Previous sections of this article:
Part I
Part II

Here in Part III, the final section of this article, I'll take us on a walk through of a typical selection process when I'm deciding what to feature for a Daily Deviation.

Of course there are times when I come across a piece of art myself or by suggestion note that just screams out to me, "Oh yeah, this has GOT to be a DD!" But more of the time, I'm out there browsing the gallery, checking out journal and news features, 'ing, and collecting art like every other deviant. Then when I'm in my "GM Mode," I go back and consider some of the factors I've already mentioned to decide what pieces might make good DD's at a given time.

When I'm actively looking for works to feature for a DD, I usually start with my two prime sources: my own 's collections amassed through all of my browsing, and my file of DD suggestion notes.

So today, I'm going to select and schedule my next few Daily Deviations. I start by taking a look at my Daily Deviations I Have Featured collection, and I notice that my four most recent features were all monochrome works. I think it's time for more color! I go to my 's. And immediately I see the 3 beautiful figure nudes I found and 'd in the last couple of days - all in black and white. Alrighty, those will have to wait till later! They 're not going anywhere, they won't "miss out" on being featured, but it might be next week or next month instead of right at this moment.

I keep scrolling down the page and see a fine color piece. And drat it, I immediately recognize the artist's name as someone I just gave a DD to for another piece recently. No surprise, if I loved one of their works, I may well have loved several! But I had to pick only one to feature for a DD, and thus the rest of their gallery isn't eligible at this time.

Continuing. I find another likely candidate. I click on the deviant's info and see that they have five prior DD's and the most recent one was 6 months ago. Grrr... Ok, maybe... again I would prefer to feature someone who hasn't been featured quite so many times. But the deviation is deserving, eligible, and at some point I still may feature this piece. It may or may not be right now, depending upon what other candidates I find on this particular search.

I'm not seeing a real standout choice in my collections for the moment, so let's take a look at deviations that have been suggested to me for a DD lately. I open up my notes folders, clicking open tabs for any likely looking suggestions. Then I start checking recent DD's by the artist of each piece I'm considering.

The first one is an artist whose work I hadn't seen myself before. But, it turns out that the deviant received a DD for a Fetish piece only 3 weeks ago. Darn. The second deviant I look at a suggestion for was featured for a Glamour piece two months ago. Double darn! This actually happens fairly often. It's good art, and it's being sought and found and featured by more people than just me. I file both of these suggestion notes in the "maybe to feature later" folder. They're great pieces, and despite my cheerful mock-curses, I'm actually quite happy that these artists received a well-deserved feature. But I'm also still on the hunt for a good AN DD for today!

The next suggestion that catches my eye turns out to be a piece by one of dA's most popular artists. It makes sense that certain deviants will get suggested a lot. They're already really popular, so lots of people see their work, like it, and suggest it. But again, what is the purpose or the fairness of giving DD's to the same artists over and over again? Some of the most popular artists on dA have even said that they don't want to receive another DD. It doesn't mean a lot to them anymore, and they themselves would rather see someone else featured. I'm going to bypass this one and probably not feature it.

Back to my search, yet one more note for a really excellent DD suggestion turns out to be an image from the very same series that the deviant was featured for a year ago - same model, same set, another pose. Argh! The issue isn't the time frame - it's that I really don't want to feature another piece so similar to what that artist already received a DD for.

In this case though, since even though I'm setting aside that particular deviation, I see nothing preventing the artist him/herself from receiving a DD right now, I take a closer look into the gallery. And lo and behold, I find another excellent deviation that is a beautiful full color nude and will make a great DD. I've lost the element of featuring "by community suggestion" in this case, but there will be plenty of other suggestions I can feature. And, I'll still mention in the DD description the deviant whose suggestion led me to this gallery, even though I ended up featuring a different deviation.

The process continues, and finally after looking through my own collections and a list of notes, I have found several eligible deviations with nice varying qualities that will be my next few Daily Deviations. At this point I go about entering these into the admin DD planner - assigning each DD to its own date, and writing up the DD description or copying in the description given by the suggester. I can tell that most people suggesting for a DD put some time into writing their descriptions, and I do the same, making a real effort to give an idea of what makes the work stand out to me.

Now that my next few Daily Deviations are chosen and logged, I have the pleasure of watching each day as each piece appears on the front page. Once it's featured, I add it in turn to my "Daily Deviations I Have Featured" collection. And I usually check back at least a time or two during the day to see if the piece is getting comments and 's, and see if there are any dramas developing, or inappropriate comments that need to be reported.

When I see something like this, along with reporting severe cases myself, I usually drop a note of support to the deviant, and make sure they know how to use the reporting system too. Thankfully (in spite of the sometime frequency that we hear about "DD dArama"), these situations really are the exception. It's much more usual, and makes me very happy, to see the featured deviant receiving numerous positive comments, thoughtful critiques, and congratulations for their feature throughout their "DD Day."

So, with all this said, I hope a few of the "mysteries" of Daily Deviations might now be a little clearer. First, these are some of the reasons why I don't feature a DD every day. Second, these are some of the reasons why there are some excellent artworks that I can't or won't give a DD to. And third, these are some examples of how much time and consideration really does go into selecting a Daily Deviation feature. It's a privilege and a responsibility, and something that I (and I think it's safe to say my fellow GM's) do respect as well as enjoy!
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A recap of my Daily Deviation Suggestion Guidelines for Artistic Nudes:

**The deviation does not have to be submitted to the AN gallery, but still must meet the criteria of the Photography -> People & Portraits -> Artistic Nude gallery.
**I prefer to feature deviants who have not received a large number of DD features already, but this is a preference not an absolute.
**The deviant may not have received a DD in the last 90 days. How to check any deviant's past DD's
**Please send a note with "DD Suggestion" in the subject line.
**Please include the thumbnail, not just the link to the deviation, in your note.
FAQ #511: How do I post thumbnails of my art on the Chat Network or Forums?
**Please include a short description of why you feel the piece should be a DD. If you would not like to be named as the suggester, or have your description used if the piece is featured, please let me know that with your suggestion!
**Please send your suggestion to only one Gallery Moderator.
**I will not respond to every suggestion note, although I keep every suggestion note that I receive.

Suggesting DD's for Dummies
FAQ #61: What is a Daily Deviation?
FAQ #18: Who selects the Daily Deviation and how is it chosen?
FAQ #873: What do I do when I disapprove of a Daily Deviation feature?