Complete answers to questions that have been asked before and questions that may pose an issue: Frequently Asked Questions! =3

ShouYume, how did you come by your name?
Like many other east Asian culture enthusiasts, I often had Asian-inspired names since I first acquired this interest. Finally, after college, I felt that I needed a change from my more childish names from back in high school and I wanted something a little more positive and mature than my older nicknames. I settled on Shou (brilliant) and Yume (Dream), expressing my optimistic determination to realize my passion. In other words, aspirations I hold with such passion they even reflect themselves vividly in my dreams.

ShouYume, is there anything simpler to call you?
Many have shortened my artist name to read "Shou," or "Yume," but I most enjoy Sy to include the initials of both words.

Sy, do you have a website or another gallery where I can find you?
At this time, I am currently not maintaining a website, due to my heavy art workload. I haven't any time to design websites other than the websites and art pieces I'm being commissioned for. If you would like to see my work in other galleries, I'm at Sheezyart and Mangabullet as ShouYume. I'm also on Pixiv as Sy. However, these galleries are not nearly up to date as my deviantART gallery, so you'll find my most up-to-date work right here on dA.

Sy, your gallery is so inconsistent that I'm confused! What kind of artwork do you do?
I'm very interested in the East Asian pop style of art, particularly anime and manga, and the semi-realism styles, as well. I love experimenting with different genre styles, so my gallery will vary from cute little girls to the fantasy-style features. I also love to experiment in different media and techniques, so you'll find a variety of those in my gallery as well, ranging from pencil and water color to digital cel-shading and digital painting.

Aside from illustrations, I have also taken an interest in doll making, particularly in custom plush and ball-jointed dolls.

I notice in your gallery, Sy, that some of your artwork looks so different from the rest. Are you sure you don't copy art or at least trace a pose when you do your art?
If there's a style I want to persue, I first study the similar art of other artists thoroughly and make mental notes in regards to techniques and the general style of that genre. Generally, I also do not use any pose references when I sketch my poses. I draw my own art, without copying or tracing, and I can completely verify that all of my art is my own. I do not theft any elements from other artists' works.

Sy, I just know I've seen pieces in your gallery before that are no longer there! Do you delete them?
In order to maintain an organized gallery and to reduce clutter, I often store many of my deviations to keep my gallery below 100 pieces, including scraps. I now have almost 500 deviations in my storage here on deviantART, the majority of which consist of a large amount of deviations from my original stories, such as Genjou o Mamoru or Hoshiyama. If there is a particular deviation you wish for me to feature, you may comment or note me and I will pull the deviation out of storage and feature it for a limited amount of time.

Sy, have you ever taken art classes?
Aside from the regular art curriculum in high school and a few basic design classes in college when I completed my Associate's degree, I have never had any professional training. I am currently enrolled in college and pursuing my Bachelor's degree, but I am currently taking only fundamental art courses, as I have just begun school recently.

So, Sy, do you have a policy on your art?
Yes: I will not create any art that is graphic, pornographic, yaoi/yuri, suggestive, religiously or politically debatable. I do create fanart, fantasy, secular, and Christian art. These restrictions apply to my commissions, collaborations and trades as well.

What kind of commissions do you do, Sy?
I have a full catalogue of commission services that includes regular items and current specials. These generally range from simple to complex digital and traditional art and dolls, and are for private commissions, only. For more information on commissions, please visit my commissions journal. I do offer my services for commercial use, as well; please message or email me for more information.

Sy, you do requests, collaborations and trades?! Can I have one??
At this time, I am not accepting requests due to my busy schedule. During certain times, I do open up for collaborations and trades rather than commissions. However, I will let you know if and when I'm open for a trade.

So, Sy, what about being able to use your art?

My art and designs may not be utilized as stock, recolored or altered in any way. My art is copyrighted and in compliance with dA and federal copyright policies, and it is timestamped by dA. My art is also in compliance with the policies of the website from which I have utilized textures. In regards to using my character, prop, and setting designs for gift art, collaborations, trades, or commissions, for, with, or from me, this is permitted provided that you credit the original designs to me and do not use them for profit.

In regards to copying and tracing my original art and designs, I understand that, in a sense, it is legal according to the Copyright Act section 106. However, section 107 limits this to no more than 1 reproduction, and the reproduction may not be used for mass profit. If you have chosen to use my art for tracing or copying, note in your artists comments that it is a traced/copied piece, credit me and reference (that is, hyperlink) my exact artwork which you have utilized. Do not remove this information from your comments. According to the copyright act, I can press charges if your reproduction does not credit me and/or comply with the reproduction regulation, particularly my original art and designs which, as previously stated, are timestamped by dA. Please ask for my permission, first, and please note me with your submitted piece so that I can be conscious of any activity involving my art. Let's be ethical about this, please. Copyright infringement makes you a thief and a potential criminal, and you deserve better of yourself.

Sy, do you feature people?
Of course! I enjoy featuring others, so from time to time I put out a segment for features. Instructions for featuring are usually listed on a journal segment when I open up a feature.

Say, Sy, do you ever hold contests??
Once in a while I will hold a contest, particularly for special occasions.

Sy, I notice that you're a Christian. What does this mean?
This means that I have opened my heart and my life to my Lord Jesus, who died for me. I understand that many of my watchers are atheist or practice another religion. I respect the fact that you practice another belief, and I won't push my beliefs on you, in the same way that the Lord doesn't force himself into your heart. I do pray for you as a display of my care for you, and I express my belief in some of my art. If you're curious about my beliefs, you are more than welcome to ask me and I will provide you with any information I can of what you seek. Like I said, I respect you, so it is important to me that you respect that I believe what I believe, as well. Let's be fair when commenting on my page, please.

I watch you, Sy, will you watch me??
Unfortunately, not everyone who watches my artwork will receive a watchback. The reason why I don't watch everyone is that, while I appreciate everyone's watch and I'm honored and thankful to receive it, my devWATCHer base is fairly large and I have had situations where my inbox has become so flooded that I stop being productive. In order to better focus on my art, I've become very careful of who I watch. I watch deviants whom I can learn from, and deviants with similar genres, regards, and interests. I still genuinely appreciate all of my watchers; I hope you can understand that it's due to time and organization that I choose not to watch everyone.

Sy, can you fav my work or watch me?
While I understand that fellow artists appreciate my work and would like more reaction to their own artwork, I find it to be an inconvenience when they directly request for me to fav their work or watch them. As a general rule, I usually look at most deviants' galleries if they've never visited me before, anyway, and based on that I make the decision to proceed with my own voluntary faving or watching. It puts me in an uncomfortable position when directly asked to fav art or watch someone, and I don't appreciate being placed in that position. If you wish for me to look at or critique a piece of your art or gallery, you may politely request; however, please refrain from asking me to fav or watch you.

Well, I noticed you added me to your watch, Sy, but my avatar doesn't show up in your friends! Why is this?
When I watch a deviant, I disable the friend display unless the respective deviant watches me back. Just because I watch them doesn't mean they're watching me back, and I don't want to lie!