_{Hello and welcome to this Edition of the Anthro Gallery's Artist Spotlight! Members of the community were asked to nominate a contributing artist of the Anthro Gallery, that has demonstrated an Example of Excellence in their participation, art standard, contribution, effort, creativity, and presence here within deviantART's Anthro Community.}



And without further adieu, Allow me to introduce:

=Pixel-Spotlight

_{=Pixel-Spotlight Has been a huge community supporter for over 5 years now, helping bring out the best treasures in the Anthro Gallery to our attention, and launching her fun "Song Search" features. She has also been a great help with community projects such as *anthrochallenge and discussing new ideas for the future of Anthro on DeviantART. I don't think our gallery would be the same without her wonderful contributions! She also has a very interesting Photography gallery at =Poppet-Pictures
^Katmomma}

Interview with Pixel-Spotlight

How long have you been drawing? Do you possess any formal artistic training? (College, through work, etc. if applicable.)
I’ve been drawing since I was tiny – I can remember having competitions with my granny, an established watercolour artist, to see who could paint something the best. Somehow, I always won…
That must’ve been when I was about three and I’ve been ‘arting’ ever since!

Why do you work in Anthro art? What about this genre do you appreciate the most?
Anthro is awesome; with it you have the possibilities to work in so many styles and create such unique and original designs and characters. I guess there’s also a little about escaping from reality involved in anthro (and who doesn’t love to do that?!), but what I really adore about creating anthro art is the absolute freedom you have. I adore browsing anthro art on dA and marvelling at all of the creative things we have to offer.


What got you into the Anthro community here on dA? How long ago? Why are you still here?
Furcadia really got me involved in anthro and then it was a natural progression into drawing my, and friend’s, characters and uploading them onto dA.
When I first found anthro on dA, it was a subcat in a subcat! So that’s long ago! 2003, to be exact!
Why am I still here? You guys couldn’t cope without me!
Nah, I’m kidding! I absolutely love it, that’s why I’m still here! I really enjoy being a part of the community, and helping it to constantly advance and improve. There’s such a thrill to doing little things like suggesting DDs or featuring people and seeing how pleased they are. I do this for other categories as well, but anthro is where my heart is…
(Yes, I’m soppy. Bite me. )

What is your source of inspiration? A special person or event in your life? Do tell!
This is a tricky one! For inspiration, I love browsing any and all art on dA. I have collections in my favourites for Inspiration and for all kinds of things! Whenever I feel I need a little help with ideas or to look at something to cheer me up then I just browse dA.
People wise, ~rei-jin and =felicefawn are both really great friends of mine, both of whom I met via Furcadia – together we help run a volunteer group of helpers.
~rei-jin inspires me with her anthro art and jewlery – they’re both gorgeous and I’m so excited to be rooming with her at AC this year!

=felicefawn inspires me for photography (my photography account is =Poppet-Pictures). Her style is so fresh and recognisable that I really enjoy looking at her pictures and love shooting with her.


Is there an Artist(s) here on dA that inspires you?
Oh wow, there are so many! I’ve already mentioned ~rei-jin and =felicefawn, so I’ll touch upon some of my favourite anthro artists here!
=Makime isn’t a strictly anthro artist, but her anthro art is absolutely to die for! She uses bold colours and her characters have such a fantastic sense of life and vitality, I always feel enthused and inspired when I look at her art.


*nekophoenix - I love her! She’s such a lovely, sweet, sweet person. And her art is just amazing. As soon as I first saw her art, I was utterly compelled to suggest her for a DD and, very shortly afterwards, commission her for a picture. Her art inspires me to push myself and keep improving.


~dwyII is one of the first artists I stumbled across when I first started playing Furcadia. Her expressions and poses are so fantastic, they perfectly capture whatever character she tries her hand at.


~ESG is one of those artists who makes you go ‘Wow’ with each and every piece in their gallery. Her pencil pieces are absolutely stunning – I’ve never known anyone able to squeeze that much detail into a picture, but still keep them looking perfect and uncluttered!


I totally realise I’m gushing at this point, but it’s so much easier to talk about other artists but this is the last one, promise!
=kina, I love love love! Her characters are so cute and adorable!
Also, I have a thing about sketches. And I’ve never seen anyone do sketches like hers – they’re so delicate and refined, I’m always amazed!



Do you have some original characters developed? Do they have a story? Tell us about them! What makes them Unique?
Oh man!
I have my Rg. Well, Rg. She’s pretty much the craziest character you could ever run across… Her name is short for Rgttvbyghn, which is just a bunch of random letters, and she’s generally referred to as the ‘erpetual Goof’. She’s a mixture of a feline, kinkajou and deer – with the most unnatural and unreal colour scheme that you’ll ever find.
If you want to find out more about her, just ask me or check my collection here: [link]


What media do you most enjoy? Least enjoy?
I feel a little like a black sheep when I answer photography, but I really do love it. So I’ll pretend you asked what I enjoy most to create my anthro art.
Which would be watercolours with black biro over the top!
I’ve got an old piece that I did in this style in my gallery, but I’m not going to link it because it’s so old and awful!
And another that I’ve been working on for a couple of months (I’m a very slow worker! ).
I also adore watercolours – something passed on to me by my granny, I’m sure.
Is probably my favourite piece of watercolours in my gallery!
Now you’ve got me thinking about it, I do adore digital art – photoshop is my baby.
Is my favourite of my digital pieces but, please, for the love of god, full view because we all know how PNG thumbnails look…

Do you have a method to your madness? LOL I mean—what sort of techniques/ principals/ Elements of Art and Design do you apply into your work, during concept and early development of a piece?
I’ll pretend I understood that question, while cleverly distracting people by posting another one of my favourite anthro images on dA…

I’m just kidding, although that piece is awesome so, please, do check it out!
I study History of Art, so I do know a lot about composition and ‘the mathematics of art’, and include them in my photography but not really in my other art…
I guess it comes to me naturally with my photography but I’m often too lazy/excited to think about it before rushing into drawing a picture.


Favorite Forms/figures/ subjects to draw?
Tricky! I guess I prefer drawing women/females; men are harder to get right!
I love drawing faces, and I’m constantly doodling them everywhere!


Please share with us your favorite piece from your gallery. Explain why it is so special to you.
Oh man. I hate doing this – I hate all my art!

Was a huge turning point for me in my art (well, kind of). I feel bad that it’s my favourite, because I didn’t draw the line art but I spend days and days and days on that sucker!


Please share your favorite piece from another Anthro Artist here on dA and tell us what you like most about it.
This I can do – this I love doing!
It’s a toss up between and - which happen to be some of the first DDs I ever suggested!
I love ~Mouzly’s piece, I know these guys and it’s such a tender moment between them, beautifully illustrated by a very talented artist.
~mayu has always been a fantastic illustrator and, while she was a little stunned with the knowledge of the ‘babyfur fandom’ that the DD brought to this image, I think that this image is just too adorable!

How (if at all) has being on deviantART changed you as an artist and as a person.
It’s given me much greater respect for all kinds of art. It’s also enabled me to evolve as an artist – dA’s tutorials are so fantastic and I love how they’re available to everyone; I’ve recommended lots to real life friends!
I think that dA has also taught me to critique and (to some extent!) accept criticism. I hope that it’s made me a better and more understanding person – it’s definitely made me more tolerant of other people’s opinions.

How do you hope to see the gallery grow and do you have any specific suggestions to meet those standards?
Oh man! Far too much to write!
I think that the direction the anthro gallery is taking at the moment is fantastic, and that ^Katmomma and ^savagebinn are doing a fantastic job. I’m constantly bugging both of them with suggestions and ideas about what I think might be good for our anthro community and try to support people who’re unsure about any changes.

Any advice you would like to offer to our aspiring artists out there?
Don’t be put off by the amazing artists here.
I know that it can be discouraging to compare yourself to someone who you really respect and admire, but don’t let it get you down.
Utilise dA – you have access to some of the most inspiring art in the world, so take advantage of it and be inspired! Also, you have something that the large majority of artists don’t – you can chat to these artists easily and freely and ask them questions or for tips. You might love Michelangelo’s work, but you can’t do that now, can you?


Last question: CAKE OR PIE???
I’ve been thinking about this the whole time I was filling in my other answers.
The only conclusion I’ve come to is that I’m hungry!
I’m not a fan of savoury pies – I have a huge sweet tooth! I also don’t eat chocolate cake… Unless its got a ridiculous amount of icing on it. I just don’t like it – same way I don’t like chocolate ice cream!
So, I’ve rambled all the way through this interview – I’m sorry, but thanks to anyone who actually took the time to read it…
I guess the answer is both?...


-----------------------------------------------------
_{Stay tuned for the next interview}