Online Art Community Teams Up With Comic-Con

DeviantART, the world's largest online art community with 18 million registered members worldwide, and over 160 million pieces of original art available for public viewing is joining forces with one of the largest global sci-fi and comic conventions, Comic-Con, to be the official sponsor of Artists' Alley. This is the first time that Comic-Con has allowed a sponsorship of Artists' Alley, where exhibiting artists interact directly with their fans. Terms of the deal were not released.

DeviantART's support of this comics and pop-culture institution will be represented by an installation of two digital screens, which will be suspended high above the showroom floor and multiple digital kiosks displaying art from artists in the Alley will now enable artists to showcase their web-based work alongside their physical products.

"We love Artists' Alley," says Angelo Sotira, co-founder and chief executive officer of deviantART. "Supporting the many artists represented in this popular section of Comic-Con is an extension of the support system deviantART provides to our community daily. We're thrilled to be able to give artists online, as well as off, the tools needed to showcase their work digitally and gain feedback from their peers. We are deeply honored by Comic-Con's invitation to support these truly inspiring artists through this sponsorship of Artists' Alley."

Artists' Alley is traditionally one of the busiest sections of Comic-Con, which drew over 130,000 attendees in 2010. The obscure and mainstream titles on physical display in Artists' Alley are oftentimes sold directly by the comic book artists, writers, and publishers who create them.

"We're very excited that deviantART will be sponsoring Artists' Alley at Comic-Con," said David Glanzer, director of marketing and public relations for Comic-Con. "Their commitment to the creative community blends perfectly with Comic-Con's mission to bring comics and related popular arts to a wider audience. By highlighting and assisting digital artists, deviantART's sponsorship of Artists' Alley will allow those artists a broader opportunity for the public to enjoy and appreciate their creative efforts, and for this we are truly grateful."

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