Welcome to the third dA Life blog, a series created to help you enjoy your time on dA and use it's many tools for sharing your art, appreciating other people's art and taking part in the wonderful community that we have here.

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WHY COLLECT?

When so much of your energy is focussed on improving and promoting your own art, it's easy to forget about another very important aspect of dA - browsing! Looking at, thinking about and falling in love with other people's art helps to keep your eyes open and your brain in gear, both essential for fuelling your own creativity. You might want to collect art that inspires you so you can come back for another look when you're trapped in an artist's block. Maybe you're collecting resources to use for your own personal projects or perhaps you just want a bunch of cool things to read or stunning things to look at, all in one place - like being the curator of your own awesome art exhibition! There are a few million reasons to appreciate and collect art on dA and luckily there are more than a few million pieces of art for you to browse.

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BROWSING

There are lots of ways to browse on dA and discover new art to love! You can browse by Popularity (over periods of 8 hours, 24 hours, 3 days, one week, one month or all time) or you can check out the most recent submissions right from dA's homepage. Check out the drop-down menus at the top left of the thumbs on the homepage.

If you want to browse by medium, simply go to dA's homepage and click on the relevant links in the Category menu on the left side of the page. As you click a category, more options will become available, helping you get to exactly what you want to see.

You can search for specific styles of art, subject matter, or keywords using dA's Search function. There are way more features to this than most people assume and you can find all the information at this FAQ...

FAQ #577: How do I use the Search?

If you want to customise the art you see when you log in to dA, you can create your own personally selected feeds in the form of Channels. You can learn all about Channels in this FAQ...

FAQ #45: What are Channels and how do I use them?

If you like some randomness in your art appreciation, navigate to the far right of the menu bar on any dA page (it'll be near the top, just below the dA logo) and click on Random Deviation, Random Deviant or Random Group.

FAQ #535: Can I search for a random Deviant/Deviation?

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FAVOURITES AND COLLECTIONS

Favourites and Collections are pretty obvious, right? You want to gather your favourite art and create your own collections to come back and view again - here's how to do it!

FAQ #6: What is the Collections Feature and how do I use it?

Another fun way to find new art to love is to browse other people's Favourites and Collections - it also provides a fascinating insight into the minds of other artists!

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GROUPS

Groups aren't just great places to share your art - they're awesome for finding great literature to read, paintings to look at, wallpapers and icons to customise your computer with and...the list goes on forever! If you find a group with content you love but don't want to submit to it (customisation-based groups are a great example of this) you can simply devwatch it, as you would any individual deviant. Find out more about Groups in these FAQs...

FAQ #422: How many groups can I join?
FAQ #432: Where will my Groups activity go in my Message Centre?
FAQ #416: How will I be notified when changes are made to my group?

Start browsing at +Groups!

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SHARING YOUR FAVOURITE ART

You can share your favourite art on your own dA profile page. Find out how with this FAQ entry...

FAQ #90: How do I customize my profile page?

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MORE dA LIFE?

Want more useful hints, tips and information to make your deviant experience even better? Check out these blogs...

dA Life #01: Sharing Your Art
dA Life #02: Improving Your Art