The Ticked Off Project is all about Senior Members of the Community, with interviews and features on the illustrious deviants who are adorned with a shiny `, it went awhile for awhile, but now it's back and ready to rock! This is our chance to connect with some of our senior members and give them a chance to show everyone at dA what makes them tick.

This week, I talked to ^Thiefoworld, who has been a member of dA for 5 years. His love of dA runs deep – he’s a veteran of the Community Relations Team. His style is unique (and adorable!) and there’s something for everyone in his gallery! Check out his gallery here!



Tell us a little bit about yourself.

Hi! My name is Jonathan, I'm twenty-something and I'm from Mexico. I'm a graphic designer and a freelance illustrator. I love cloudy days, BBQ sauce, the smell of chlorine and the feel of new socks. (they feel different when they're new!)

What brought you to dA?

A friend of mine, ~Marira,  made an account beforme me, and she was telling me how amazing the community was and how she was receiving feedback from people in Philippines and Costa Rica and you know, all those exotic countries in the world. So, after some time of hearing about it, I decided to make my own account. I was hesitant at first of doing that, because at that time I wasn't taking my art seriously and it was ridiculously crappy, I thought that by the time I submitted my first deviation, they would kick me out or something. Hopefully that didn't happen

What are your top 3 favorite deviations from other artists? Why do you like them?

Oh man! Narrowing it to only three is like deciding who's your favourite son. But three of my favourite pieces ever are:


It's an image that tells so much. The emotion depicted in the girl's face says more than a million words, and it gives you a whole world of possibilities; Who is she? What's this thing that's so precious to her? And what brought her to the point where she's willing to die for it?


Another picture that can tell a whole story, giving a lot of interpretation to the viewer. I guess I love illustrations like that. What I also love about this one is the evolution of the piece, if you look at the first version and compare it with the last one, you can notice not only a large amount of details were added but also the feeling of the picture itself changed.


I just cannot get enough of this strip! From the color scheme, the style, the characters, the cute little story, everything is just perfect.This deviant is a huge inspiration for me in comic making.


How have you grown as an artist since joining dA?
I'll put it simple: dA is what motivated me to pursue the artistic side of life. I draw since I was a little kid, but I didn't take art seriously until I joined dA. I won's say I consider myself a pro right now, but certainly if it wasn't for this community I wouldn't be making art nowadays.

deviantART isn’t just about art – it’s about community, too. Why do you think it’s important for seniors especially to give back?
I believe the community is what makes a difference between dA and other websites, if it wasn't for the interaction of its members, the dA experience would be absolutely boring. I see a little hard to define what exactly means "to give back" to the community, because I believe everybody gives back in certain way... what I can say is that in my opinion, to "give back" is a matter of attitude, there are people who is just soooo positive and is always supportive of those who need support and can make you smile with a comment or a muro drawing, not necessarily through a grand contest or community project, etc. and that is what makes this community so special; you don't have to be a senior, an admin or a moderator to do that.

Your style is very unique – how did it come about?
Haha you think so? Well thank you! I started literally drawing with sticks and circles, I remember I used to do parodies of comic books and TV show like Sailor Moon and whanot, and also recreate daily life situations with my classmates back in school. There was a time when I tried to do manga and even tried to do realism, but I never felt confident with either of those, so I decided to stick with my simple style. With the time it has evolved thanks to the influence of other great artists.

Who inspires you?
That's a very wide question I can honestly say most of my friends are a big influnce to me, just hanging with them inspires me to create. Music is another big source, I love to put on my big headphones and get lost in the sound. Lady Gaga too because... she's Lady Gaga.

What kind of environment do you prefer for creating art? Do you stow away with the curtains drawn, or do you find a sunny spot?
An open spot, could be a park, an open field or a square in the city, with my headphones on, a cool beverage by hand (green tea FTW!), a sketchbook and a cheap pencil is all what I need.

How did you get started on Children of the World?
It has been in my mind for a long time, I think is inevitable to create you own stories when you let yourself get influenced by others via comic books, movies, music or browsing a site like dA, so I started creating my own. Children... is a combination of a lot of things, a lot of ideas that for a long time stuck in my head separated from each other, until one day I decided to stop being a lazy ass and for a change, give form to these ideas. I cannot say is a defined story yet, there are still so many things I still don't define, the main plot is clear and so is the way it's gonna end, but the whole adventure, the medular part of the story is still in constant developing as I continue to draw it.

What was one important thing you learned while working for the CR team?
I learned that the volunteer experience is definitely a lot more fun and a lot more rewarding than I expected! Is definitely something I encourage everybody to try. I know not everything is soft and cuddly tho, you constantly have to handle situations in which people complain about you and say you are a moron and I know is a daily constant for admins and volunteers, and for that they earned a new respect from me

I love your calendars! What made you want to start making them?
It was kind of a random moment XD. I discovered you could sell calendars via the dA shop and decided to do one of my own just for fun. At first it was gonna be something really simple and just a one time project, but I got carried away and now Is the fourth year straight I make them. Another reason is that surprisingly, people ask for them, I wasn't planning to make a new calendar this year but since some people asked for it and I couldn't bare with their sad puppy faces when I said to them there won't be a new one this year, I had to continue with them.

I see some super-cute X-Men fanart in your gallery – if you could be any of the X-Men, who would you be?
Gambit. I would love to have a big stick to beat people up and throw glowing cards at them Plus... he's hawt.

What’s the most important lesson you’ve learned – art or otherwise – in the past year?
Things are not what they look like more often than you think. Dont jump into conclusions right away.
That and never mix vodka with whisky.

Do you have anything else going on that you want to tell people about before we say farewell?
In hopes that you enjoyed reading this interview as much as I did rambling answering it, I bid you farewell not without thanking you once again for the great honor and encouraging you to continue being awesome, in the way that you and you only know how to be. Love you, dear random person who reads this whoever you are <3 Hasta la vista poor hamster.