We all know what a deviant's most popular works are: All it takes is a single click of the mouse button and we can find out which of their pieces are the most commented upon, most viewed, most liked by the dA community. But while it's an accurate representation of their audience's taste, do they happen to reflect the artists' own?

We all have our pet deviations: the ones we labour on night after night, the one we pour heart and soul; blood, sweat and tears into; the ones we look at and say, "This is what I'm proudest of." It may be a simple portrait of a person we most admire, a technique we finally got right, or just simply a picture that gives us a personal sense of satisfaction.

Sometimes these pictures happen to reflect the collective taste of their viewers, friends and watchers; all too often however, these pieces become overshadowed by other, perhaps grander, works in these deviants' collections, and are left, forgotten, in dark corners of their galleries.

Collected here is the second volume of submissions from deviants who responded to the call for entries, showing us their top three personal favourites from their own galleries and explaining why they're so attached to them. Please read, view and enjoy this celebration of personal accomplishment:

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=ShrunkenJedi writes:

This, because I really like the way the foreshortening and stylization came out, and the way I got his hair to hang and everything. It's something about the tension between 'cute' proportions and the rest of him which is so not cute...

This, because I spent *ages* and iterations on this and its variations, and it was one of the first times I'd applied some color theory things I'd been reading about. And it's a pretty personal one...

And this one for a few reasons. It's based on one of my favorite books that no one ever knows. I paid a lot of attention to line-work and shading, and managed to draw a hand that was half decent. And I really like the color scheme I got out of it-- instead of a lot of my work, it actually has something of a background, not to mention the silhouette back there, which was a lot of fun.

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*Ta-DuClau writes:

I consider this to be my best landscape. My favorite part is the water as it washes upon the shore. It just...happened, as if this canvas were magic and anything I put on it would look fantastic. I had so much fun painting this, that's probably why it is one of my favorites.

This was an experimental piece to see if I could capture something I saw in a dream. It was to prove to myself that i can actually do something original and not be dependent upon references.

look! I painted a ship!
And it turned out fantastic!

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~tanabatablossom writes:

I didn't work on that one the longest, but of all my pencil drawings, it's probably one of the most elaborate ones (after Tiffany). It's special to me because I finally tried to step out of my comfort zone and create an original character instead of copying blindly from a photograph. So that one definitely means the most to me. Not to mention I just love the colors. I'm most proud of that achievement.

I don't think a lot of people see this, since most of my watchers are very conservative and purely into celebrities or fan art. It can't be found unless you're a "perv" an actually looking for drawings such as this one.

Of all my graphite drawings, that one took the most time to do. Quite a few weeks actually. I was so amaze at the outcome of it, that it motivated me to keep drawing. It was terribly complex for me at first, but since it's my husband's favorite character, I wanted to draw something for him as a surprise. And surprised he was. That one is also my most favorite drawing here on dA. Go figure!

For obvious reasons, it's my favorite because I stepped out of my comfort zone again in two areas #1 being creativity #2 digital painting. I had the most freeing experience while painting this one.

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~tankgirly writes:

My favourite pieces ( in order):



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=TheMysteriousK writes:

From what I've heard and from my experience is that popularity almost never coincides with private favorites. A stamp that took half an hour to make can easily get more attention than a work that took many hours to create. I've seen with myself and others. I do think it's a waste of time to be frustrated about it though, comments might say much more than numbers, although I do appreciate the faves that I get.

I wanted to get the idea of the rather dark 19th century horse portraits you might see in stately homes and palaces ... but with a difference. Hours of work and adrenaline went into this one.

Again a lot of work. I wanted to combine a war plane with a woman in a quaint (imaginary) ethnic costume, and it turned into what I call My Own Private Casablanca. It got four faves as opposed for the 47 for my most popular work (a stamp), but I loved the comments I got.

This is my muse, so how could it not be one of my favourites. Very simple and serene, I think, but a lot of ideas came together for this one. Try painting a portrait from memory, it might be an interesting experience... Again few faves, but some comments I treasure.

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*TheSilentOne90 writes:

To be entiiiirely honest...at least one of my favorite three pieces, shown below, are rarely looked at. I know, shocking. And they're all text. Dunno why, I just prefer my writing.

I like it because the idea came fast, and the piece was easy to write. It's definitely a favorite.

Written for English class. I like it because it was an exploration into two perspectives in one piece.

I took it over Spring Break with my camera's ever-beloved Super Macro filter. It was taken in downtown Washington, DC, if I remember correctly, if not there then at Mount Vernon. And upon closer examination of the blurry background, it's definitely downtown DC.

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writes:

I'm not that much of an artist (just a beginner), but even so I feel attached to everything I make, and I wanted to show you why. It's not much, but I hope you like them, even if just a little.

This was my first try on a couples drawing. It took me days to get it right, and I almost cried when I saw how good it was. It's old and it's not perfect, but I'll always love it.

My first digitally colored pic. The original sketch was made over a year ago, and it still remains as my most favored pic, so it has a lot of sentimental value to me. This color version might be basically unknown to people, but I'll always treasure it.

The first poem I've shown to people. Not many people have read it, but those that have loved it. What they didn't know is I was thinking of killing myself that day, and was planning to leave that as my farewell note. I'm glad I changed my mind, though. I write a bit of poetry every now and again, but it's mostly in Spanish, so I never upload it here. But even though many people here in Puerto Rico like my new poetry, I'll never be able to forget this one.

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~TheVikingGoddess writes:

Making the Mandala is one of those pieces that never gets any love from anyone but me; I'm seriously still crazy about the way it came out, with the materials making a bridge from viewer to nun, as well as the repeating shapes of the containers and brushes echoing the repetition of the mandala's patterns. Rargh.

Andria gets a fair amount of attention. I love it because it was one of those "right place, right time" moments that just crystallized. It was also a night with some special memories attached, and the dreaminess of her face fit with the mood I was in. (I was young and very much in a new, shiny love. Shut up.) I also like that she looks a little unfocused: she was playing a drunk during that production.

The Joanite's Wife is just awesome, to me. I spent an obscene amount of time on it, since it was for a good friend's birthday and I take my requests VERY seriously. It was also one of those pictures that you have to hide from your parents. I'm a little ticked off by it, since I have to re-do the arm and that means re-scanning and re-cleaning and all that, but I still love it.

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*vigshane writes:

One reason for choosing this one is my LotR and Viggo fandom, and I think this is the best of my coloured pencil portraits.

If I do the same digital painting today, I would have found some reference first to make it better. But I drew the pencil sketch of it on a boring class at eveing (drawing was the only way to keep me from asleep, well, I got a D for the lesson at last... ), and when I was back from school, I decided to colour the picture. I like it because it is my original idea.

Just as the title says. No need to explain why I like this one I think, though it doesn't show my best skills, I just love the reference and every time I open my collection book, I'll kiss it.

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`wdwparksgal writes:

The first one I'm proffering is a Literature Deviation I wrote just two weeks after my son passed away. I felt I needed to express what he meant to me and to his family and friends. I put a copy in all the appreciation cards. Christopher was well known at the time in the online gaming community and was a Beta Tester for some companies.

The Second Deviation is a Wallpaper I made out of a Photograph of Cinderella's Castle at Walt Disney World. Taking the picture at night, I managed to attach the camera to a small tripod and set it on a trash can to keep it steady. Once I was getting it ready in PhotoShop to post, I noticed the smiling couple on the bottom of the picture pointing up to something. It looks like they were photoshopped in but were quite real and add magic to the picture.

The next is a sequined tree-skirt I made (parts have stuffing to look 2D). Took me three years. I actually used it a few years until new kitties were pulling the sequins off with their teeth. I repaired it the best I could and now use it way up off the floor!

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Celebrating Personal Accomplishments Vol. 1

We hope you have enjoyed the first and second volumes of Celebrating Personal Accomplishments. If you would like to share your personal favourites and your thoughts about them with the rest of the community, please write in - and be heard!