01. Making friends, Fella?

The first in a series of blogs at fella, written to (hopefully!) provide something useful to make your experience here that much more enjoyable. With this series, I hope to provoke thought and invite you all to contribute your own thoughts and opinions too to really make this rewarding.

Making friends online is a lot like making friends offline in many ways. Perhaps you are the type to make friends easily, or the type to find it difficult. No matter what kind you are, finding true friends can take a long time, but you can help speed up the process a bit by being at the right place for starters!

This is by no means a conclusive list, but have you considered making friends in the following?

The Welcome Centre Forum, an open place to meet new people, no matter how new or old you are yourself!

chat, the #1 place to talk in real-time with other deviants.

:devgroups:, great for finding those with common interests!

The Random Deviant feature, enabling you to stumble upon the pages of random deviants, or their Random Deviations!

Last, but not least, browsing the front page of deviantART (or browsing art anywhere!), clicking on the art that attracts you, and striking up a conversation with the artist! Or, at least, beginning the conversation through commenting on their art, and/or them.

This FAQ is particularly useful on the matter of friends: FAQ #26: What is the watch and how do I manage my watch listing?

Mostly, to make friends, it's all about putting yourself out there and making the first step yourself, whether that is making a thread in the forum, or commenting on a piece of art. Possibly the next greatest step is to find out about common interests and hobbies so that both of you have something to stand on and to continue the discussion.

Friendships take time and effort, and they are full of ups and downs, but when you find the right friends, it can be amazing. It is not impossible on deviantART, and though you may find many people that are willing to reply a few times before stopping, if you keep trying, you'll stumble across someone who is worth all the effort you undertook before meeting that person. In a few months time, or a few years, you wonder how you ever first met each other, and marvel at how far you've gotten with them.

So, I'd like to open up the floor to you, the awesome members of fella.

How did you meet your (best) friend(s) here on deviantART? Who made the first move? How long have you been friends for? What is the best thing about having friends on deviantART? Have you met them offline? And what other ways do you think is a good way to make and meet new friends here on the site?

Share us your thoughts!