Hi everyone and welcome to our second Anthro Gallery Newsletter. Things are going great here in our little corner of deviantART: Since a month ago, there are 2 Daily Deviations (DD) featuring Anthropomorphic Art every day, and that means more exposure for our artists, more artists being featured, and also more viewers getting to know better this artistic style. The amount of DD suggestions being received by ^cooley and me is slowly increasing too, and we're happy to realize our community is getting involved with those awards.

In a more personal note, I'm really delighted: The feedback we have received since ^cooley and I became your Gallery Directors can't be better, and we're now really encouraged to keep working and trying our best to serve this amazing community. I have realized how supportive the group of anthropomorphic artists and viewers is, and it's great to care for this place to make it better, because there is always room for improvement! Whenever we ask for some help, or suggest new activities, or launch a contest or event for your amusement, the possitive feedback, and the support, overflows me.... and it's a great feeling to know your work is so appreciated, so..... THANKS A LOT!


deviantART 7th birthday is approaching, so get ready for a HUGE celebration with capital letters, and some activities you can take part in.... We have a lot of new surprises down the road but those will be unveiled when the time comes.

About the glitches you may experience these days, for example to have 0 comments, 0 favourites and 0 views in your most popular picture, or to suddenly realize your mailbox is empty and all your dA notes are (temporary) vanished, don't worry: The new servers are still on their way to bring you a faster deviantART so don't let the bugs stress you too much, OK?


The Artistic Relations Team is currently doing their best to improve the gallery system. We can still not get into details, but if you have something to tell us about how they work or how they're sorted (Anthro Gallery related), please feel free to contact both ^cooley or me. So far, we have received suggestions about adding some new categories for the Anthro Gallery: Badges, Sculptures (aside the sub-section in Artisan Craft), and a few other ones; If you have an opinion, an idea, or think you can help us somehow with this duty, your comment, message or note will be more than welcome!


As we told you in our first newsletter, with so many new members in the AR Team, it's now more important than ever that you send your Daily Deviation (DD) suggestions to the correct Gallery Directors. ^cooley and I are in charge for the Anthro Gallery, so we'll be taking all of the anthro DD suggestions. We don't ask much in ways of guidelines, but here is what we do request:

Title your note "DD Suggestion."
Include a link and/or thumb of the piece.
Tell me why you think it deserves a DD.
We prefer unknown artists, but that's not a must.
Do not suggest yourself.
Do not send the same suggestion to multiple GDs.
Do not complain if we don't respond or feature it.
Do not complain on a DD feature, take it up with ^cooley or I via note.

Don't worry if you think an artist has been featured before, leave that up to us. We can easily check and it will save you the trouble of trying to find out on your own.


Some of you may be wondering what 'anthro' art even is, here's a simple definition:

'Anthropomorphism is the attribution of uniquely human characteristics and qualities to nonhuman beings.' - Wikipedia.com

In other words, 'anthro' art is a genre which features animal, vegetable, or item characters with human qualities such as upright postures, clothing, and human activities. Please keep in mind that anthro does not automatically equal furry art, nor does it exclude it'. There are many sub-genres in anthro art. The only sub-genre we do not allow in Daily Deviations are 'yiff' - an image composed of anthro characters committing sexual acts. Most 'yiff' is not allowed on deviantArt so if you see it, please report it. Thank you.


In each newsletter we will include a section dedicated to current events in the anthro gallery.

The largest event at the moment is the Bladewind Challenge. You may read the aforementioned news article to check out prizes – which include dA subscriptions, “Dev-Wear” clothing, and more. The deadline is August 30th, and all submissions should be made through Contests & Projects -> Contests -> 2007 -> Bladewind Challenge. (Current entries can be seen here or on the left side of my journal page.) If you do not submit your entry under the correct gallery, it may be overlooked when the time comes to judge. You may ensure that your image is included in the contestant listing by sending ^cooley a note titled “Bladewind Challenge Entry.” Lastly, please offer your support by sporting an advertising stamp or “faving” the news article. Thanks!


Also, we're going to launch a new contest (with awesome prizes) next month, so keep your imagination sharp because that's going to be fun, you better believe us!

We have two conventions coming up, here's the necessary information:

EuroFurence
Biggest annual european Anthropomorphic Convention
September 5-9, 2007
Ringberg Hotel
Suhl (Germany)

FurFright
Anthromorphic Halloween Convention
October 19-21, 2007
Connecticut Grand Hotel
Waterbury, CT (USA)

If you have (anthro) events you would like included in future newsletters please send them to ^cooley or I. Thanks!




skifi:
My name is Vicente M. Patino, but I'm known as "skifi" because that's how I sign my drawings or colorworks. I was born and live in Spain, so if you feel like talking to me in spanish, you will be more than welcome. ^^ I started drawing (real media) and coloring (digital) in summer 2002, and joined the deviantART community around Mar 2003, lured by some other talented friends moving here too. I never took art lessons neither studied it, so all you can see in my gallery is thanks to self-learning, and the advices of many friends, and artists, I have met here, and previously at The Crystal Palace board. Some of them, I want to keep her aside me forever... I am, with ^cooley, the Anthro Gallery Director. Part of my duties are keeping those galleries in order, scrap wrong deviations, promote artists on News Articles or Journals and give Daily Deviations to top-quality works. Feel free to contact me or ^cooley with any questions regarding the Anthro Gallery, or just to say hello. We don't bite... generally!

Cooley:
Hi everyone! I'm your anthro gallery director. With ^skifi as my partner, we will be working with the community to bring you the best of the anthro gallery. Make sure to check back often for we'll be featuring Daily Deviations, organizing events, and writing newsletters in an effort to service all of you! I have several jobs including layout design for a local newspaper, digital photo-editing for a couple of professional photographers here in Alaska, as well as taking on freelance art and photojournalism opportunities. As you can imagine, this keeps me quite busy. But, it is a joy to volunteer my spare time here on dA. I am honored to serve this community. So please, sit back, relax and enjoy your time here on dA. Feel free to send me (anthro-related) DD suggestions and alert me of any (anthro) events taking place on dA. You can find me in the ModSquad chat-room, should you like to speak with me "in person." Have a great day!


That about wraps up this second edition of the Anthro Newsletter. Remember, if you have suggestions or events for future newsletters, please send them to ^cooley or I via note. We will be happy to help you, as long as we have coffee enough.