deviantART

I joined with the notion that I’ll be able to share some of my illustrations and artwork with others and be a part of a larger community of artists and designers and creative folk. I’ve been observing the goings-on there for years now, but it was a recent event at work that finally encouraged me to jump in.

About a month ago, at work we received an e-mail notifying us that the magazine had published a piece of fan-created artwork under another person’s name. The message indicated who the real artist was and even provided a deviantART URL to see the work on display. Wanting to do the right thing, I figured I could reach this person by e-mail or even leave a comment, but…only members can do that. So I thought about it for a minute and then decided to go ahead and register. I contacted the artist, and we came to an understanding about it all, and afterwards, I found myself thrust into a whole new community.

I have reached a point where I’m starting to feel like the old man in some circles there, but it’s still fun to see younger people’s take on art and life and the world around us. I have to admit that I’ve already found myself giving some sage advice and being a voice of reason on more than a few occasions. Nevertheless, I’m making friends and seeing some really great artwork that I might have never seen otherwise. Yay, DA!

Podtacular

In even bigger news, after listening to the first couple of shows of Podtacular, I could tell that this Halo-oriented podcast was going to take off. At that point, the Podtacular site was part of the Blogger-hosted Blogspot service, and I thought I’d offer my services to help maybe do some artwork or even help with some template design…y’know, to spruce things up a bit. I just threw it out there as something for the hosts to consider.

As it turns out, host and creator Foo Mo Jive is a designer himself and respectfully declined my offer. No problem, that’s cool, I said. I still liked the show and remained a loyal listener, and I let my offer stand. Then one day, I get an e-mail asking if I’d like to be a part of the Podtacular web team, apparently in the process of developing a totally new site.

Count me in, I replied.

Around their fourth and fifth shows, Podtacular just went through the roof. The show was getting mentions from all sorts of Halo and Xbox sites and community members. So I felt a little honored that these guys would remember me when it came time to have a conference call about what was in store for the new Podtacular site. In discussing web design practices and theory, I think we sort of came to the same conclusion about the level of quality and usability the site should have. Our ideas really seemed to complement each other’s as far as how it should all function.

So the biggest surprise came when, during a conference call, FMJ asked me to take the lead on developing and implementing the new site. I have to admit that I hesitated for a second. That’s a big task, and even though there was no promise of pay or compensation, I felt the call to not only take part, but take charge. So I agreed to take the reins. After all, the design was already established, the CMS and backend already set up, and so it was really a matter of making the two work together.

And that’s where I’m at now. I’m working on the template integration, massaging the CSS and working up some basic operating procedures for the new Podtacular. I want it to shine—not only for myself or Podtacular, but for all of the listeners and visitors and podcasters everywhere.

Meanwhile, at deviantART, I’ve found a community of not only great people with great ideas, but great inspiration as well. Every time I visit, I find another reason not to sit still and watch it all pass me by any longer.