My DeviantArt Story

For a few years, I had stumbled upon some friends' DeviantArt (dA) accounts or came across random dA works while searching online for images.  I also saw a dA booth at Anime Expo 2008.  As I learned more about the art sharing site, my interest grew and I found artwork I wanted to keep looking at, but I was still hesitant to sign up.  I didn't want to deal with another online account, and couldn't come up with a screen name.  Besides, I had no artwork to upload, and had feared that I lost my drawing abilities after not drawing for years.

As months passed, my desire to communicate with other dA members and use some of dA Members Only features, such as Favorites, grew, so I began thinking of artwork to upload.  I finally found my Chrono Trigger envelope artwork that had been featured in the Nintendo Power magazine many years ago.  On June 21, 2012, after deciding on the username, Outlire, I signed up and uploaded that image and quickly wrote my first dA Journal entry, Just Signed Up.



Right away, I began using the Favorites feature since I had already seeing many pieces of art I liked.  I also commented on them.  Through these activities, I met good artists and made some friends.

A few months later, I colored Khakipants12's Hetalia: MS Lineart, which turned out badly.  It even took hours and hurt my hand, so I decided that it would be the first and last time I ever did art on computer.


I also saw KokoroKagamineKissu's Hetalia Shipping Meme!, and how Xblkdragonx filled it out.  That gave me the idea to alter the meme to fit my needs.  Of all the files I uploaded, this one has had the most dA members who viewed, commented, and added it to Favorites though most of it is not my work.


About two weeks later, I added an old picture and drawing of my late family dog to my Gallery, and Aphin123 uploaded a poster for anti-bullying and suicide prevention with the main Hetalia characters.  Unfortunately, she announced that she was going to take that nice poster down due to mistakes, so I quickly saved it to my computer.  She really did by Spirit Day on October 19, 2012.  Since I had no artwork for that special day, I uploaded her poster and mentioned her screen name.  I was glad Aphin123 eventually reuploaded a revised version of the poster.  I like both versions, especially the message they give out.  I'm glad Aphin123's work became popular.


For my birthday in 2012, my sister-in-law made some nice drawings in my card, which I later shared in my dA Gallery.


At about the same time, I attended a Hetalia Secret Santa gathering, and my gift receiver cosplayed Finland.  After some hesitation, I got out a paper, pencils, eraser, and pen, and began drawing a chibi form of her in her Finland cosplay while referring to pictures of her and chibi Finland.  I decided to frame it and make it look like the wallpaper of a Nokia phone.  I had finally drawn something again after so many years.  As usual, my artwork turned out badly though she said she liked it.


I also decided to participate in the DeviantART Holiday Card Project 2012 and managed to poorly draw and send five holiday cards, which can be found in my DA Holiday Card Project folder.

At a Hetalia China fanpage on Facebook, the administrator decided to hold a China drawing contest for the holidays.  To my surprise, my trashy drawing of China in chibi form won first place.  Then again, there weren't many participants.


For the rest of 2012 and throughout 2013, I drew a few more Hetalia characters in chibi form as well as Hetalia mochis while referring to pictures of them.  Some of them were for gifts.  As usual, they all turned out terribly due to my unsteady hands and lack of time, money, and supplies, but it seemed as if dA and some friends' encouragements made me start drawing again.  As time passed, I realized that I had uploaded a few artwork that weren't mine, so I created a Not Mine folder for them.

For my sister-in-law's birthday in 2013, I decided to return the favor of drawing in her card.  Since she likes German shepherds, I drew her as a K9 cop in an Officer Jenny uniform.


In November, I learned how to make a donut plushie at Pacific Media Expo 2013.  I never really stitched or sewed unless necessary, but that workshop led to make more donut plushies as well as a water snake plushie for my nephew's 1st birthday.


I participated in the DeviantArt Holiday Card Project again for 2013, but this time, I gave my one month of free Premium Membership to other members.  From the one in 2012, I learned that I didn't need the Premium Membership features, and others might need it.  Besides, I didn't want to get addicted to something that would be temporary.  People receiving the cards and Premium Membership is good enough for me.

During all this time, I had also seen artists selling their soaps at conventions, so I looked up information on soapmaking.  Beginning in spring 2014, I went with the cheapest and easiest way, which was rebatching from bars of soap.  Almost all the soaps I rebatched turned out deformed, so I will probably never do it again.

I attempted several other simple crafts as well, which can be found in my Handcrafts folder.

Throughout 2014, I drew in more family birthday cards and made more Hetalia chibi drawings.  My last piece of trash, a chibi Belarus drawing for a friend's birthday, was uploaded on dA on July 27, 2014.


DeviantArt celebrated it's 14th birthday on August 7, 2014.  I apologize for the big delay in writing my entry.  I am often busy as well as lazy and irresponsible.

After two years as a member, I am still glad I signed up for dA.  I have seen many nice artwork and met many new artists.  The site also played a role in making me draw again and trying my hand at different crafts, especially making very simple plushies.  I really hope dA will remain in the future.

Happy Belated Birthday, DeviantArt!