Well, here it is...DA's 7th birthday. Heck, it's old enough to learn to ride a big boy bike at this point. And I just had to do something special for the occasion...But what...

I guess a little introduction is in order first. I'm SlyDante, & I whip up a little batch of features each week for everyone's amusement. And last year, I decided to celebrate DA's birthday by celebrating the best of the best...ten true favorites, what I considered to be the true creme de la creme of what this site has to offer, the pieces that deserve honorary DDs & whatnot. And I thought I'd do the same this year...

...But that would've been boring. I mean, my Mini-DDs have sort of evolved a little bit in the last year...& now I wanted to do something more grand. So I came to the conclusion that aside from featuring what I consider to be the best, I should ask DA's "VIPs" (staff members, former staff members, top-notch artists, etc.) what they considered to be some of their top favorites. After all, it's always interesting to see what some of the best consider to be the best...

And what do you know, some of them replied! So I put the whole mess together with my picks & then the picks of the top Deviants (one chosen per each) , then created a little something that I really hope does DA's big day justice.

Now as usual, there's a little something it for everyone featured as well. All the featured artists walk away from here with the Platinum Fefcaine Award:



...My personal symbol of kick-ass artwork that I hand out on special occasions. Prestigious, prisitne, & a true honor from me...Plus, it has a dark chocolate center! And because of the special day, I've thrown in sprinkles as well!!

As for those who suggested any amazing Deviations to me, well, they only get this baby:



The Golden Jark Award. Not just a symbol of some truly great taste in art, but also a symbol of someone who has loads of community spirit. And this one contains white chocolate! And for today only, nougat & crumbled-up cookie bits!

Alright, so seeing as how my fingers are aching even as I type this, what say we just get on with the show already? Enjoy the uber-fine Deviations, dammit...They've earned all the attention they can get!



GAMEZIN by *DjBisparulz
Well, in case you haven't figured it out from any of the other times I've featured his stuff, I easily consider Bispa to be one of the best artists here at DA, with a gallery chock full, of innovative, creative, colorful, & psychedlic pieces of work such as this. A throwback to the days of old-school 2D gaming maps that was just so good, they had to put it on a t-shirt (Which so f***ing needs to be reprinted..[link]).



Fireside Leigh by *JayAxer
This is the most recent deviation featured here, only just over a week old...But it's just so damn amazing that it couldn't be ignored. Jay outdid himself here, creating what may very well be an Anthro classic, drawn amazingly well with a sweet character design & loaded with an astounding amount of detail. Truly one mind-blowing piece of work...



Hollow Jacks by *JohnSu
Based on what I've seen in his work, I can easily say that JohnSu has to be one of the most original anime artists I've seen here at DA. Cas in point: Hollow Jacks. The amount of work he put into this character is astounding, & the end result is just so damn eye-popping & creative...Truly one of best pieces of anime art DA has. Ever.



The Color of Ree. by =Endling
Speaking of creative characters, Endling's latest creation - Ree - Is truly one damn fun sight to behold. Endling's always been known for an amazing mixture of original & mind-f***ingly well-drawn dharacters & comics, but a sweet little video game fanatic who summons chaotic demons to do her work? Classic. Just classic.



Megalomaniac - Digital by *Gatobob-Spotty
Wow...I just don't know what to say here. Gato's stuff is always damn amazing, but there's just too much to take in...Great concept, cool character, chaotic & twisted feel, sweet colors, very original, nicely creepy yet cartoonish, very stylish, &...Well, it's just plain awesome overall. What more do you need to know?



Fatherhood by ~satougaki
satou's always been the source of several amazing & creative fantasy works, & this has to be one of the best she's come up with. It's packed with a sweet amount of color & amazingly detailed, the concept behind it all is truly innovative, & it's just so fun to look at that - ironically - It practically makes me want to have kids.



Happy Birthday 22 Love by ~san-renard
san-renard & ally...Easily the best damn couple here at DA. And every pic san does of them is a complete beauty, largely because he fills everything he does to the brim with love, wrapped up in an attractive passage with a wicked, cartoonish style. Truly one of the sweetest deviations I've seen here...



Noodle Soup by =wirestyle
...Simply put, this is one of the best f***ing pieces of vector art I've seen in all of DA. Oh God, I don't even know where to begin...The originality, the colors, the fun little designs, the smooth style, the genral funkiness of it all...In fact, I am honestly kicking myself for not having purchased a print of this beauty before it went into scraps (Stupid!).



escape by ~porkbun
Alice In Wonderland has always been the source of many great pieces of work here at DA, & this is no exception. Crammed with amazing drawings of all your favorite characters, a sweet style, gobs of detail, & a perfectly chaotic feel to it all, this something every Alice fan (or anyone in general) should have in their Favourites gallery.



Going down? by *ketchup-suicide
ketchup-suicide has to be one of the best macabre artists I've seen here on DA, creating twisted & eye-popping works such as this with an amazing style, mounds of detail, & just pinch of a cartoonish twist that helps make it even more appealing. Gloomy, but oh so cool to look at...



Demon of Rock by ~Lysol-Jones, suggested by `delya
The mere fact that just looking at this baby automatically triggers a guitar riff in my head is enough to make me label this a winner. Oh, & the fact that it's an amazing & fun cartoon that looks extremely wicked thanks to Lysol's eye-popping style certainly doesn't hurt either...



Trouble by *vixelyn, suggested by $Moonbeam13
Well, what can I say? Well-done drawings of cute anime girls have always been a staple here at DA. And this just goes past well-done & straight to damn fine, with a nice style, a cool color scheme, & a playful yet mischievous feeling to it all. I've said it before, & I'll say it again: If you don't like something this fun, then you have no soul.



Murdok by ~xXTwistedErebusXx (now known as ~MidnightCity), suggested by *seel-dingo
Murdok is actually the piece here with the least amount of faves...But if there was any justice, everything in Erebus' gallery would get faved 24/7. With an amazing style & some innovative concepts & character designs, how the heck can you not love something like this?



Damien's Kiss by =cypherx, suggested by `mangapunksai
Wow...Drawn so realistically & amazingly well...A nice "yin-yang" style contrast...done with a nice concept...perfectly colored & detailed...& oh man, it is just so damn sweet. cypher, I insist you take a bow for having created something so beautiful...



Bog Unicorn by *ursulav, suggested by ^guruubii
ursulav is just an amazing fantasy artist, having come up with so countless innovative & fun creations such as the above. The amount of work put into both the concept & execution of this beauty is just plain staggering...Like something you would actually find in a full-fledged, big-budget fantasy epic. At least, it deserves to be in something like that...



OH FUCK NOT ANOTHER BOX by *phishy, suggested by $hexentanz
...I honestly don't think I have to say much about this one. Whether you consider it a commentary on life, a look at the reactions of a few Lost fans, or whether it's just a bunch of scribbles, there's just no ignoring the fact that it's damn f***ing funny. What more can you ask for?



Too small... by ^skifi, suggested by ^skifi
I guess I probably should've told skifi that I wasn't expecting anyone to suggest their own stuff... But I definitely couldn't ignore this gem, as it easily shows off the combined force that is skifi & seel-dingo, two great anthro artists who just happen to make some of the best collaborations this site has. Bravo to the both of them, dammit!



crazy heirglyph 1 by ~blacksheepwall, suggested by ^jgfeller
Now, I'm not much of a photography fan, but (for the most part), I do know what makes for great art. And a beautiful, emotional, stunning photo with a great concept & an eye-popping use of silhouettes? Yeah, I'm pretty sure that all adds up to one great piece of art...



jessica in wonderland by *bri-chan, ^misskittyoooo
Have I mentioned that Alice-inspired artwork has always led to some amazing works of art? This may be a simple piece of fan art to some, yet it's just so brilliant, funny, & amazingly drawn...Like a little piece of some amazingly cosplay. Truly something to at least take a peek at...



Zaccharia "DIVORCE" by ~Never-effects, suggested by $chix0r
...Okay, now this does indeed make for one wicked album cover. Brilliantly designed, nicely detailed, a little chaotic, & a tad creepy yet certainly damn eye-catching. Can't say I know much about Zaccharia, but I do know they have a work of beauty to display on at least one of their albums...



Ninja of Nine by *silverbobcat, suggested by ^cooley
I think I may be running out of ways to say "This drawing kicks ass"...But that's okay here, because silverbobcat's eye-popping deviation easily speaks for itself. Cool character, great style, & some nicely detailed down to the lighting effects...Definitely one you need to fave (though I don't really need to tell you that here either).



Beast Controller by ~maxarkes, suggested by ^GH-MoNGo
Mmmm...Now this is just delicious. Amazingly drawn, Perfectly colored, & finely detailed right down to the beast's tiny yellow eye which perfectly works with everything else to create one awe-inspiring deviation...Just simply fantastic, dammit.



prometheus. by =GunnerRomantic, suggested by =Endling
Okay, now this is easily a winner both as an astounding piece of fantasy art & an innovative ode to the mythological Greek god. Everything here - The character, the style, the colors, the pose, the concept - Just oozes excellence all over. Truly a beauty that you can't afford to miss out on...



Raven Lord by *Goldenwolf, suggested by `Aeires
Okay, having gone through over twenty features here already, which has been a lot of fun work, I'll just end it all by saying all you need to know about this amazing piece of anthro work: It's superbly drawn & jaw-droppingly awesome. Nothing else needs to be said, dammit.


...& that's all she wrote! I really hope you liked the whole shebang, & that you saw some art you truly liked...This was some of the best DA has to offer, & one again, hopefully my features did the DA Fella justice. Anyhow, if you want to see an archive of all my Mini-DDs (at least the ones in the News), just check out the latest edition & scroll to the bottom. So that's everything, & in closing, I hope everyone reading this had a good time, that you had a good day in general, &...Oh yeah..

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, DEVIANTART!!!

(Now how the f*** am I gonna top this next year??