level of quality. But I've seen plenty of stamps where hours of effort has been spent on details, pixel art and animation, and it saddens me that people generalise the category as being a lost cause when they see templates without transparency being used to type out a slogan and not much more.... like I said in my stamps article that I wrote at the time, stamps are what you make them, it's not the other way around

Stamps; For Beginners and Beyond

Your "Where is the Devious Love" news article series is a hit! How did you come up with the idea?

Yeah! It surprised even me to be honest But I had the idea from being kinda....disappointed in the general feel of most news articles that hit the front page I totally agree with freedom of speech and I know that I don't have the right to tell people what they should and shouldn't write, but I really wanted to find a way to make some of the news something a little different from the constant 'whine I hate dA', 'popularity blah'  and 'i hate this deviant/art' ....I know this community can be a lot more, and there may even be a place for those articles, but there was just no positivity really. So I had the idea for Devious Love, where deviants can send in a kind word about some one, like what they did that went well, someone who's nice or generous etc, and kind of give them a public shout out That way, it wasn't just me harping on in the corner to 'be happy!', it's the community itself, being positive and in the process making each other happy, all by itself, which is what I want it to do There was a bit of drama at the start with haters hating the article because they mistakenly believed it was an article supporting the site or it's admins, but as I continue to say, it's about the people, the site itself is whole other issue And I'm no evil admin, I'm just a regular deviant like the rest, trying to make a change instead of complaining about it

Speaking of which, if you have any love to send, send some now! The community could really use a boost

Where is the Devious Love? Volume III

What do you think about the deviantART community in general?

I think it's quite a remarkable thing, that so many interesting and diverse people have come together and support each other in such ways as they do, stock art, comments, critiques etc, But I feel that at the moment, things can be a little...well...I don't know the word, exasperating maybe? I can't stand the points for pageviews thing, it has nothing to do with art, and makes not having points seem like this huge tragedy when it doesn't affect your ability to post art or appreciate art, when that is what we are here to do. It's just a bunch of dramas that sweep through the community, and that are always distracting from the main point of why we are all here, that kind of worry me a little. It's ok for there to be a little gossip etc, it's a natural thing in a community, but sometimes I think people almost forget this is not just a social network, and that maybe when you get angry or frustrated with something, you should stop, take a break and maybe go for a walk or draw or just create something in whatever way you do It's such a wonderfully satisfying feeling when you've worked hard, finish something and hit that 'Submit' button, it makes me forget any irritating encounters I've had, in real or online life, and just gives me a moment to sit back and look at something I feel proud of.

If you were to change ONE thing about dA, what would it be?

Hmm...well...I don't think there's not any one huge thing, but there are small things I have thoughts on, the emote legend deserves it's respect and updates, but that is starting to take care of itself bit by bit, the new news article merging with journals to fav thing I don't like at all, but it's not my site after all I'd like people to be a bit nicer to each other and the site in general I think, more so than anything else. The internet is the result of what we do, not the machines or electricity or whatever else It can be full of trolls, but we could fill it with the opposite, whatever that is called

Yeah, just respect dA, it is at the end of the day, a business, it's like going to your local deli or fish and chip shop, and being rude to the person who works there, event though they serve the only hot chips in town, and have to work like crazy to serve literally several million other people. They both need to make money to live and help their employees live, but they are human and make mistakes. And I don't think it is at all possible to keep people in their millions all happy at once either The admins work hard to make the site the way you want it, but you won't get it all, or overnight either, it just can't work like that. Too many people start to think this is a country and that we have some kind of rights (beyond things like copyright I mean), but really, it's not quite like that, as nice as it would be if it did become some kind of virtual country

You appear to be a deviant with MANY talents, but, which art type is your favourite to create?

Well, there are a lot of things I like making, for a long time manipulations were my favourite thing to make, but now I find myself moving more towards digital painting and pixel art,  but I always love going back to stamps and manipulations, because I find them easy and kind of soothing to make.

Photomanipulation is obviously big in your gallery, do you think it's under-rated? If so, why do you think that is?

Yeah, I get the feeling that the art form itself is pretty unknown and under-appreciated, it's a bit like the stamps, people see it is a generalisation. There's a lot of pieces that feature too much blurring, dodge and burn tool, and in particular a lot of dark shadowy pieces, which can be nice, but all too often I feel that some are just dark because it helps to cover up edges and makes it easier to make than something you can see everything on. I also get a lot of people look at mine and ask, is that a drawing? I think there needs to be a lot more awareness, of what the artform is, how to make it, and some guidance for those getting started, more critique and learning, since so much more can be done if you choose high quality stocks, and learn how to use blend modes, layer masks and the pen tool You should almost never feel a need to rely on blur, dodge and burn. I hardly use them now. I will probably put together a big article at some point, explaining what they are, and providing features and resources. I've just been a tad busy lately, so it's getting there

I can't really end the interview without asking this; Rainbows and the colours within them, how do they make you feel?

Brilliant! I get some people who think it's some kind of sign of immaturity, I guess my love of colours combined with my 'young' look maybe gives that impression, but really, I don't see why people can't be free to love colours, colourful clothes, costumes, make up, drawings, photos, pages, lights, hair whatever! A colour is a colour and it's not offensive in it's own right, at least that's what I think We should be free to be ourselves, and I guess I am pretty colourful

Thank you for allowing me to interview you! To end the interview, would you like to promote something or inspire us with a quote?

Well, I'd like to promote a bunch of my good friends on here, SanguineEpitaph is a wonderful deviant and emoticonist, writes tutorials, gives help to deviants with questions and writes great articles, a wonderful community member Also, deviants like 3lda, Loonaki, conversekidd, Mirz123, EliseEnchanted, Drawing-Wiff-Waffles and just too many others to name here! They are all great friends and inspirations, and without them I wouldn't have improved nearly as much as I have over the past couple of years

And most of all I'd like to promote my current article series Devious Love, that was mentioned earlier in the article, we could use all the love and positivity you can muster, anyone, yes you, reading this article, can make someone's day, just by taking the time to come up with a line or two about something they do that's positive. Just send a note to ClefairyKid and show the community how great your friends and inspirations are

And as far as a thoughtful quote goes, I'm not sure, but perhaps this one because you can apply the idea to every piece of art you make;

"Don't ever settle for ordinary stamps! Make them as extraordinary as you can and just keep going!"

Hope that helps some people out, and thanks for interviewing me Now everyone gather around, there's rainbow cake for everyone!