RogueMudblood
This next Artist Showcase is going to introduce you to a deviant that I have started to see more and more in the community: RogueMudblood. RogueMudblood has been a member of the community for five years and is a talented writer who occasionally dabbles in photography or pencil sketches (though the latter do not make their way into the galleries).
They first made a DeviantArt account while trying to get in touch with one of the admins and then waited some time before posting their first artwork. I'm definitely happy that happened. Since then, their gallery has filled up with literature pieces ranging from horror to fan fiction to poetry.
"My favorite medium is writing. While I love photography because I can show you precisely what I'm looking at through the lens, with writing I can make you feel what I'm feeling. (If I do it well, that is.) I can show you what I see, and how it makes me feel, and I can take you on a journey with me, if only for a short while. It lets me be dark, scary, morbid, horrifying, happy, lighthearted, funny (at odd times if I can manage it), silly, sweet, romantic, friendly, and sometimes just plain weird. All of this can be expressed in any medium, but for me, I don't feel I've been able to capture it as clearly in other media as I can in literature." -- RogueMudblood
Undecided QuestionsIs it better to
Be the sad truth none welcome
Or the happy lie?
Journey to the End - (1) Falling StarDisclaimer: This is a work of fiction. Any resemblance to anyone, living or dead, is purely coincidental. The author owns exclusive rights to this story.
______________
Mikhail always lived on the third cloud to the right of the ‘bow. It wasn't the best spot. The ground under his feet was always too soggy until about two hours before the ‘bow would fade. Older generations told stories about how the world below the clouds would see the ‘bow when the clouds dried out. He’d ventured below the cover of the clouds once when he was young to see if it were true. For the brief time that Mikhail had allowed his bright rays to shine through the sky from beneath his home, he’d noticed that there didn’t seem to be an end to the ‘bow. While that certainly captured his attention, what shocked Mikhail was the absence of any other brilliance in the sky. Darkness surrounded him. In the world above it was day, so he couldn’t stop himself from wonder
ColaFizzy bubbles slide
Down my throat, filling my tum -
Empty calories.
RogueMudblood has only been an active member of DA since December 2014 but has clearly started to become an easily recognizable face in the crowd. Their involvement in the community is inspirational to many and stems from a group requesting one of their pieces in their gallery. After learning about groups on DA, they started finding and entering contests. RogueMudblood even sent in a request to dAWishingWell to get the founder of Underrated-Writers a premium membership. From then on, their participation in the community was solidified. They have been involved in various onsite projects such as the Crit!mas project by BeccaJS, continuing on with helping out at dAWishingWell, and finding a way to give back to others through ProjectComment. (JenFruzz would also like to note that RogueMudblood has been an amazing contributor to the weekly Critique Events held in the #seniors chat through seniormentors. Some of the most in-depth and well-thought out feedback we have seen has come from them!)
"Through lovely people involved in those groups [mentioned above]--Felizias, Stygma, DMD-CT, Arichy, Riemea, TeaPhotography, PumpkinQueen13, UszatyArbuz, 3wyl, CameronKobe - I learned about other initiatives around the site. And I saw features like those in ProjectPorkchop by Astralseed and those you [JenFruzz] do on your account, and I thought they looked really cool. I thought, 'This is something I can do and bring out pieces that aren't seen as often to others. This is something I can do, and when a piece I suggest for a DD isn't picked by the CV, I can at least let others know what I thought was worthy and bring those artists some attention for their work.' Not just in my own section of DA, but through the whole site. Because if I only stick to my little corner, I'm not doing right by this community." -- RogueMudblood
Outside of group involvement, RogueMudblood tries to put their stamp in other parts of the community. Suggesting Daily Deviations, encouraging others to do the same, suggesting deviants for Seniority (FAQ #29: How do I become a Senior Member?), and recommending contests to users that they think would have fun or benefit from them. They even go so far as to suggest deviants for our new community members to go take a look at, for varying reasons: "isthisthingstillon - tells it like it is, no holds barred, and will call you on your mularkey; TheMaidenInBlack - inspirational writer who is just as honest and loves a good joke; and coastbeachartist - Grant is simply a lovely individual."
And it does not stop there! RogueMudblood has a bunch of future plans for DeviantArt such as posting features for CritiqueCollectors, to keep writing and improving, to offer more critiques to deviants, writing a weekly short piece for LiteraryFanFiction, and reading MORE deviations in the Literature galleries to find worthy DD's to suggest to HugQueen and SingingFlames.
When asked about what sort of advice RogueMudblood would lend to deviants who may feel shy about getting involved in the community, their responses were fantastic:
- Suggest some pieces for DD features. If you want to do it anonymously, that's fine, but if you let the CV include your name, then people are likely to go and look at your other favorites and see what other art you like. They may even check out your gallery while they're there!
- Suggest pieces for group or individual features. CrazySquad runs a themed feature, rainylake runs themed features, and there're always the features on dAWishingWell as well as the Friday Feature run byPhreja.
- If you're thinking about doing your own feature, you can start small - a few pieces on site that you find really inspirational, or maybe someone that you think needs a pick-me-up.
- Join some community oriented groups, because they'll encourage you to jump right in without pressuring you. I've named a couple but there are a lot more.
- Leave a comment on something you like that goes a bit further than "this is good" - what's good about it? Be honest in your feedback. People love to hear what they're doing right just as much as they want to hear what they can improve, and you'd be surprised what kind of friendships you can form simply by commenting on others' works.
- Find a contest hosted by a small group or an individual and enter some work. "The Gingerbread House" was written for an individual's contest. Because DA is all about art - not just supporting what's already here, but creating new work as well.
- And respond to comments! Let people know you heard their voice, even if you don't agree with what they had to say.
I'm sure you can all agree with me that RogueMudblood is a great inspiration to other community members at DA. I can't wait to see how they continue to help the community in the future.
Send Me Your Suggestions!
I am always looking for new artists to feature!
If you know a deviant with great artwork, who is also heavily involved in the community and deserves more exposure,
please send me a note with the username and I'll check it out!
