For Staff Appreciation Day (Oct. 16th) I've done a serious of Interviews that will be posted through-out the week. I hope you all enjoy!

Interview with ^cooley

1. How did you come up with your deviantART nickname?

It is my last name, I thought it wise to post art under my name since I'm always trying to build a stronger portfolio.

2. What is your role on deviantART and what do you enjoy most about it?

Initially my role was nothing more than an artist, posting art and commenting on others' art. Now that I am a gallery director, the scope of my responsibilities has grown exponentially. I am now in charge of the anthro gallery (with my partner ^skifi). This means I post anthro-related Daily Deviation Awards, write a newsletter ever two weeks, scan the gallery for mis-categorizations, as well as assist with community events and cater to the anthro gallery members.

My favorite part of this role is probably the networking I have accomplished through it. This position is good for my resume, my reputation, and it's a good way to acquire excellent networking skills as required in my career in photojournalism. I thank all of those who have networked with me through this site, you have made my job much more enjoyable. I've met a lot of interesting people and am glad to contribute to this online society.

3. What drew you to dA in the first place?

Back when I attended Digipen Institute of Technology, all of my friends were talking about "some site called DeviantART." The name was a turn-off to me and I did not join for some time. Finally my close friend ~Fugiri-Shi talked me into getting an account. I left the account inactive for two years but now I'm back!

4. If you had to switch rolls with anyone on deviantART, who would it be and why?

Well, I'm pleased with my role as anthro gallery director. Unless there's a paid opening somewhere which would allow me to expand my network and vastly improve the community, I am happy with the baby-steps I take as a gallery director.

5. Out of all dA’s achievements, which do you feel is the most important?

That is difficult to say, for a long time I was an inactive member and not around for all of the exciting changes that obviously took place. I suppose the "right" answer would be "the addition of an anthro gallery," but overall I feel the site has improved in more ways than I could possibly list here. On the same note, however, I believe we still have many more improvements that could be made. This is a dynamic community with a lot to offer as well as a lot of goals and expectations to meet.

6. What is your biggest pet peeve on dA? How about outside of dA?

In a perfect world I would expect that certain members of the community should clean up their act and stop "flaming" fellow members. To me, dA is like a small country and it needs a strong "government" to keep things running as they should. Outside of dA, my pet-peeve are crazy women driving SUVs.

7. What first drew you in to your chosen art form?

My chosen art form has always been fantasy. Like most female children, I was big on unicorns and other mythical creatures. As I matured these unicorns were replaced my bigger, more exotic and elaborate creatures.

8. What do you like best about your chosen art form? Is there anything you don’t like about it?

What I love best about fantasy is that there are no limits on what I can create. One day I can draw "Bladewind" (my anthro character). On another day I could tackle the idea of what God may look like in all his glory, such as in my image "Alpha and Omega." There's nothing I don't really love about fantasy artwork.

9. What are your 3 favorite deviations and why?

Hmm, I suppose you are asking about images from my own gallery, correct? If so, my favorite images are the aforementioned "Alpha and Omega," "Catkin Commission and "Vulcan Unicorn."


In a way, I feel these images display my progress. Alpha and Omega is my biggest accomplishment to date and really spells out what art means to me - to bring glory to God.
Catkin was always a favorite of mine b/c of my love for Japanese culture. This fondness was doubled when it received a Daily Deviation award.
Vulcan Unicorn was my first die-hard attempt at a professional digital image.

10. What have you struggled with most in your chosen art form?
I have struggled a lot with the digital media in general because I'm new to it. I've only practiced it for a couple of years and I'm still learning all of the tricks that can bring my images to life. It will always be a process, but there are times in which I wish I could say "Digital media? I know all there is!" That will never happen b/c the software is continuously upgraded, which in reality is a wonderful thing.

11. What inspires you most and are there any deviations in particular that embody this inspiration?
God inspires me. I cannot say there are any images of God that really do him justice. He's God - I must dig deep or pray to find my inspiration. I thank him every day for it too. Aside from the Almighty, I also draw motivation from my watchers who are always supporting my endeavors and picking me up when I've fallen. Without them, I would likely have remained inactive on dA and have never grown as an artist.

12. What would you consider to be your perfect day?
A perfect day for me would likely involve coffee, cookies, and no anxiety tied to my work. However, I'm a workaholic and am constantly filling my time with projects. It's a bad habit - b/c until my work is complete - I'm stressed out.

13. If you had to list 3 things you think everyone should do in their lifetime, what would they be?
1.) Accept Christ as your Lord and Saviour.
2.) Help someone less fortunate than you.
3.) Remember that even when you are beaten down, overwhelmed, sad, poor or hungry - there are people out there who care about you. I might not even know you, but I care about all of you b/c in the same way many of you have given me hope.

14. As a child, what did you want to be when you grew up and how does it relate to what you’re doing now?
I wanted to be a paleontologist. I spent much of my time in my neighbor's driveway, picking out coral fossils. I also spent a good amount of time drawing dinosaurs and reading books about them. As of now, I am a photojournalist and thus do not study paleontology. However, I do commit myself to archaeological projects each summer because of the wealth of artifacts in the surrounding area. If I lived somewhere where dino-digs were common, I'd spend my free-time helping out with those projects too.

15. Describe yourself in 5 words or less.
In no particular order:
1.) Intelligent
2.) Passionate
3.) Christian
4.) Friendly
5.) Professional