DeviantART Compliments

DeviantART Compliments is a project that gives deviants of all kinds, compliments. It was a a simple idea that exploded for the creator of deviantART compliments SimplySilent. I got the chance to interview SimplySilent about her project, and what it is like to start a project.

First of all tell us a bit about yourself? how long have you been apart of the deviantART community?

I joined at the beginning of 2012, so I've been on dA for a little over a year and a half now. I'd have to say that I've only been a part of the community for about a year though, since I didn't do all that much in the first few months that I was on dA. I think I was just rather shy and unsure of what I could do in the community.

When you first came to deviantART, do you remember any of the projects that you were a part of?

I actually wasn't a part of any community projects for a while, although I did start becoming more involved when I created my group #Rising-Artists. This group focused on helping beginner and intermediate artists, and by holding features and contests at my group, I began to meet more people and start taking more of an interest with what was going on in the community.

Tell us what is DeviantART Compliments about?

DeviantART Compliments is about promoting positivity and showing support for other deviants and groups on dA.

How long has it been running?

dA Compliments started at the beginning of July, so it's been up and running for two and a half months now!

Why do you do this project?

I do the dA Compliments project because I want to spread the amazing positivity of the community to all the deviants out there. I want deviants who feel alone to realize that all their friends are with them, for artists who felt unrecognized to know that they have dedicated supporters, and for groups that do so much for others to receive the love that they deserve. People have a lot of kind things to say--they just need a little push to get it out there.

How long has it taken you for deviantART Compliments to become as big as it is now?

The first journal was very short with only ten compliments, but after that first journal, dA Compliments just shot off. I think I had to change the number of compliments in each journal from ten, to twenty, then twenty-five, and now thirty as more and more compliments started coming in. What was originally going to be a weekly publication is now published four times a week, and we recently reached 1000 compliments, which is a crazy impressive milestone.

What are you top three tips for anyone considering doing a Community Project?

1. Be ready for the workload: If your community project involves a lot of work, such as preparing features, conducting interviews, or posting articles, make sure that you have enough time and dedication to carry everything through.

2. Start off small: If this is your first community project, it may be a good idea to start off small with your project first. Once you have the foundations set up, then you should think about setting bigger goals or pushing your project farther.

3. Talk to others: Talk your project over with some of your friends to see what they have to say. See if they think it's feasible, whether you should change anything, etc. #CRCommunityProjects is a great place to go to for advice on your project, and I found their advice for dA Compliments to be very helpful.

Thanks for taking the time out to answer these questions are there any projects that you are following at the moment that you would like to give a shout out too?

It was my pleasure! And yes, yes there are.